Now consider the
fact that 76% of Americans claim to be Christian, making the United States one
of the highest per-capita Christian nations in the world. A nation full of
Christians in a deteriorating society? If this indeed be the case then WHERE ARE THE CHRISTIANS? To solve this
conundrum author Eric Shuster gives us a book that bears this question as its
title with the promise of answers and unique journey for readers.
Where are the Christians? uses the classic
format of who, what, where and how to explore Christianity and the dynamics
that unite and divide the religion into the unrealized potential it suffers
from today (thus the subtitle of the book—the
Unrealized Potential of a Divided Religion). The book enlightens readers as
to who the Christians are from a
historical perspective; what a
Christian is from a spiritual perspective; where
the Christians are from a behavioral perspective; and how Christianity can be strengthened and more united from a
societal perspective. Where are the
Christians? examines hundreds of Biblical and scholarly sources, analyzing
data from a multitude of studies leading to unique perspectives and solutions
to the challenges facing Christianity in the modern era.
Where are the Christians? contains 17
chapters arranged into four sections:
·
SECTION
1: WHO
ARE THE CHRISTIANS?—a history: 4 chapters providing a concise history of
Christianity spread across four distinct periods: Evangelization and Formation, Legitimacy and
Codification, Corruption and Division, and Reform and Denominational
Proliferation.
·
SECTION
2: WHAT
IS A CHRISTIAN?—a definition: 4 chapters examining the definition of a
Christian from the perspectives of the world, the Bible, landmark religious
studies, and what Shuster refers to as Modern Day Pharisees.
·
SECTION
3: WHERE
ARE THE CHRISTIANS?—a categorization: 5 chapters profiling the five types of
modern Christians including a unique and enlightening exercise to help readers
understand what type of Christian they are among the five.
·
SECTION
4 – HOW IS CHRISTIANITY TO UNITE?—a vision: 4 chapters describing the ways Christians in
America can unite into a force for good by focusing on individuals, families,
churches and communities.
For the next 4
weeks author Eric Shuster will take us on a tour through each of the four
sections of Where are the Christians?
providing a glimpse of what the book is all about—the questions it will answer
in each chapter, the insights it will provide, and the vision it lays out in
bringing together a deeply divided religion into realizing its true potential
for America. This is one tour you won’t want to miss!
Albert Schweitzer
once said "One truth stands firm. All that happens in world history rests
on something spiritual. If the spiritual is strong, it creates world history.
If it is weak, it suffers world history.” Section one of Where are the Christians? takes on the daunting task of providing a
concise and compelling history of Christianity to give readers a background of
where it all began as a foundation moving forward. To help the reader navigate
an otherwise complicated history Shuster divides the 2000 year period into four
segments, one for each of the four chapters in section 1.
Chapter 1: They Were Evangelizers and Builders (up to AD
299)
While some might
think Christianity began the day Christ was born, Christianity was long
prophesied in the Old Testament. The over two centuries that followed during
the Evangelization and Formation Period
were defined by seven major categories of events: persecution of the church, martyrdom of its
early leaders, the spreading of the gospel outside of Palestine, the conversion
of Paul, the formation of the church, early heresies, and the writing of the
New Testament.
Chapter 2: They were Legitimized and Codified (AD
300-999)
The Legitimacy and Codification Period from
AD 300 to 999 was a time for Christianity to continue its global proliferation,
while codifying its doctrines and legitimizing its place in religion and
politics. This period of Christianity was defined by seven categories of
events: the continuation of persecution
and evangelization, increased heresies, doctrinal codification, hierarchy and
politics, validation, and the seeds of corruption.
Chapter 3: They were Corrupted and Divided (1000-1499)
As the Christian
Church neared the millennial landmark it began to be faced with significant
issues of leadership that would rupture its unity. Although Christianity was
still spreading throughout the world, the organization of the Church would be
challenged by its integration with the political structure and an increasingly
corrupt leadership. The Corruption and Division period
(1000-1499) is marked by four categories of events including doctrinal
evolution, church and state integration, corruption and division.
