Opening Convocation
Address to the Students and Faculty of Montreat College
August 21, 2007
Gaither Chapel
“Thinking Christianly”
“Mmmmmmm. Imagine how good a hot cup of coffee or cold drink would taste. You know you want it—maybe a brownie or chips, too. I’ll bet you’re tired. Why don’t you come inside and get some.” The sultry female voice’s tone suggested more than light snacks—or anything else commonly for sale in a convenience store.
This is how I was greeted at a gas station in Charlotte not long ago. I was shocked. I was all alone at the pump, and the voice seemed timed to my arrival. The disembodied voice came over the speakers in the pump island’s canopy. I was accustomed to music, even advertisements in such settings, but this felt more like a proposition. Not that I had any such expectation, but the timing and tone were alarming.
Perhaps I was shocked because the contrast between the electronic proposition and the event I had just left was so great. Only minutes before, I was at the dinner celebrating the grand opening of the Billy Graham Library—immersed in a sea of Christians and updated on the incredible work of the Billy Graham Evangelistic Association, saving souls for Christ in our own back yard and around the globe.
Yet, even though I had just come from spending time with Billy Graham and friends, I should not have been shocked. Despite the fact that most Americans identify themselves as “Christian,” much of American life and culture is out of line with basic Christian values. The evidence is all around us. We are bombarded all day, every day with examples of unChristlike behavior, advertisements, entertainment, products, and activities.
Why is this? I believe that the American way is increasingly out of sync with Christian values because too few Christians know how to “think Christianly.” That is, too few of us know what the Bible teaches, and even fewer have figured out how to apply that knowledge to the many ideas and daily situations we encounter. Fewer still are those who can translate Bible knowledge into choices that add up to a lifestyle of integrity, one in which our beliefs are consistent with our thoughts and our actions.
The train of logic that leads me to this conclusion goes like this:
First, over 75% of Americans self-identify as Christians.[1] Over 40% of Americans, a substantial minority, identify themselves as having had a transformational conversion experience. They identify themselves as “born again,” or belonging to the evangelical Christian community that claims Jesus Christ’s authority over all of life.[2] These facts have been established by the American Religious Identification Survey and Gallup Polls, both known and respected for their methods and reporting.
 Second, American culture is increasingly out of line with Christian values. One doesn’t need to identify one’s self as a member of the so-called “Christian right” to be concerned about the progressive dissolution of the family; the rampant abuse of drugs and alcohol; the pervasive presence of sexual and violent media; the high incidence of sexual abuse, addictions, and STDs; the recent rise of school violence; the rapidly increasing disparity between rich and poor; the continuing issue of racial prejudice; and the shameless degradation of the environment. These social problems are broadly documented, and they are decried by Christians and non-Christians alike. Such problems represent the cumulative effects of countless actions that are clearly out of line with Christian values.
Given that most Americans consider themselves Christian, yet American culture often does not reflect the values of Christ, we are left with two possible conclusions. Either Christians are without influence in our culture, or Christians have been unwilling or unable to bring their faith effectively to bear in the shaping of our culture. The first proposition is ridiculous, given that many if not most of our elected officials, including the President of the United States, are avowedly Christian. Therefore, it stands to reason that the second proposition is the logical conclusion, namely that Christians have been ineffective in shaping our current American culture.
Why have American Christians been so ineffective? There are several possible reasons. It is possible that Christians don’t really believe what they profess to believe, and therefore do not act in accord with their professed values because they don’t really hold those values. In short, one could posit that most people who call themselves Christians are knowingly lying about their commitment to Christ. However, I will give Americans the benefit of the doubt, and assume that most are being honest and sincere when they identify themselves as Christian.
On the other hand, it is also possible that American Christians are quite capable of thinking Christianly, and are acting accordingly, but that powerful groups are frustrating the concerted efforts of Christians to shape our culture. Many Christians believe that this is the case in at least two areas.
First, they argue that a powerful minority has used the judicial system to thwart the will of the majority. While this argument may hold true in certain instances, such as school prayer, abortion, and the public display of religious symbols, the argument assumes that there is a single, thoughtfully held, Christian position on each of these controversial issues. I don’t believe this assumption is correct. How would Christians feel about school prayer, for example, if one day prayers were offered “in the name of Jesus Christ,” but the next day they were directed to Allah, then to Buddha, then to someone else? Moreover, the judicial argument fails to explain why Christians are so often quite indistinguishable from non-Christians in our society in countless manners of behavior.
