doing what we want or doing what we need to do for ourselves

from Eugene Peterson's book Working the Angles

"We not only have bodies, we are bodies, so none of us is capable of untainted objectivity regarding our own bodies. All of us...want coddling, not healing. We prefer comfort to wholeness. And we can deceive ourselves about ourselves endlessly."

Pew survey and American religion

The Pew Forum on Religion and Public Life has released a survey of the American religious scene. It has shocked some. It is what I have been reading about and perceiving for the last decade. Basic summary:

Almost half of Americans have moved to a different religious denomination from that in which they were raised, and 28 percent have switched to a different major tradition or to no religion (i.e., from Roman Catholic to Protestant, Jewish to unaffiliated). The number of "unaffiliated" Americans has doubled, to 16 percent.

What this will do is spur some on to "get our piece" of those numbers even if they are dwindling. I figure if we stay focused on the mission of Jesus Christ, the numbers will be what they will be.

I think it helps to know the lay of the land, but the one question we need to be able to answer is for anyone (atheist, agnostic, "mainline" or "evangelical" or "Catholic" Christian or Unaffiliated or whatever), "what is it of my experience of Jesus Christ the world around me needs to know NOW!"

My concern is that we allow the polls and the media to define the categories of the mission field. They may provide insight for us, but if we accept as definitive their categories, I think that will cause us to focus more on "who we can get" than on "to whom do we share the story."