How to Make Sure Christianity Sticks (Hint: Stop Treating It Like a Sticker)
I believe it is a universal experience for a child to find a sticker they like and try to wear it for as long as possible. For reasons like stubbornness, curiosity, or sheer devotion to the sticker, we want that sticker to stick. I remember one sticker specifically I got from the dentist. It was a PowerPuff girls sticker and it was the most beautiful thing I had ever seen. I remember my heart falling into my stomach every time the sticker would fall off. Eventually, the sticker would become nothing but a glorified piece of paper. The residue of the sticky adhesive was all but gone and covered in nasty black, brown stuff. Inevitably, the sticker would always have to be thrown away.
Why couldn't the sticker last forever?
I had a close friend in high school who I worked at a ministry with, went to church with, and led worship music besides. There were many moments in school when we would talk about the Bible, our faith, our struggles, and God's goodness. I prayed with this friend, read the Bible, and attended church camp. We were known as Christians by other people in our high school.
But, when we graduated, everything changed. Suddenly, this friend not only stopped claiming Jesus as Lord, but they started living a lifestyle in complete antithesis to the Bible. I watched someone I knew like the back of my hand turn into a stranger before my eyes.
Christianity did not seem to "stick" to this friend. I am sure we have all seen this happen. We watched and lived in close relationships with someone, a sibling, a parent, a friend, or a teammate, and watched them drift away from Jesus. It was like the life they lived with you had been a lie. It makes you wonder if you ever really knew them at all. Did they ever really know Jesus? Why didn't it fasten for them?
Why couldn't the sticker of Christianity last forever?
There are three main reasons I have seen why falling away seems to happen:
Hypocritical people;
A tragic event in life; and/or
A boring, strict lifestyle.
Before we continue, I want to remind everyone that I strive to advocate for trauma survivors. It is an objective truth that some people use the name of Jesus to manipulate and cause harm to others. If this is your story, this breaks my heart. For those with this as their story, you probably do not know the good, kind, and loving Church that I know because of that pain.
Here's something else I know to be objectively true. People and this world cause agony, trauma, and anguish. God is the solvent. God is our boat ride of relief (I'm referring to a story I tell in A Go Cart Wreck, a Boat Ride, and a Disclaimer. Read it here). In God, there is healing. I am pleading with you. While that pain will naturally cause distrust in your heart towards the people of God, do not let distrust for Jesus fester.
Falling away happens when we let this world, lies, and trauma push us away from God rather than use it as a catalyst to pull us closer to God.
But, why does this happen for some people and not for others?
For many who grew up here in the Bible Belt, Christianity was just the way things went. It was how you got applause and approval. It was how you avoided punishment from adults. It was a sticker you put on in front of your parents, pastors, or friends. Around a different group of people you could take the sticker off.
The thing about stickers, though, is they always lose their stickiness, especially when exposed to harsh environments.
Perhaps Christianity doesn't always seem to “stick” because Christianity isn’t a sticker. I say this, not to be insensitive, but as a preventative. I do not share this lightly, "Christians" are dropping like flies here in America. Forbes says, "75% of Americans identified as Christian in 2011—in 2021, that number shrunk to 63%, a 12% decrease." That number is only going to keep getting smaller, unless...
Unless we stop treating Christianity like it is a sticker. It is not a social benefit. It is not a list of religious tasks that humans get to add a bunch of man-made rules to. It is not a name tag you wear when you're in front of specific people. It's not a sales pitch or a manipulation tool.
It's a root.
Christianity is a deeply rooted relationship with the Creator of the universe.
As I pondered on the work of treating Christianity as a sticker, I kept thinking to myself: How truly exhuasting it must be to fight for the life of a sticker. How unfulfilling, unsatisfying, dry, and dead. A person can do all it can to revive the sticker for it to still not be enough in the end. But, what if I told you, it's not about what you can do?
The book of John, the fourth book listed in the New Testament, is all about proving Jesus' deity and also explaining how we should live in light of that truth. John 15 tells us that falling away is possible, but not inevitable. And that changes everything.
