Here's a Challenge: Sharing Jesus With 'Christians'

A few months ago I moved from an area of the country where Christians were in the definite minority to a place where "Christians" are in the definite majority. The reason I write "Christians," with quotation marks, is that I'm back in the Bible Belt, a place where it's sometimes difficult to tell which people really have Christ in their hearts and which are simply going to church.

The spiritual difference in the place where we used to live and where we live now is pretty profound. In many ways it's really great. We can talk about going to church, and no one looks at us like we're weird. We can talk a little more openly about our beliefs, and people are fine with it. It just feels different here. This is an area where more people are praying and believing. It's less oppressive because there are more Christians around.

However, there are also more "Christians" around.

In a culture where people have been raised in the church, it's much harder to tell the true believers from those who are simply talking the talk. Many of these people know the right answers, they know the right phrases, and they're even trying to be good people; but if you really get to know them, you know that they don't have Jesus present in their lives (check out this Albert Mohler post to get a better idea of what I'm getting at theologically).

This creates several dilemmas. It can make evangelism much more difficult. How do you share the gospel with someone who seems to lack the evidence of Jesus in his or her life yet already identifies himself or herself as a Christian? It's a tricky process.

In addition, in my area of the country every person has grown up around "Christians." That means even those who don't identify themselves as believers have had a lot of experiences with people who go to church, and often the experiences have not been good ones. Trying to share the joy of Christ and the transformation that happens in your life with someone who was been burned or hurt by "Christians" (or real Christians; we're not perfect) is much more challenging than sharing that with someone who hasn't had any experiences with believers.

I was talking with a friend a week ago about my faith, and he brought up the fact that in his small community he knew so many bad things "church people" had done. It's definitely a tall barrier to get over, and I'm praying that God will do it.

How about you? Do you live in an area with lots of "Christians"? What has helped you deal with them? Do you live in an area where Christianity is a significant minority? How do you handle being singled out?