A missionary mindset at home

John S. Dickerson is a pastor, author, and former journalist. In this excerpt from The Great Evangelical Recession: 6 Factors That Will Crash the American Church … and How to Prepare (Baker Books, 2013) he shows how evangelicals sometimes emphasize changing behavior instead of focusing on the need to change relationships to Christ. He uses evangelical-homosexual interaction as a case study, noting how we sinners cannot change with our own power, so it’s not surprising that non-believers scoff at demands to change in ways they cannot, without Christ. —Marvin Olasky

“Live such good lives among the pagans that, though they accuse you of doing wrong, they may see your good deeds and glorify God. … For it is God’s will that by doing good you should silence the ignorant talk of foolish men.” 1 Peter 2:12, 15 (emphasis mine)

As the U.S. marches into the 21st Century, we evangelicals find ourselves surrounded by various tribes of Americans. Though the majority of these tribes speak English, many of them are radically foreign to us in their beliefs, assumptions, values, morality and use of language. Increasingly, these tribes hate and antagonize us.

When we send missionaries to foreign tribes in Africa or New Guinea, we don’t expect those tribes immediately to embrace evangelical values. We understand that the missionary must first demonstrate love, show God’s good-ness, build relationships, learn the language and invest in individuals and tribal leaders. We expect the missionary will be misunderstood and likely hated or suspected.

Successful 21st Century Evangelicals will learn to take the same Biblical approach to the foreign tribes now growing in the U.S. For too long we have expected U.S. non-believers to behave and believe like Christians. When they have acted like pagans, we have at times attacked them for being precisely who they are apart from Christ. This has brought us into distracting conflict with a number of U.S. tribes, including the broad tribe of Americans who self-identify as LGBTQ.

Here are six practical steps for demonstrating God’s GOOD-ness among and to the souls God loves in foreign U.S. tribes.

1. Take God’s GOOD-ness directly to the foreign tribes in your life and community. Don’t wait for them to come to you.

God didn’t wait for us to make our way to Him. He sought us, in the person of Jesus Christ (Luke 15). If we love any tribe in the vicinity where God plants us, we will go to them, as Christ came to us.

We do well to first examine our own hearts for pride and sin, before reaching out. We should beware of our own selfish tendency to react to, run from or be hateful towards tribes that make us feel threatened or uncomfortable.

The reality is that you will directly bump into the LGBTQ tribe in your personal life—even if you live in an evangelical suburb on the buckle of the Bible Belt. Determine beforehand that when you encounter this tribe, you will not be shocked or defensive. You will not react. You will treat a soul from this tribe just as positively as a soul from any other tribe. Determine beforehand to thank God for an opportunity to directly show Christ and His GOOD-ness to another people group.

As you interact with folks from foreign 21st Century U.S. tribes, acknowledge that many evangelicals have responded from hate and fear toward these tribes. We have, in many cases, treated the souls in our mission field as if they are the spiritual enemy—rather than hostages we are called to liberate from the enemy.

2. Refuse to classify any one foreign tribe as some worse class of sinners. This is unbiblical and showcases poor theology.

Perhaps one of the most embarrassing gaffes of otherwise studied evangelicals today—is this false hierarchy of sins. Due to a misunderstanding of Romans 1, some otherwise knowledgeable evangelicals have said or implied things as ridiculous as “Homosexuals are more sinful than other people.”

Let’s see what Jesus said. In His interactions we do not see a hierarchy of sins. Jesus spoke of people in only two groups: the lost and the found; the dark and the light; the sick and the healthy; and so forth. In these and so many other pairs, Jesus repeatedly clarifies that every person falls into one of just two categories: separated from God by sin, or connected to God by redemption.

It was the religious hypocrites—not Jesus—who created hierarchies of sins: tax collector, prostitute and so forth. The Pharisees defined people by what they did. Jesus defined people by Who they knew. God defines, not by what people do, but by Who they are related to: Children of God or of Satan; friends of God or enemies of Him; and so forth.

In Jesus’ view, all who are not yet reconciled to God fall into the same category—regardless of human labels. It was the Pharisees and religious hypocrites who categorized some sins as worse than others. Conveniently, this enabled them to place their own vices lowest on the list of offenses. And today, it is still the religious hypocrites among us who do the same. We act as if pride, jealousy, greed and bitterness are less egregious sins—because they are our sins. The most egregious sins in our religious system are, conveniently, the ones that we have been less exposed or predisposed to.

