What is the likeliest context in which someone who is not currently a Jesus follower will take up such a journey? This is the question readily apparent and to which several answers were given at a recent conference I had the pleasure of attending in Atlanta. Since returning home I have been giving this question a great deal of thought. Here are some of my early and tentative conclusions.
Let us state the theologically correct and obvious first. Our God is able to draw anyone to himself at any time and for any reason within the scope of his plans for his creation. The power of the message of the resurrected Jesus is irresistible when properly understood. That fact is both real and ideal. There are many stories of people taking up the mantle of Jesus follower at times and in ways which are utterly inexplicable beyond the obvious fact that for some reason God drew them to himself. But the further reality is that when conversion stories are examined generally, there is a common theme running through them.
Jonathan Waits
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The reality is that while conversion stories like that of the apostle Paul are inspiring and should encourage us to celebrate the power and love of our God, when set in the context of the full number of conversions to the Jesus movement, stories like his are lost in the crowd. Stories (like that of a Muslim man I recently heard who had a series of dreams featuring Jesus, took this as a call to become more devoted to Islam, made a trip to Mecca, while there had a vision of Jesus sitting on the Kaaba, and subsequently became a follower of Jesus) without question drive Jesus’ followers to praise our Lord for his ability to transcend every barrier in order to draw people to himself. But these are not the norm. Instead, while perfectly capable of such action-packed conversion stories, God much more frequently draws people to himself in ways that seem entirely more common.
The truth is that most people who convert to Christianity do so because they find themselves either in or drawn to a social and cultural context where such a transition is both welcomed and even expected. They become more attached to a Christian community than to any other and so they become like their new community. Or, to quote from Baylor sociologist Rodney Stark’s marvelous book, The Triumph of Christianity, “most people convert to a new religion because their friends and relatives already have done so — when their social ties to the religious group outweigh their social ties to outsiders.” The implications of this idea should stop us in our tracks to expand the kingdom of God and reflect deeply on what and how we are attempting to do that.
If it is true that social and cultural factors generally have the most to do with whether or not a person becomes a follower of Jesus, then the church needs to perhaps focus a great deal more effort and attention on creating cultures in and around our churches which have sufficient positive social attractions to overwhelm peoples’ natural defenses and competing social and cultural pressures and draw them irresistibly into the Kingdom. Allow me to state that more plainly. Our churches need to be places where unbelievers love to be, and where they love to be more than they love to be anywhere else.
Now, if you are reading this and you gladly count yourself a follower of Jesus who has been active in a church body for a long time, you might possibly be thinking, “But I love my church! It’s a great place to be. I’d rather be with my church family than my own family.” I applaud that sentiment. But it is easy to forget, particularly with much longevity in your particular community, that unless you were born into it, there was a time when that was not the case. And if you were born into it, then you are in the worst possible position to grasp what it is like to try and connect with your community.
I hope you love your community of faith, but it is a grave error to assume that sentiment to be naturally occurring on the part of anyone outside of it. Instead, it takes a great deal of intention and effort to make our communities places where unbelievers want to be. But how do we do that? The answer to that will have to wait until next time.
Jonathan Waits ([email protected]) is pastor of Central Baptist Church in Church Road, Va.