Second, many argue that a “non-Christian (or even anti-Christian) elite” dominates the media and, hence, the shaping of public opinion. This argument has some merit, though increasingly less so, given the many different sources of information today. Still, it begs the questions, Why are non-Christians the leading shapers of ideas and opinions? and Why are we Christians so easily led astray by those whose values differ markedly from what we profess?
Certainly culture is influenced by government decisions and media “talking heads.” It is also influenced by entertainment of all sorts, by products and advertising, and by countless associations that communicate and enforce behavioral expectations. In the end, however, our culture is determined by the individual actions of millions of Americans—the overwhelming majority of whom are Christians. Opinion leaders can only rightly be called such if others follow. Products only define us if we buy them. Entertainment media only thrive if people watch and listen. Apparently, we are swallowing the bait, hook, line, and sinker. American Christians are following, buying, watching, and listening to what is being offered, and we are too seldom providing uplifting alternatives.
This train of logic leads me to the conclusion that most American Christians don’t know how to think Christianly and, therefore, how to act Christianly.
I am not alone. Nearly 50 years ago Harry Blamires, in his book, The Christian Mind, lamented the fact that we had lost a distinctively Christian way of thinking. Over 10 years ago Os Guinness accused us of having fat minds in his book, Fit Bodies, Fat Minds. And Mark Noll, now a professor at Notre Dame University, remarked that “The scandal of the evangelical mind is that there is not much of an evangelical mind.”[3] Each of these authors has noted that Christians once did think Christianly, that there are a number of reasons why we no longer do so, and that there are ways we might regain that important capacity.
So what does it mean to think Christianly? This is a complex question, yet here at Montreat College, we’re committed to seeking answers. Allow me to introduce some of the key elements in the process:
First, let us acknowledge that we are called to approach all of life with a Christlike mindset. No less of an authority than Jesus himself made it part of the greatest commandment. He was quoted to that effect in the gospels of Matthew, Mark, and Luke. I’ll read from Mark 12:30. When asked by a teacher of the law which commandment was the most important, Jesus replied: “Love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, with all your mind, and with all your strength.” Our love of God is not merely a feeling. It is a whole-person activity, engaging our hearts, souls, minds, and bodies. Whole-self engagement means that a compartmentalized faith (that is, a faith that only applies to some areas of life) is contrary to the “greatest commandment.”
The Apostle Paul connects our intellectual development with our actions. He tells us in Romans 12:2 not to be conformed any longer to the pattern of this world, but to be transformed by the renewing of our minds. Then, he tells us, we will be able to test and approve what God’s will is. In other words, until our minds become like the mind of Christ, we will be unable to know what God wants (a.k.a., what Jesus would do). Until we learn to think Christianly, we will be unable to act Christianly.
Finally, in the Great Commission (Matthew 28:19-20) Jesus tells us:
19Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, 20and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. [emphasis added]
Dallas Willard, in his book The Great Omission, suggests that we have responded to Jesus’ last command before ascending to heaven by making “Christians” rather than disciples.[4] A Christian, in this context, is one who merely accepts the faith as a passport to eternal life. A disciple is one who is a pupil and adherent to “everything [Christ] has commanded [us].” Jesus never called us to be “Christians” per se; in fact, He never even used the word Christian. Rather, He simply called people to become His disciples.
We are, indeed, called to think Christianly.