In so doing we elevate our own earned righteousness, and we denigrate the unearned grace of God given to a population where “all have sinned.” In God’s view all “fall short of the glory of God” (Romans 3:23). This equally includes the celibate, the moral priest and the megachurch pastor, just as much as the people of any tribe.

Scripture never speaks of any one sin separating us from God less than other sins. All sin separates us from God. We are either washed by the blood of the Lamb, or we are not. But the point is that, according to Ezekiel, being “arrogant, overfed and unconcerned” were the sins of Sodom.

In spiritual reality, “all our righteous acts are like filthy rags” (Isaiah 64:6). That includes my righteous behavior and yours. None of us is justified because our particular vices are on the less-sinful list. We are only justified by the sacrifice of Christ at Calvary.

Therefore, we must determine beforehand that—as we interact with various tribes in the U.S.—we will never treat any person from any tribe as somehow worse than ourselves or others.

No matter which tribe a soul hails from, if we expect an unbeliever to have victory over sin in their own strength, then our expectations are out of line with Scripture. Such expectations dishonor Christ’s blood shed at Calvary. To assume that non-believers can overcome sin—apart from Christ—is to imply that Christ is not necessary to overcome sin. And if that’s the case, then the Gospel is foolishness.

3. As with any tribe, don’t focus on changing behavior. Focus on changing relationship to God through Christ.

To borrow from an old cliché, the horse must come before the cart. We evangelicals get this with alcoholism, pornography, heterosexual sex addiction and so many other “vices.” But when it comes to homosexuality, many evangelicals swap the cart and the horse—expecting that tribe of unbelievers to behave righteously without the power of the cross or the Holy Spirit.

Nowhere in the New Testament do we see God commanding a change of behavior apart from Christ, the Holy Spirit, or repentance. Even in the Old Testament, Jonah pleaded with Nineveh to repent—that is, to change their heart relationship to God. Only after repentance can behavior change.

Prior to repentance and reconciliation through Jesus Christ, it is impossible for a non-believer to overcome sin—or to consistently change their spiritual behavior, in their own power. Is it any wonder that non-believers are exasperated by evangelicals constantly demanding they change something that they are, apart from Christ, unable to change?

When someone is addicted to alcohol, pornography, marijuana or illicit heterosexual sex, we tell them (if we are Scripturally sound), that they need Christ’s power to overcome that lifestyle. When someone from those same tribes comes to Christ, we expect them to be drawn to their former way of life. We expect that learning to walk with Christ will include stumbles, falls and retreats into those old entrenched patterns.

Again, we must double-check ourselves to make sure we are not raising a hypocritical double-standard that classifies the struggle with the “old man” as okay for some vices, but not for others—depending on which human category their struggle falls into.

4. Don’t be surprised when you are hated and misunderstood. You will be.

As you interact with people from a foreign tribe, you will be misunderstood. No matter how high or pure your motives, you’ll be mistaken for a bigot and a fraud. Jesus was.

Proactively love members of the LGBTQ tribe, and you will be misunderstood. You will try to explain God’s love for individuals, and the person will hear it as hate or judgment. In some cases, you can say 1,000 times that you don’t see the person as less than anyone else, that you don’t categorize them differently, that you love them and you believe Christ loves them as extravagantly as anyone else. But, often times, that message gets muddled, contorted and misconstrued. Sometimes, we are misunderstood because we don’t take the time to learn the tribe, their language and values. Other times, we will never be properly understood—just like Christ and the Apostles.

As you or your ministry proactively demonstrate Christ’s love and GOOD-ness to the foreign tribes in your city or community, you will be mistaken as hostile and bigoted. Some of these responses will be aggressive and unreasonably hateful. Don’t be surprised.

As the culture and its various tribes veer further away from anything remotely Christian, the chasm of assumptions, convictions and deeply held beliefs will grow wider and wider. As this chasm grows, you will be misunderstood, even when you try your hardest to show Christ’s love.

Jesus cautioned, “If the world hates you, keep in mind that it hated me first. … If they persecuted me, they will persecute you also” (John 15:18-20). The Apostle Paul added “everyone who wants to live a godly life in Christ Jesus will be persecuted” (2 Timothy 3:12).

5. When you are hated or misunderstood, don’t defend yourself or other evangelicals. Instead, let your quiet GOOD actions eclipse any accusations.

