Is the church adapting to our new world, our modern culture?  Is it possibly shaping this culture?  Has the church had a hand in the lessening of its power, or is its influence stronger now than it ever has been in the past?  Whether or not we like it, religion, including Christianity, is all around us.  To embrace the opinions and thoughts of people different from those of many students at MIT, we need to open our eyes to what is happening in the world of the church.
            My uncle is a pastor in Denver.  Nice city, nice weather, lower crime than other U.S. cities, and pretty environmentally friendly.  Sounds like a nice place to live and work to me. In fact, it sounds perfect.  Maybe a city like Denver doesn’t face the same social ills that have befallen other urban areas in the nation.  Do they have to face poverty like other cities?  Are there bad areas in Denver?  Sure there are, and they’re the heart of my uncle’s ministry.  Right there in the slums.  Right in the area where most Americans would tell a visitor to the city, “Don’t go in that area after dark.”  Sounds like a perfect place to start a new church if you were a pastor, huh?  Well, for some it is now their perfect place; their home, their escape, their comfort. 
            My Uncle Michael told me, in a personal interview, that he sat at church many times as an assistant pastor and wondered what he was doing.  Wondered who he was helping.  He began to notice an interesting group of individuals that were at church relatively often, but had the look on their face that they didn’t really want to be there.  They were bored to death.  The service started too early Sunday morning.  There were too many old people in the church and not enough youth.  Uncle Mike took this as a challenge.  What could possibly be done to engage these kids?  They were the punk types: spiked hair, black clothing, spiky necklaces, the whole get-up.  They lived in a different world from that of their parents and their classmates.  As Mike put it, “These kids, they are the left out and the right–brained”, meaning that they were the creative types that felt detached from the world of tradition that their parents lived in.  Going to a structured Pentecostal church was a huge cultural leap to make.  It’s just not the way their brains worked.  After jumping many hurdles along the way, Uncle Michael created his own church, appropriately named “Scum of the Earth”.  He received his inspiration from the following Bible verse:

To this very hour we go hungry and thirsty, we are in rags, we are brutally treated, we are homeless. We work hard with our own hands. When we are cursed, we bless; when we are persecuted, we endure it; when we are slandered, we answer kindly. Up to this moment we have become the scum of the earth, the refuse of the world (1 Corinthians 4:11-13).

            Although I would argue that people of many different backgrounds could claim this verse as their own, Mike’s creation of a church for those “left out and right – brained” represented the thoughts of the new congregation.  They knew they were on the fringes of society, that they had problems, and that they were many times not trusted due to their appearance.  But at “Scum of the Earth” they found a home, a place where they were told that it is okay to need God, and that God is accessible to everyone.  The cultural relevance of this attitude caused the congregation to balloon in size, bringing in the homeless, the poor, the drugged-out, the drunkards, and other self-declared “scum”.  New visitors to the church, after living an unfulfilling life of secularism, enjoy hearing that God is their friend.  That Jesus was right here with them, that he is pretty much a regular Joe with similar problems to those of the rest of us.  This view is popular currently not only within this style of church, but within churches across the nation.
            Welcome to the mega-church.  Imagine a service with 25,000 people all praising and worshipping together in their city’s football stadium.  These services of inspiration, of victory, of uplifting attitudes have enraptured the nation.  The numbers of mega-churches have grown in the U.S. to 740, as quoted by the Christian Science Monitor in “Mega-progress at a Megachurch”.  Their message, in a way, is very similar to the message of my uncle’s church, that God is your amigo and is just a good ol’ guy.  And this message seems to work.  Their congregations grow in size, and they continue to pull hundreds of newcomers into the fold every month.  They are run like a business, using advertisements and marketing to promote themselves.  Mega-churches are changing not only the face of worship, but also the country as a whole, due to their enormous size and growth within the nation.  Their ability to bring together different racial and economic groups is part of their success.  Political comments are not made, prejudices are not spoken, and controversial subjects are not the focus.  People come to church to hear words of encouragement, to be reminded that they are not alone, and to be with a great many other people praising the Lord Jesus.  It is a reminder that God is imminent.  The focus is love, of one another and of God.
            And how about the way some rappers flash their bling-blingin’ crosses in their music videos?  In a way, it’s cool to be Christian, and many rappers are proud to show this to the world.  Look at this song, “All Around the World”, from Souljahz:

“We’re here to let you know no matter where you go 
The language of love is spoken all around the world.
Open up your eyes, let God change your mind
As everybody unites all around the world.
C'mon and dance with me move ya hands with me
Erase the colors of hate all around the world
Don't let the snake get ya just let the world hit ya
And take the sword with ya all around the world
We could hold hands and pray put a smile on your face.
'Cause you don't never know you could be gone today
You could be gone today.”