The next step is to know the Bible. Most Americans don’t. Gary Burge, in a Christianity Today article, recounts the sad results of a Tonight Show audience survey, though we may find it a little funny. Jay Leno surely did. “Name one of the Ten Commandments,” Leno said as he walked through the audience. “God helps those who help themselves?” someone ventured. “Name one of the apostles,” Leno told them. No one could. Finally, he asked them to name the Beatles. Without hesitation, the answer came ringing from throughout the crowd: John, Paul, George, and Ringo.[5]
David Van Biema, in a Time Magazine article, argues that even non-Christian Americans should know the Bible. Otherwise, it is difficult (if not impossible) to understand so many aspects of our history, culture, and politics.[6]
We might try to comfort ourselves by assuming that surely this level of ignorance does not extend to students choosing to attend explicitly Christ-centered colleges. Unfortunately, we would be assuming wrong: yes, it does. At a prominent evangelical college, one that even requires students to sign a faith statement, one professor has surveyed his students for years. His statistics are sobering:
One-third of the freshmen could not put the following in order: Abraham, the Old Testament prophets, the death of Christ, and Pentecost. . . . One-third could not identify Matthew as an apostle from a list of New Testament names. . . . [And] half did not know that the Christmas story was in Matthew or that the Passover story was in Exodus.[7]
Biblical literacy comes from spending time reading the Bible. In China, millions are thirsting after the Word of God, but it is seldom available. In America, the Bible is the bestselling book of all time, and continues to be the number one bestselling book every year. It is valued as a gift, a hotel necessity, or perhaps as a desk ornament, but, apparently, it is not much read. We must start by reading the Bible.
Thinking Christianly begins with, but is more than, knowing the Bible. Thinking Christianly means adopting the fundamental beliefs, or assumptions, that guide the way one thinks about everything else. We call this process the development of a Biblical worldview. Here are some of those key beliefs:
- We and the universe we inhabit are created by a loving God, not the result of some cosmic accident.
- Though we were created to be in fellowship with God, the Fall introduced sin into the world, separated us from God, and continues to plague our world.
- The living Christ remains engaged in our world. He wants to draw us to Him and to redeem His creation.
- Jesus Christ is God’s plan for our redemption and the redemption of the world. He both revealed God’s plan for us and paid the price for our sins by dying on the cross.
- God sends the Holy Spirit to help us understand the Bible and to help us live according to God’s Word.
- The Church is the Body of Christ on earth, responsible for nurturing disciples and redeeming our world (including American culture) for Him.
If we truly understand and believe these assumptions,
they will affect how we think, not just about personal morality,
but also about history, psychology, biology, environmental science,
art, literature, music, economics, business, politics—everything.
We’ve been called to think Christianly. Thinking Christianly
will transform how we behave. If millions of American Christians are
transformed, and billions of Christians worldwide are transformed,
the Church universal will be transformed. I can only imagine how such
transformation would change our world. But we’ve been told how it can affect each
of our lives. Jesus said He came so we might have life, not just any life, but life
abundantly.[8]
Often we are told that there are costs to discipleship (to thinking and therefore acting Christianly). Dallas Willard reminds us that there are also costs to nondiscipleship:
Nondiscipleship costs abiding peace, a life penetrated throughout by love, faith that sees everything in the light of God’s overriding governance for good, hopefulness that stands firm in the most discouraging of circumstances, power to do what is right and withstand the forces of evil. In short, nondiscipleship costs you exactly that abundance of life Jesus said he came to bring.[9]
Let us work together to think Christianly about all aspects of our lives, including our studies, so that we might live the abundant life that Jesus has promised, and as our college mission statement challenges us, become “agents of transformation, renewal, and reconciliation.”
[1]At the time of the American Religious Identification Survey (ARIS), conducted in 2001, the number was 76.5% (http://www.gc.cuny.edu/faculty/research_briefs/aris/aris_index.htm).
[2]At the time of the Gallup Poll, August 2000, the number was 44% (http://brain.gallup.com/documents/questionnaire.aspx?STUDY=P0007036).
[3]Harry Blamires, The Christian Mind (Ann Arbor, Michigan: Servant, 1963); Os Guinness, Fit Bodies, Fat Minds: Why Evangelicals Don't Think and What to Do About It (Grand Rapids, Michigan: Baker Book House, 1994); Mark A. Noll, The Scandal of the Evangelical Mind (Grand Rapids, Michigan: Eerdmans, 1994), 3.
[4]Dallas Willard, The Great Omission: Reclaiming Jesus’s Essential Teachings on Discipleship (San Francisco: HarperCollins Publishers, 1998).
[5]Gary M. Burge, “The Greatest Story Never Read,” Christianity Today (August 9, 1999): 45-49.
[6]David Van Biema, “The Case for Teaching The Bible,” Time Magazine (March 22, 2007), http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,1601845,00.html.
[7]Burge, “The Greatest Story Never Read,” 45-46.
[8]John 10:10.
[9]Willard, The Great Omission, 8-9.
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