Chapter 4: They were Reformed and Scattered (1500 to the
Present)
The final segment of
Christian history covers the year1500 to the present and is called the Reform and Denominational Proliferation
Period. During this period individuals came forward to challenge the
established Christian Church to reform itself from corruption. This period is
marked by five major activities including the carryover of corruption, the
emergence of refiners, reformers and restorers, Christian movements and
influencers, the propagation of published scripture and the proliferation of
denominations.
Modern-day
Christians are influenced by the past and are products of their own history. It
is a history that produced the best and worst of humanity over a 2,000 year
period. Our faith walk today is affected by and reflects these four periods of
Christian history. Having a better understanding of where we came from as a
Christian people we are now ready for the next leg of our journey to answers the
question: “What is a Christian?”
Chapter 5: It’s
Confusing According to the World
The first stop is
to research the definitions of a Christian offered by respected secular
publications, religious organizations, America’s ten largest Christian Churches
and the internet at large. The result is a convoluted set of definitions with
little commonality and plenty of confusion.
Chapter 6: It’s
Clear According to the Bible
The title of the chapter
suggests one need only proceed to Acts 11:26, Acts 26:28, or 1 Peter. 4:16 (the
three places in the New Testament where the word “Christian” appears) and read
a sentence that begins with “a Christian is…” Unfortunately it is not that
easy. Jesus taught that we must “search the scriptures” (John 5:39). After
finding little satisfaction in the previous chapter’s effort Shuster searches
the Bible and uniquely segments the words attributed directly to Jesus Christ
in the New Testament and those attributed to the New Testament authors starting
in Acts. The effort leads to a clear two-part definition of a Believing Christian and a Practicing Christian.
Chapter 7: It’s
Revealing According to the Data
The definition of a
Christian developed in chapter 6 is put to the test in Chapter 7 using data
from a number of landmark quantitative studies conducted in the United States
from 2000 to 2012. Analysis from the studies reveals how the major Christian
denominations in the United States today are performing in inspiring their
members to be Believing and Practicing Christians. The results are nothing
short of astounding.
Chapter 8: It’s
Complicated According to the Critics
Complicating
matters in defining a Christian is the existence of Modern-day Pharisees—the “critics” among the Christian community.
Jesus Christ during his public ministry was often confronted by the Pharisees
who challenged his authority and spiritual legitimacy. The Pharisees viewed themselves
as defenders of the Mosaic Law and the oral Torah just as Modern-day Pharisees
view themselves as defenders of “true Biblical doctrine” as they interpret it.
A review of America’s Founding Fathers and other historical figures helps
demonstrate the dangers of reckless spiritual profiling.
After completing
the first two sections of the book readers are armed with a knowledge of
Christian history (the “who”) and a comprehensive understanding of the profile
of a Christian (the “what”) preparing them for the next leg of the journey to
answer the question “where are the Christians?” While readers may have some
inkling as to the answer, nothing could prepare them for what is offered by the
author in Section 3.
The five chapters
of Section 3 answer the question of “where are the Christians?” by revealing
the five major types of Christians in America today: Departing, Adequate, Hesitant, Laboring and
Latent—and how the reader can complete an exercise to identify themselves among
these five.
Chapter 9:
They’re leaving—Losing Their Belief as Departing Christians
The first Christian
type to be explored is the Departing
Christian. These are Christians who are literally or psychologically losing
their faith. These are Christians that don’t believe as they once did (or
perhaps never did), who are living watered down doctrines of Christianity, and
losing their testimony of the Savior through inactivity and prolonged sin
without repentance. Simply put, these are Christians who have one foot in and
one foot out.
Chapter 10:
They’re Hiding—Not Practicing Their Faith as Adequate Christians
The second Christian
type identified is the Adequate Christian.
These are Christians that are not leaving but rather “in hiding,” concealing
themselves in the shadows unseen, ducking any and all spiritual responsibility
in a desire to be left alone.
Chapter 11:
They’re Vacillating—Living Under Their Potential as Hesitant Christians
The third Christian
type profiled is the Hesitant Christian.
