You might not care what I have to say. You might have looked at the title and laughed. But it’s important for you to read this. It might change the way you see American Christianity.

American Christianity is different from Christianity in the rest of the world. If you’re a Christian, new or old, you might know this. Christians in China and the Middle East and in Africa are killed for their faith. They meet in small rooms, hidden from the authorities. Most only have one or two Bibles to a group of twenty or thirty. If they meet in groups too large, people might get suspicious. Christians in American meet in large auditoriums. Everyone has their own Bible. Hundreds of people are free to meet together. You might have read about the underground churches, and how some of the people are imprisoned and tortured just because of their faith. If you compare it to people in America, if they’re tired or want to watch something on TV, they stay home from church. It’s not the lack of transportation, it’s the lack of actual faith. It’s one thing if you’re sick or you can’t get to church because you’re snowed in or there’s absolutely no way you can get there. But you can have your own little house church. You have a Bible, and you can pray.

It doesn’t matter whether your church is traditional or contemporary . If you look around you when you enter the sanctuary, you’ll see stage lights, instruments, cushioned pews or chairs and clean windows. Church has become a social event. It’s a checkmark on your calendar. We go to see and be seen. We listen to the sermon, sing a few songs, and leave. We decide to stop going to this church because we didn’t like the music, or we don’t go to that church because we don’t like the pastor. We don’t apply what we learned to our lives (if we learned anything at all). We go about our lives living like we want.

What would happen if America suddenly became a communist nation, and you are told to deny Jesus Christ and become a Muslim, or be executed. Would you refuse or agree? Would you give up everything to stay a Christian? Would you openly disobey the government and announce that you will never deny Jesus because he is your Lord and Savior? I think most people would say they would deny Jesus, but on the inside say, ‘I will still recognize Jesus’ just because they don’t want to die. I know I would rather be killed for my faith than deny Jesus.

I have several friends who just don’t get it. they show up on Wednesday nights for youth group ‘worship,’ but they don’t actually worship. They joke around during prayer or text during the lesson. They claim they’re Christians, but their actions say otherwise. I think a lot of American Christians take Christianity for granted. If you are a Christian, did you just say the prayer and walk down the aisle and now live your live the way you did before you became a Christian, or do you actually follow Jesus? Do you try to be a witness for your friends and family and strangers around you? Do your friends ask you, “What do you have that I don’t? Why are you so happy?”
I’m not going to apologize for stepping on any toes. If you find yourself hating this article because you are one of those who said the right words and have your ticket to Heaven, I really don’t care. I won’t feel any loss. I hope you change your views, though. It’s not hard to change. I did.