Here’s where we almost always go wrong. Whether it’s a national TV show or a conversation at work, we are quick to defend ourselves. When we’re misunderstood, attacked or accused, we jump—often with good motives—to explain our motives or to defend the motives of other believers.

We don’t see Christ or the Apostles doing this very often. And they didn’t need to, because their actions spoke louder than any words. If we will actively model God’s GOOD-ness in personal and direct relationships, if we will apply God’s unconditional love to every tribe in our own sphere, then we won’t need to defend ourselves, even when we’re misunderstood. Time and again, we see this modeled by Christ and the Apostles.

It takes a lot of discipline and self-control, but we have to refrain from defending ourselves verbally. We refuse to defend ourselves verbally because Christ and the Apostles behaved this way. We refuse to defend ourselves verbally for a practical reason: It backfires, nearly every time. On national stages and in private conversations, when evangelicals attempt to defend their position on homosexuality, they almost always dig themselves deeper and deeper. The emotions get heated on both sides, and the blunders multiply.

Successful 21st Century Evangelicals will put less stock in words and more stock in actions—proving that we are undeniably GOOD to the individual homosexuals around us, no matter what anyone might say about us. When you find yourself tempted to speak up and defend yourself or others, transfer all that energy into undeniably GOOD actions towards the homosexuals who are closest to you in your circles of relationship. As Peter and Paul both write time and again, we live in a hostile culture “quietly” with “gentleness” and “respect” and undeniable “GOOD”-ness—not drawing attention to ourselves, not furthering an agenda, but serving selflessly, as Christ served.

Everywhere the Apostles went, we see them doing the GOOD deeds of healing, feeding widows, casting out demons, providing for the poor, and preaching the gospel of Christ. Despite these GOOD deeds, they were routinely attacked, beaten, threatened and in some cases murdered. Consistently, they did not aggressively defend themselves. They fearlessly proclaimed the GOOD NEWS, while doing GOOD deeds, all the while entrusting their safety into God’s hands (see Acts 18-20 in particular).

Loving “sinners” from the tribes in the U.S. will attract hate and accusations—not only from those tribes but also from the religiously proud. Jesus life demonstrates this. He was rejected and abused—not only by the “sinners” he came to rescue, but also by the religious hypocrites who slandered him for His extravagant love towards those “sinners.”

Jesus didn’t defend Himself to the accusers on either side. Rather, He lived out love in undeniable, self-sacrificial actions. His humility showed in his lack of concern to justify or explain Himself to critics. He was, after all, not after their approval, but after the Father’s. And the Father had sent Him specifically to seek out the lost and show love to “sinners” (Luke 15, Mark 2:13-17, John 3:17) He knew His motives. The more our motives align with His, the less we’ll feel the pull to defend ourselves with words.

In this explosive issue we have an opportunity to be like Christ—the Suffering Servant—in remarkable ways.

6. Keep on demonstrating God’s GOOD-ness and unconditional love—to the non-Christians closest to you.

The New Testament churches seemed less concerned with controlling national movements—and more concerned with the individual souls who God, in His providence, placed in their lives.

Acknowledging that people function in groups or tribes is helpful to a point. At another point, we have to acknowledge that every individual has their own individual belief system, wounds, concerns and beliefs—especially in the 21st Century.

Few of us will be called as missionaries to the nationwide LGBTQ tribe. But every single one of us is already called as a missionary to the individuals God has placed in our own sphere of relationships.

No matter how you are misunderstood or attacked by any tribe in the U.S., simply continue living as Christ lived—taking God’s GOOD-ness directly to the people He loves. When you need encouragement, read the book of 2 Peter. Perhaps more than any other New Testament book, it helps us embrace our true position in the culture—by God’s standard.

In the end, we live daily with the hope that God will use our GOOD-ness “among the pagans” to glorify His name. We can live with the certainty that we will indeed find rest from hate and attack in the Kingdom that Christ will bring to completion. We need not seek our own personal comfort in this world. Christ is preparing it for us in His Kingdom.

And so, we personally and practically demonstrate God’s GOOD-ness in undeniable and tangible ways, to the Americans God places in our own lives—no matter which tribe they identify with.

From The Great Evangelical Recession by John S. Dickerson, published by Baker Books, a division of Baker Publishing Group. ©2013. Used by permission.