These are Christians who are not departing or hiding, but are instead dithering
and vacillating with great faith waiting to be cut loose! These Christians have
enormous potential but are sitting on the sidelines indecisive about entering
the game of true discipleship.
Chapter 12:
They’re Endeavoring—Living Discipleship in Christ as Laboring Christians
The forth major
Christian type is the Laboring Christian.
In the ideal Christian world the disciples of Christ continually embrace all of
the values discussed in chapter 6 and live lives exemplary of the Savior; such
is the journey of the Laboring Christian. The fifth Christian type is extremely
rare as one exercising abundant works, but with little faith to support those
works—this is the Latent Christian
which is only briefly discussed.
Chapter 13: What
Kind of Christian are You? Complete the Exercise
Christians in
America are spread out among those who are departing, feeling adequate,
hesitating, and laboring (understanding there are very few who are latent).
These Christians—meaning all Christians—move along a continuum based upon the
exercising of faith unto works in an often erratic and volatile way. The book
offers an exercise to help the reader identify their Christian type on the day
the exercise is completed. Come back a year later and perhaps that type has
shifted up or down the Christian Continuum.
The question of
“are you a Christian?” now becomes irrelevant and is replaced by “what kind of
Christian are you?”The Christian community can eliminate the judgmental spirit
of deciding who is a Christian and who is not by moving to a more useful and
productive dialogue of where believers are along the Christian Continuum. With
readers understanding where the Christians are it is finally time to chart a
course to greater unity among these hundreds of millions of people, the vision
of Section 4.
Christianity has
been in a state of increasing division since its inception. The four chapters
of Section 4 answer the question posed by examining the unification process
from the smallest to the largest units of Christianity including the
individual, family, church and community. This is a concept Shuster calls the
Model of Christian Unity. As each unit is strengthened spiritually the impact
on society is not merely cumulative, but rather exponential as a result of
spiritual synergy.
Chapter 14:
Strengthen the Individual
The first and most
basic unit in the kingdom of God is the individual.
The Savior said “I am the vine, ye are the branches,” and as branches
nourished from the same vine we are to “bringeth forth much fruit: for without
me [Jesus Christ] ye can do nothing” (John 15:5). Jesus told Peter “…when thou
art converted, strengthen thy brethren.” Because conversion is a continual
process those who are more mature in their conversion to the gospel of Jesus
Christ (along the Christian Continuum) should lift up and help those who are
not as far along.
Chapter 15:
Strengthen the Family
The second rung in
the Model of Christian Unity is the family.
Family reaches beyond genetics or a physical home. The family is under constant
attack from the adversary seeking to destroy is goodness and influence in a
multitude of ways leading to disastrous results. Whatever the configuration,
strengthening the family is of critical importance in the spiritual unification
process on the road to Christian Unity.
Chapter 16:
Strengthen the Church
The third rung of
the Model of Christian Unity is the church.
Strong individuals and strong families should make for a strong church;
however, that is not always the case. Bringing together two or more strong
families full of righteous individuals does not always guarantee church
unification where the whole is greater than the sum of its parts. It is a
challenge to achieve spiritual synergy. Strengthening the church is an
important aspect on the journey to unifying disparate Christians toward a
stronger society.
Chapter 17:
Strengthen the Community
The fourth and
final rung in the Model of Christian Unity is the community. The ideal scenario is for a community to be made up of
strong individuals, families and churches. There is a phrase “think global, act
local,” a phrase which has great applicability to the concept of the church
community. There are hundreds of community building efforts among diverse
Christian congregations operating and changing lives of individuals, families,
churches and communities around the United States.
Unifying
Christianity is not just a utopian pipe dream. The Model of Christian Unity is
already hard at work.
Our 5 week journey
has briefly summarized who the
Christians are from a historical perspective; what a Christian is from a spiritual perspective; where the Christians are from a
behavioral perspective; and how
Christianity can be strengthened and more united from a societal perspective.
Thank you for joining us on this journey.
Go to www.findyourchristianity.com to
watch the book trailer, find out what type of Christian you are, and to order
the book.
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