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Which of the challenges described in this lesson surprise you the most? Why? Are any of these challenges similar to those you face in your faith community? If so, which ones and in what ways?
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None of these challenges surprise me since I’ve been a Christian for quite some time. Things have not changed in 2000 years of Christianity we still have the same devil and we still have the same salvation and we still have the same grace and the same atonement. Circumstances still stay the same no matter how much time goes by.
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I live in Thailand where Christians are accepted, but the gospel is not, so it has many qualities of the favorable societies. I have heard it explained that Thais take pride in “taming the tiger with a silk scarf.” By welcoming the people without accepting the ideas, they have resisted Christianity just as they resisted colonialism and communism. Without the resistance, these “invading forces” dissipate into the culture without turning the heads of those who would otherwise hear the message. After many years of missionary efforts approximately only 1% of the population is Christian.
As an American, I also see these problems in America right now. The ease of being a Christian has made the people complacent and has diluted true Christianity. The culture has enough “Christian” influence that the message has lost its potency. Christians no longer stand out against the background of Christian-like culture, so people cannot see Christ. It reminds me of the Roman Empire in the early 4th century. Under Constantine when everyone was “Christian” we no longer were able to see the difference truly following Christ made.
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None of the challenges surprised me because I’ve been around long enough to observe that they indeed exist. Perhaps the persecution of churches in hostile societies and the complacency of churches in favorable societies sadden me more than they surprise me. The geographical distance isn’t so much of a challenge today, with the advance of transportation and the possibility of an online church.
In my faith community, where we do not experience persecution, I think that a large part of the church has settled into complacency. Whereas the Christian denominations in my country don’t fight anymore, you could sense a latent schism sometimes in their mission policies. Normally a church prefers to “send” a missionary directly without having to work with other denominations through an agency.
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I’m not entirely surprised by the challenges splitting the church. Issues of pride and ego are within the church as well as the other types of sins. In my faith community we seem to have a decent togetherness that doesn’t stop the majority from working together on important community issues.
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Nothing surprises me today about the challenges of the church. The one that seems to split faith communities is a doctrinal disagreement. What I see in my faith community is that when individuals get church hurt, that person just jumps to the next church. There will not be a perfect church. Individuals need to dig in grow personally in their faith in Jesus. Be both the eyes and hands of Jesus wherever he/she might go.