In his latest entry, Ed Stetzer passes on the results of some interesting research about the kinds of ultimate questions people are asking today.
For decades, the phrase, "If you were to die today, do you know for sure you would go to heaven?" was associated with evangelical attempts at sharing their faith. My guess is that millions of people have been asked that question over the last few decades-- and I would not be surprised if God used such a conversation and question and many many became followers of Christ.
But, the question itself always intrigued me. And, one of the great things about my job (as a researcher), is I get to say, "I wonder..."
And, in this case, I wondered how many people really ask that question. In other words, how often to people wonder if they were to die today would they go to heaven. My first assumption was that only a few people really would think about their eternal destiny and, thus, thought the question might be less helpful today if few asked that question.
So, to test my informal hypothesis, we commissioned a poll.
About three years ago, while I was serving at the North American Mission Board's Center for Missional Research (now led by my friend Richie Stanley), Richie and I did a poll on that very subject.
Interestingly, "Will I go to heaven when I die?" is not a question most Americans ask themselves with much frequency. The North American Mission Board's Center for Missional Research conducted a survey that give some insight into what Americans are really thinking.
via blogs.lifeway.com
Every pastor ought to be subscribing to Ed Stetzer's blog, but in case some within my reach haven't gotten to it yet, I'll pass on this link.
There was a song back in the 70s that lamented the futility of spending one's life answering questions no one is asking. Then I found a book that asked the question, "If Jesus is the answer, what are the questions?"
Looking for the book, I came across a great blog post by a pastor-story teller named Tim Chesterton:
If Jesus is the answer then what is the question?
Years ago in my young days as a Christian I used to sing this song.
Jesus is the answer for the world today;
Above him there's no other, Jesus is the way.
Jesus is the answer for the world today;
Above him there's no other, Jesus is the way.
I stopped singing it after I read the story of a woman with multiple problems in her life who was in the habit of going to see her priest to try to sort herself out. The irony of the situation was that, even though her life was a mess (and at least some of the mess was of her own making), she continued to give her allegiance to a theology that claimed that if you just gave your life to Jesus he would solve all your problems for you. This all came to a head one week when she showed up for her counseling session wearing a tee-shirt proclaiming that 'Jesus is the Answer'. Her priest looked at her and said, "You know, you've got to stop this talk about Jesus being the answer. He never said he was the answer. He said 'I am the Way' - and that's an entirely different thing". READ MORE
Back to the subject of Stetzer's research. I have an observation.
The "way to the Father" never changes. Nor do the answers to the big questions. However, the questions are constantly changing. They not only change in society as a whole, but they change within the context of ones own life as one moves from stage to stage in personal development.
The questions I asked at 15 when I was in the midst of a major and defining faith crisis are not those I was asking at 25 in my second pastorate. At 35, I was asking different questions and so it has been at every stage of my life.
People were asked about the frequency with which they asked two questions:
"If I were to die today, do I know for sure I would go to heaven?"
"How can I find more meaning and purpose in my life?"
The results were telling. Stetzer observed:
"It appears that more people are thinking about meaning and purpose than
life after death. (And it is important to note that the Bible provides
the answers to all these questions.)"
If more people are asking about meaning than about where they will spend eternity, that should inform our approach to sharing our faith. That is not watering down the gospel. It is actually communicating a major part of Jesus' call and message. In calling His first disciples, He said things like, "Follow me and I will make you fishers of men."
He called them to purpose, meaning, and significance. At some point, they got the whole package, but their entry point was a challenge to invest their lives in something greater than themselves, the kingdom of God.
The encouraging thing about this is that it may indicate a move away from mere and pervasive narcissism in humanity's quest for spiritual truth. Christianity is not a consumer product. It is a calling.