            Why is Christianity “popular” among many some rappers?  Perhaps because many of them grew up in poorer living conditions than the average white American, and therefore “needed” Jesus more.  Or perhaps because Christianity in the middle-aged black community is still strong.  I can’t say for sure, but one thing is certain: Christian rappers are not ashamed.  They are not afraid.  They are not so quickly convinced that the church is such a bad thing.  And they are willing to show everyone on the planet that what they believe keeps them going, day in and day out.
            Last year I lived in Tanzania and did volunteer work with the Evangelical Lutheran Church of Tanzania (ELCT).  I traveled to remote villages and helped build houses, build churches, dig wells, and mostly just spend time with the people of the village in which I was located.  Traveling with a missionary pastor, I saw atrocious living conditions, yet I have never seen attendance at a church service like what I saw every day in Tanzania.  There was singing, dancing, and just plain excitement to hear the Word of God.  Were these people that much “better” Christians than those in developed countries?  Tough question, because many times there is a different reason for going to church in that country.  In my opinion, religion has such a strong pull in Africa because the people need it more.  Religion is a symbol of hope, a promise that there is a better place and that things can get better than their current conditions.  The church brings the villages together in a social network, a group of like-minded people that believe in the same things and want to live their lives the same way.
            Globally, as well as in the U.S., Christianity is going through massive changes.  While going through massive growth in many areas of the world, some areas are growing at a faster rate than others.  As my pastor says, “We are the frozen chosen” in North America.  Latin America and Africa continue to race ahead with Christianity, though.  The growth in these two regions is incredible.  The religion is beginning to do a better job at adjusting to differing cultures as well.  The fire and brimstone style of preaching is reaching its demise all over the world.  People don’t want to hear it, so if a church wants to attract new followers, it must speak the people’s language, literally and culturally.   This is an example of the church modifying its mode of communication to reach its intended audience.
            What I desire is people’s understanding of a belief that not only has the support of a large contingent of the population but also really shapes the kids and youths of our nation.  Should people be embarrassed to be Christian?  Should they feel ostracized when they declare that they are, in fact, Christian?  Should Christians attempt to indoctrinate every American child into their belief system?  The answer is no, all across the board.  People should be proud of their beliefs, no matter what religion, no matter what denomination.  They shouldn’t be treated any differently than another person who may be atheist, another who may be Muslim, another who may be Lutheran, while they themselves are Buddhist.  Their children should also be free to choose whatever religion they want.  But is this the case in America today?  It’s as close as you can get, in my opinion.  Some people may laugh when they realize that I am a Christian, but I feel overall that I am treated as an equal.  I may have to defend my beliefs time after time after time, but I have never feared for my life nor received any threats.  And what more can I ask for?  It is a blessing in and of itself to be able to worship as I please, and that my friends of other religions can do that as well.  There are many places in which that is not the case.  Afghanistan is an example that has been in the news.  A Christian man was originally sentenced to death because he declared he was not Muslim, according to the AfghanTimes.com on 30 March 2006. While this verdict was not carried out, the example clearly showed the lack of freedom even in a U.S.-- influenced country trying to achieve democracy.  Something we should really be thankful for is our ability to worship as we please. 
            I believe we all desire the respect from others that our opinions are valid and that our beliefs are legitimate.  I believe the Mission Statement of my uncle’s congregation, while being Christian, makes this human ideal very clear:

            OUR MISSION STATEMENT
Scum of the Earth Church (1 Corinthians 4:11-13)
We strive to be a church who:
seeks intimacy with God and honest relationships with others
cultivates creativity and uses everyone's gifts
asks questions while seeking Truth
recognizes our need for a Savior
passionately yet respectfully shares the saving love of Christ
demonstrates God's love in our community

            Are we seeing anything written here that could be controversial?  Or how about the verse from Jesus concerning the “holiest commandment”, “…first, love your Lord God with your whole heart, soul, and mind, and the second is like it: love your neighbor as yourself”.  Does this way of living our lives hurt us as Americans?  Why do some vocal fringe groups, religious and secular, desire to hate the man and the religion that follows him, when he preached only love and peace for all men and women and children?  Who preached equality, loyalty, and faith?  These are things most people strive for, things we all try to incorporate into our own lives.  Whether we are Christian or not, Jesus was an example to us all of how to live unselfishly, of how to treat others, and of how to forgive.  If that’s all we take from the man and his lessons, I think the world would be a better place.  And if this America truly listened to his teachings as a model alone, we could be the role model of the world spiritually and economically, because we would live our lives and work our jobs less for ourselves, but more for others.  These lessons are not just taught to us by Jesus, but by nearly every major religion on Earth.  Islam, Hinduism, Judaism, and Buddhism all have the same beliefs in how humans should treat each other.  These beliefs are reinforced time and again from every belief and faith.  If we fully embrace these teachings of acceptance and of love, we will all be better for it.

NOTE: