Preaching to the Choir

"I was just wondering, Ray, why did you move to the U.S. -- why come to America since it is so Christian? Why not go to a country that is primarily Hindu or Buddhist or atheistic? According to polls about 85% of Americans consider themselves Christians and at least 35-40% call themselves "born again" while only 10-12% of Americans are atheists...Aside from this blog aren't you pretty much preaching to the choir in the U.S.?" Southern Comfort

I was honored to be invited to come to this country, back in 1989. I had been speaking in Hawaii in 1988 when the pastor of a church in California heard what I was saying, called me in New Zealand some time later and said, "America must hear this message!" So, at his church’s kind invitation and clear direction from God, I uprooted my family and came to the United States.

I already knew that He was going to bring me here (see, Out of the Comfort Zone for details) and I knew why. I had discovered the reason that this nation in particular was filled with so many "false converts." A false convert is a person who says that he is a Christian, but his life doesn’t match what he professes to believe. Some stay within the Church as false converts, but many are exposed by "tribulation, temptation and persecution" and go back to the sinful world (as the Bible says) like a dog returns to its vomit (see 2 Peter 2:22). Your own experience is an example of a false conversion:

"I was brought up in a Christian home and accepted Christ as my savior at the age of 14. I committed my life to full-time Christian service at 18. I am a graduate of a conservative Christian college and seminary, having studied the Bible formally at the college level for 6 years and as a Christian for many more years than that. I was in Christian ministry for over 20 years. So I guess you could at least say I am very familiar with the bible and its teachings. I don't know if it would surprise you or not, but I know several other preachers who have rejected the tenets of Christianity after having been in the ministry for many years."

You stayed in the Church for many years, and were able to fake it even longer than the well-known false convert, Mr. Dan Barker. But nowhere in the Bible does it say to "accept" Christ as your Savior. That was the root cause of your problem.

My problem is that people who have had a false conversion are often bitter and angry (as with Mr. Barker) and therefore unreachable with the true gospel. I hope that’s not your case. If you are interested in the details of why you fell away, please take the time to listen to "Hell’s Best Kept Secret" and then "True and False Conversion" on livingwaters.com (there’s no charge).