Many Christian leaders, in our churches, businesses, politics, and other areas, recognise that the Church has lost a great deal of influence over the past 50 years.

Why has this happened?

1 Secularisation
This involves the removal or marginalisation of any reference to God from the public square. Church responses (see below) can contribute to this process, but there are also secularists who use positions of influence to advance a secular view of life. Otago historian John Stenhouse has documented how secular historians have misrepresented our history in such a way as to completely distort the positive impact of the Church.1

2 Sectarianism
One of the big issues that the Church has faced in every age is division within the body. Polarisation between grace and truth, left and right, liberals and conservatives, community transformation and personal salvation, have undermined the unity that Jesus prayed for and weakened the Church's witness.

3 Separatism
The comfort and familiarity of our church community and what has been called a ‘loss of confidence in the Gospel' to transform lives and nations, has led to a disengagement at both local and national level. Many people in our churches lack a biblical worldview and are unsure how to be ‘salt and light', either because they do not appreciate the significance of the Gospel in their workplaces and the public square, or they have not been appropriately equipped to share faith in relevant ways. By disengaging from the public square we have allowed secularism to have a greater impact than it should have had.

New Zealand Christian Network is working to help bring about change in these key areas.

1. J Stenhouse ‘Secular New Zealand? Or God's Own Country' New Vision New Zealand III (2008), Tabernacle Press, pp 79-92

0 Comments