How do we make sure that Christianity is not just a sticker we wear? For the Christians who are drowning in their confusion, frustration, hurts, and questions, how can you fight the good fight and remain steadfast? For the church leaders who are drowning in these statistics and feeling the weight of the numbers of their congregations dropping, how can you lay a foundation for those struggling Christians?
To prevent Christianity from being a sticker, we must be rooted in Christ.
Accept the true Gospel. Romans says that if we confess with our mouths that Jesus is Lord and believe it in our hearts, we will be saved. The Gospel is that Jesus has come (He was born, He died, and He resurrected from the grave), and the kingdom of God has drawn near (God is not a distant God, but is working here and now). Please note that the authentic Gospel has nothing to do with what we as humans can or can't do. It's simply about surrendering to the power of God. First things first, we must accept this Gospel to be real and true.
Let the Gospel take root. Start watering the seed by reading the Bible, praying, getting involved with a faith community, and asking questions when things do not make sense. Some of this, especially for those with church-related trauma, will include counseling and dealing with some of the hurts that might affect your relationship with God. Another note: we do not do these things to earn our place and relationship with God. These acts are not done to fight for God's love, but they are done out of an understanding that we are loved, called, and kept by the God of the Gospel.
Bear fruit through Christ. As we live a life consistent with repentance, we will begin to display characteristics similar to Jesus. Check out the list in Galatians 5! But, this also is where we get to learn what our gifts and callings are. Some people blog. Some people start a bakery. Some people start support groups. Some people become personal trainers. Some people become accountants. Some people become teachers. But it's all through Jesus, the gifts and strengths He's given them as they pursue what God's plan is for their life.
Be pruned by Christ. This one is fun, I promise, but it's also painful. Like getting a tattoo. (Those of you who don't think getting a tattoo is painful, just go with my analogy, haha). For the ink to settle into our skin and create a beautiful image, it has to pierce through the skin first. Jesus pierces our skin to remove any imperfections. The bigger the sin, the more painful the pruning will be, and sometimes longer the process--also similar to a tattoo. But the image is always worth it in the end. Just like conforming to God's image is worth it. Pruning for sticker Christians can seem like a turn off, but when we understand and accept the true Gospel of a God that is the ultimate truth and is the embodiment of love itself, then pruning becomes a joy because we know and trust the God of the pruning.
Remain in Christ. And then, once those steps are done, we rinse and repeat 2-5. We are constantly watering the seed of the Gospel in our lives with Scripture, communion with God, and gaining a deeper understanding of who God is. There is always new fruit to bear in the name of Jesus. We’ve mastered love (good luck with that, haha), now it’s time to master joy. Oh, I can’t master joy because I have a root of discontentment that’s sucking out the fruit of joy. Okay, time to let God prune that out of me.
Here are my final statements:
Nothing is linear. Some people will find a rhythm of recycling back through steps 2 and 5 and then a dramatic life event causes confusion and a restart back at step number 1. The point is running the race and not giving up completely.
There are harmful churches at large still. There are also wonderfully loving and biblical churches right next door. To find a good church, do not go it alone. Ask a friend to join their church or ask a friend if they'll go with you. It is scary in today's world to find a church, but it's so worth it. We cannot remain faithful to God without being a part of His bride.
Church, we let so many people come in and out of the body without truly being seen. The key to Scripture’s analogy for the church being a body is that each body part is intimately known. Nothing happens to a member of the body without the whole body knowing something’s wrong. We need to be connecting with all members.
We all have room to grow deeper into a relationship with God. This post is not meant to judge, point fingers, or discourage. This post is here to give God glory for His character, raise awareness for all persons struggling, and bring hope for those desperate for change.
If Christianity is a deeply rooted relationship, what to do with the sticker now?
I am not asking anyone to fight for sticker-Christianity like their lives depend on it. I am actually asking you to throw away the sticker and lay down your life before the One who created you, who died for you, who rose again for you, and is ready to prepare a place for you in heaven as an inheritance.
This is actually why Christ came. He doesn’t want a surface level sticker-like relationship. He wants a deeply rooted and intimate relationship with those He created. First things first: time to take off the sticker and accept the seed of the Gospel.
