Not Everyone is the Same Kind of Christian

This is the third post in a series that attempts to think through some matters related to the church today, based on a series of posts by Ed Stetzer at Christianity Today. Click to go to part 1 or part 2. 


Not everyone is the same kind of Christian.

We all get this. There are Lutherans, Presbyterians, Methodists, Baptists, Reformed, E-Free, Mennonites, Catholic, Eastern Orthodox, and so on. Even within these denominations there is much variety. Some might say division.

But, I'm not talking about these groups.


In the final of three articles on today's church, Ed Stetzer identifies different groups of Christians:

• Cultural Christians. These are Christians who are so by default. They may have been raised in a "Christian" home, or they call themselves Christian because that's just what you do in America if you're not anything else. They are generally the ones who appear in church on Easter and Christmas, baptism, confirmation. Weddings and funerals are performed in a Christian church because that's what you do. If they are in a situation where God's name is raised or there is public prayer, they won't object. According to Stetzer and other demographics, these make up 1/3 of Christians in America (though I suspect it's higher than this).
• Congregational Christians. These are Christians who have a closer connection to congregational life than cultural Christians. They pride themselves on being baptized, raised, and confirmed (maybe even married) in a particular congregation and church building. They are present most of the time in worship services, and at other significant congregational events (Sunday School kickoff, Lenten services, etc.). But, and this is where it gets tough to discern, congregational Christians are more "attendees" than disciples who take up their cross and follow Jesus, or even talk about faith with non-Christians, or think much about applying church to life. In fact, for many congregational Christians, church is functionally no different than Kiwanis or some other organization. Again, for Stetzer, these make up 1/3 of Christians (again, I suspect this is in actuality higher).
• Convictional Christians. These are Christians who are invested. It shows in their lives outside of the life of the congregation as well as in the nature of their participation in congregational life. They are small group leaders in youth group, or they actively take it upon themselves to organize Bible study or community outreach for the sake of the gospel. Were you to visit their homes, you would experience an actively vibrant Christian environment where faith is part of the fabric of life. They treasure the local church, but their faith does not stand or fall on the presence or nature of "church" as they know it. You could completely restructure "church" as they know it, and not much would rattle their faith life. According to Stetzer, these make up another 1/3 of Christians in America (I suspect it is less than this). 

Now, we don't want to try to figure out who in our congregations fits into what group. But this sort of analysis does require our attention. Regardless of whether or not we can confidently even identify who fits these groups or say whether or not someone's faith is "cultural" or "congregational," or even why or what it means about them as Christians--in practice of daily life this describes reality in our congregations.

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These categorizations lead us who are in full-time ministry to ask important questions. What type of Christian are we working to create? Is the message we're sending through our sermons, outreach, our methods and practices--is it a message that creates cultural, congregational, or convictional Christians? 

Another thing this information points out, if it is reliable (which I believe it is for the most part, just from congregational experience), is this: convictional Christians are the minority. 

There was a time in the not too distant past (remembered by a good number of congregation members still present among us today) when congregations were full to the seams on Sundays. Confirmation classes were large (just peruse the confirmation class photos many Lutheran churches have in the narthex). Now it's not the case for many churches.

Here's my thought with regard to the declining numbers many Lutheran (and other mainline) congregations are experiencing. For some time the church has succeeded very well at making congregational Christians. Now that it's no longer socially expected to attend the meeting every Sunday, or even be part of the club, congregational Christians are becoming cultural Christians, or even "nones."

These categories also re-frame the Christian map--in a potentially good way. In a time when many denominational churches are struggling and concerned with the future, this way of looking at things should lead us to worry less about differences between Lutherans (and types of Lutherans), Methodists, Baptists, etc., and to be concerned with how our traditions can be ways for people to learn the gospel and to become convictional Christians.

For churches or denominations who are not experiencing the decline in numbers, you're not off the hook. Not at all. Even though numbers might be good, you are no less at risk of creating congregational or cultural Christians. In some cases large churches just as prone to creating cultural Christians, content with their lives but unchallenged by the gospel.

For all churches, these categories remind us that we've got people in a wide variety of locations on the Christian map. We can't assume everyone is in the same place in a small Lutheran Church. We can't even assume that members of a certain age group are of the same cloth; some might be convictional, while others congregational.

Most importantly, Stetzer's categories help redirect our attention to the real job of the church: making disciples of Jesus. Following in the Lutheran or Presbyterian or Methodist tradition is fine, but we're not called to make Lutherans. And we're not called to make Republican or Democratic-minded citizens who believe Jesus is real. Nor are we called to get the people in our churches on board with our particular congregation's traditions and ways (that just will make more congregational Christians).

We want convictional Christians whose lives revolve around the gospel of Jesus Christ.

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In ministry, it is good to always take stock of which type of Christian the attitudes, methods, and overall environment of our churches and ministries create. We don't want to just hope what we do fosters convictional Christians by accident.

Take time to reflect upon, and encourage leaders in your church to reflect upon, how your church and  ministry is creating an environment where convictional Christians develop. Maybe ask those in your congregation if they're being developed into convictional Christians, congregational Christians, or cultural Christians.