The Global Shift in Christianity

The historic selection of a pope from Argentina is sparking a great deal of conversation in Christendom. People are discussing the huge shifts in Christianity in the world. By far, the majority of the world's Christians now live outside of the West (Europe and North America). Christianity is experiencing tremendous growth among people living in poverty, and also in cities (where more than half of the world's population now lives). Christianity is growing in places like Latin America, Africa, and Asia. Christianity is rapidly declining in more affluent places like America and Western Europe.

The dialogue sparked by the selection of Francis 1 as pope is a healthy dialogue for American Christians. For evangelical American Christians, we should be asking ourselves how we can adjust to the dramatic paradigm shifts in global Christianity. The modern state of Christendom makes a profound difference in how we should view mission. Americans are no longer at the center of Christianity. We probably need to focus less on doing short term mission trips where we go to other countries to help marginalized people, and more on going to poorer countries to visit with marginalized people to see what we can learn from them about how to be more effective at reaching our own people in our own neighborhoods and cities. We have much to learn from our Latin American, African, and Asian brothers and sisters in Christ.

In America, missions is no longer geographically distant. People from many different parts of the world are coming to us to go to school or work. We should focus on reaching that diaspora... the people right across the street from us who are geographically close but culturally distant. We can also focus on living an authentic life in relationship with Jesus Christ so that we can reach our increasingly skeptical, post-Christian American society. Our comfortable lifestyles in America often keep us from having a sense of urgency to join God's mission. My hope as a Christian leader in America is that we will learn how important it is for us to love our neighbors, strategically reach cities, and in humility seek to learn from the new paradigm of what the Holy Spirit is doing globally.