Stopping the downward slide

In two years of commuting to Stone church, I have put 30,000 miles on my car. Being that I do have the commute (which is probably fairly short in comparison to some of the commutes you might be facing) I am listening to books on CD.

One of the books I am listening to is George Barna's well documented book, "The Seven Faith Tribes."

It's a resource book that share the research Barna has made regarding what he calls, "the 7 Faith Tribes that the majority of Americans belong to".

One of the 7 faith tribes is the "casual Christian" tribe of which approximately 66% of all Americans purport to belong to.

That is 2 of every 3 Americans. Casual Christians, as opposed to Captive Christians, are defined in the following way:

"Christianity is a low-risk, predictable proposition for this tribe, providing a faith perspective that is not demanding.

A Casual Christian can be all the things that they esteem: a nice human being, a family person, religious, an exemplary citizen, a reliable employee – and never have to publicly defend or represent difficult moral or social positions or even lose much sleep over their private choices as long as they mean well and generally do their best.

From their perspective, their brand of faith practice is genuine, realistic and practical. To them, Casual Christianity is the best of all worlds; it encourages them to be a better person than if they had been irreligious, yet it is not a faith into which they feel compelled to heavily invest themselves."

Barna goes on to write, "Casual Christians like their brand of faith because of the comfort that this approach provides.

It offers them life insights if they choose to accept them, gives them a community of relationships if they desire such, fulfills their inner need to have some type of connection with a deity, and provides the image of being a decent, faith-friendly person.

Because Casuals do not view matters of faith as central to one’s purpose or success in life, this brand of Christianity supplies the multi-faceted levels of satisfaction and assurance that they desire."

Are you a "casual Christian"?

There are times in my own life where I sense myself sliding into that category.

That's why we have what we typically call "Revivals" which are not so much to connect the non-churched to Christ as they are to "revive" our spirits and stop the carnage of our flesh winning the battle for our soul.

Okay...let me give you a verse...it is not meant to be "in your face" but it shows how much Christ takes this stuff seriously.

Jesus said in Revelation 3:15-17, "I know your deeds, that you are neither cold nor hot; I would that you were cold or hot. So because you are lukewarm, and neither hot nor cold, I will spit you out of My mouth. ‘Because you say, “I am rich, and have become wealthy, and have need of nothing,” and you do not know that you are wretched and miserable and poor and blind and naked"

My desire is to be more than a "causal" Christian but a "captive" Christian - totally sold out to Jesus Christ.

How about you?