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By David Guretzki, executive vice-president and resident theologian of the EFC
After a recent speaking event, I chatted with a person dismayed by the loss of Trinity Western University’s Supreme Court case. I affirmed her dismay but also reminded her of signs that religious freedom is still being protected. For example, weeks earlier the same court, in the Wall case, protected a church in making a disciplinary decision.
But we aren’t surprised Canada is increasingly moving toward what many call a post-Christian society. Discouraging, yes, but it’s vital to discern that we are that much closer to the conditions that existed for the first-century church.
In the decades after Christ’s ascension, the Way as it was called (e.g., Acts 9:2, 19:9, 24:14, etc.) was strange sounding and sometimes threatening to the society in which it appeared. Christians in Canada are still getting used to the idea that we aren’t perceived as positively as once we were.
How should we live out our witness in this new context?
Some influential Christian thinkers advocate the Church disengaging from cultural, legal, political and social institutions. The Church should refocus on equipping Christians to teach our children, care for our elderly, sick and weak, while ministering to one another without reliance on the services of the State and broader culture.
Such goals are laudable, but disengagement might remove whatever salt and light remains. While there are deep ideological changes afoot, we mustn’t forget there is no place on earth that is beyond Jesus’ lordship. Jesus cares about and is present in courts, legislatures, health and social care systems, and schools and educational institutions.
Others advocate a more aggressive agenda where the Church storms the powers and seeks to win back lost territory. We must strategically place Christians in positions of influence in education, politics, law and medicine, they argue, if we are going to see a culture return to the ways of God.
These goals are laudable also, but aggressive maneuvering can mistakenly assume that societal changes are made through political and ideological power plays, rather than through the leading and strength of our Spirit-filled witness to Jesus.
What then should we do?
The early Church’s cultural strategy isn’t always easy to discern. That’s because the Church at its best is led by the Holy Spirit whose direction, like the wind, cannot always be predicted (John 3:8).
In some cases, being led by the Spirit meant appealing directly to the political powers (as Paul did in Acts 25:11) or engaging in the marketplace of ideas as one voice among many (as Paul did at Athens in Acts 17). And sometimes it meant enduring persecution, even to the point of death (Stephen in Acts 7).
The Church in Canada must be ready (first) to be led by the Spirit and then (second) to be prepared patiently, humbly, sacrificially and courageously to engage or withdraw as we discern the Spirit’s leading. A one-size fits all strategy doesn’t necessarily align with King Jesus’ sovereign ways.
This means the Church need not despair in these days when we are increasingly pushed to the margins. Rather, faithful Christians should take comfort that the Spirit of Jesus is at work even today, as in the first century, leading and guiding the Church in carrying out her mission – provided that we have ears to hear what the Spirit is saying. And then the courage to do it.
At the EFC it is our prayer that we would follow the strategy of being led by the Spirit. Sometimes we are called upon to speak before Parliament or the courts, and we pray that we will be faithful in doing so. Other times, we bring our denominational and organizational affiliates together to research, respond and facilitate ministry in Canada’s rapidly changing context. Whatever the case, will you pray with us that we all – you and we together – would use the resources God has stewarded to us, and that we would do it with faithfulness, courage and in the power of the Holy Spirit?
What you can do
- If you’re feeling discouraged right now, know you aren’t alone. Find someone to pray with for our country. We are strengthened when we kneel together.
- Keep up to date at www.TheEFC.ca on the issues the EFC, with your help, is engaged with.
- Dig into your neighbourhood life as a faithful witness. That is something we can all do always to keep the light of Christ shining in Canada.
Also in this issue: Renegotiating Faith
is now availalable - The report on Young Adult Transition Research that you have been hearing about for months now; Our free Palliative Care Toolkit is being used by Canadian churches; Updating you on Canada’s most immediate issues; Message from the president; Film screening opportunity for EFC affiliates; And more.