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This post is going to be a 'soapbox' post. It is partly fact, partly my opinion, and it may even come across as preach-y at a lot of points. However, I heard something on the radio that just stinkin' bothered me.

What I heard is this: on 104.9 (our local alternative station), the DJ mentioned a survey that was just released with this information: around 76% of Americans today would call themselves Christians, which is the lowest percentage in the past 20 years. 1% of Americans call themselves agnostics, and 1% call themselves atheists. I am still debating in my mind whether or not I find this to be a bad thing. After I heard the percentages and such, the DJ suggested people could call in and discuss what they thought of this information, and during the next couple songs that were played, I had an imaginary conversation with said DJ and told him exactly what I thought. After that, I seriously considered calling in and actually telling him everything I'd already said (to my imaginary audience, of course), but then talked myself out of it. I tend to stutter and repeat myself on the phone, and would probably have sounded like a fool, or at least that was my rationale for not picking up the phone. Then, I just got too absorbed in listening to what another caller had to say, and some of it broke my heart. A young lady called in and essentially said this (and if that girl ever ends up reading this post, I apologize in advance for paraphrasing her):

"Yeah, about that survey, I'm not totally convinced that it's accurate. I mean, most surveys aren't, and depending on who hosted it, it can tend to show the agenda of that host in those numbers. I'm pretty sure that there's probably less than 76% of the population that are Christians. I realize that number is still the lowest it's been in a while, but I don't think even that much are really Christians. Sure, there are a lot of people that would claim religious affiliation of some kind, but look at them. A lot of those people that claim that label are NOT Christians, and you can tell by how they act. All you have to do is just look around to see that."

Now, I'm sure this girl and I wouldn't see eye to eye on religious matters. I'm sure, just from the tone she was speaking in, that she is a part of America that does not call itself a Christian. However, I could not agree with her more. This social change that is coming about in America probably has a lot of factors, whether it's the media's perception, the financial recession, or the widespread opinion that Christians are hypocrites. But, the falling numbers are also a call for those who really believe and are committed to living as Jesus did to step things up a notch. It's a call to break out of complacency and preconceptions into showing the world what Christ really came to accomplish. It's a call for the church to come back to doing things the way the believers did them in Acts. And part of that is living the life, not out of fear that God will smite us if we don't, but because we are called to be set apart, to be ambassadors in this world that now more than ever needs to know the intense love and hope of Jesus.

One of my close friends is going through a complicated time in her life (with a strength I am envious of, might I add), and the man she was dating honestly didn't help in that situation. She's currently six months pregnant with his baby, and was very committed to trying to make their family work. I got to hear a lot of painful phone conversations she had to go through with him, all of them echoing the same theme. He had become disengaged, and treated his friends and his own comfort as if they were the most important things in his life. He would tell my friend that she and the baby meant the world to him, that they were the most important thing in his life, and that he loved them more than anything. Then, he would go out to the bar with his friends, and blow off any plans with her that he had previously made. Or, he would make other plans, and then make her wait for six or seven hours before he actually showed up to follow through. She would have talks with him, explaining that things needed to change, and that she wasn't being treated with the love and respect that he claimed to have for her. He wasn't treating her like his girlfriend, and if that kept up, he wouldn't have a girlfriend to worry about anymore. He would miss out on the chance for them to raise their child together. He would listen, sometimes silently, sometimes with arguments, and things would go back to the way they were. He didn't want to change, and she had enough love for him that she wanted to wait for him to see what he was doing was not ok. She wanted him to step up and be a father. But, finally, she let him know this, right before she decided she was done: you can't say you love something and not make it a priority. You can't say something is important and then treat it like it's nothing. It doesn't matter how many times you say something, your actions show what your heart really believes.

That last sentence is a very true statement, and not just for romantic relationships. It's a huge call-out to all those who wish to really follow Christ and show him to the world. It's a big responsibility, one that I know I'm not fulfilling in my own life. For me, it's a call to service, to go out and really help people find hope and acceptance. For everyone, it's a call to get our priorities straight. I have said on various occasions to a handful of people the same thing over and over: I have a hard time calling people Christians when I see them driving their overpriced car (or personal helicopter, in some cases), when I see them acting like they are better than the other people around them, when I know they are claiming the name of a man that ate dinner on a regular basis with hookers and thieves, and that preached that you should not store up your treasures on earth. I'm sure according to the examples of a lot of 'christians' in this country, most people get the impression that Jesus would have voted Republican, hated gays, and drove a Prius. I almost wonder if the falling percentage of people claiming the Christian label is due to this recession, and the fact that they're missing out on all those material things they've come to treasure. There are too many evangelicals out there that have claimed that if you do A, B, and C, and make God happy, that he will shower you with all the wealth and things that you want. Now that they're not getting those things, that must mean God isn't relevant in their lives anymore. Now, bear in mind, a lot of what I just said is simply my opinion.

All I know is, this information about falling percentages, and the response of the public in calling American Christians fake (in so many words), should be a wake up call to us all, that we should be finding ways to show our faith, instead of just claiming some label. I actually sound like a total hypocrite to myself, since I'm safe and comfortable on my couch right now, rather than out feeding the hungry and befriending the friend-less. My prayer for myself, and for other Christians, is that we learn how to show the world what the term "follower of Christ" really means. My prayer is that the world stops hating Christians because they're so-called 'hypocrites,' and starts forming a new opinion, whether positive or negative, based on the true, passion-filled, genuine lives we lead.