In the conversations I have, hear, read about, and am surrounded by through trainings of various kinds, I can’t tell you how many times the term “post-Christian” has been used to describe American culture in 2024. And while I don’t disagree that we are, as a people, moving undoubtedly toward a reality uncoupled from religion and its vices (and faults), I do not believe we are a people who will ever be without the moorings of spirituality. So where does that leave us?

In the evangelical Church’s efforts to spread the gospel in American society over the past 70 or so years, we have accidentally instead created a structure, an institution, a set of expectations, and even a reality where some are definitely “in” and some are definitively “out”. Here’s the problem: This is all wildly divergent from what Jesus had in mind and more to the point, what He instructed His followers to be and to do. Let’s call it what it is: the biggest, most damaging “oops” in the history of the world.

If you’re someone reading this who would say that you love Jesus (most people do, actually), and if you’d say that your love for Him has radically changed your life and everything in (a vastly smaller crowd), then you might be wondering how the Church might right the ship, so to speak. How does the largest organization in the world rip itself from its status of even being an organization?

First, I believe it starts with moving away from using the term “post-Christian”, which ironically, at least in my experience, is a term only used by Christians. The term may very well be addressing the current perceived reality, but it also is a backwards-facing term. In essence, it speaks to what was more than what is. It’s a term that will keep us on the front porch, rocking slowly in our rockers, reminiscing on the “good ‘ol days”, even though how good they actually were is debatable. So, dropping the term “post-Christian” is a good first step. It isn’t serving a good purpose in any direction.

Instead, we ought to seek to understand the cultural view of Jesus. Not church, not religion, not spirituality, not faith, and not morality. To be blunt: We the people don’t know Jesus. We have a wrong view of who Jesus is. We have a concocted version that is often in stark contrast to the truth of Jesus. In other words, we have our own version of a Jesus we’ve made up, and its inaccurate. That’s not only A problem, but I believe it’s THE problem.

If you’re a follower of Jesus and you need something to label American culture with, how about the term “pre-Jesus”? Where post-Christian looks back longingly, pre-Jesus looks forward hopefully and purposefully. Pre-Jesus unhitches us from the constraints of the past; things that have taken us down rabbit-trails that have led to Christians building walls instead of bridges. The view that America is now a pre-Jesus culture gives us nothing but opportunities. Not to preach with a bullhorn, but to serve with a towel. Not to indoctrinate with a program but to influence with a purpose. Not to push an agenda but to point to a Messiah.

The fact is this: America actually DOESN’T know Jesus. And what the average person thinks they know isn’t correct, so it isn’t helpful. The foundational good news is that most Americans believe Jesus was a real person–that He actually lived here on earth. That’s incredible news and it’s where we should start. According to Barna research, every generation in recent history (last 100 years or so) has a strong belief in the historical truth that a man named Jesus (the one found in scripture) actually walked this earth. Millennials represent the lowest percentage of generational belief, but even they’re at a strong 87%. So anytime you talk to anyone, you can START with a minimum of 87% confidence that that person believes Jesus was a man in history.

What happens next to those percentages is where some of the difficulties start. While most believe that Jesus was a human, far fewer believe He was more than a human. Far fewer people are sure that Jesus was (is) God. If Jesus was only human, we can stop here and simply laud him as a good teacher and a man who did nice things before being accused and executed. End of story. If Jesus was just a man, we can rightly place him on the shelf next to Gandhi, Buddha, Lincoln, Martin Luther King, Jr., and Mother Teresa. Good people who did good things and then died.

What we must do in our pre-Jesus understanding of American culture is to correct the wrong perceptions of Jesus, paint a better picture of Jesus, and then invite people to be personally embraced and transformed by Jesus. Again, church activities have their place, but emphasizing joining a group over embracing a Savior will only lead us down the road we’ve trod for decades. Our pre-Jesus perspective opens up the doors of opportunity for those who know and love Jesus to live lives that place His nature and character on display in daily, authentic ways. Look at the life of Jesus and see how often He got dirty loving people. It was almost non-stop. Yet to many today, being a “Christian” is little more than cleaning ourselves up once a week, going to a sanctified, tidy location, and repeating a structured regiment of words and songs we’ve created largely for our own entertainment.

The pre-Jesus mindset looks at our culture with wonder and zeal to introduce America to the real Jesus. We get to reframe the common misunderstandings about Jesus and misgiving about His bride, the Church. We get to love one another well, and in doing so establish our strongest apologetic. We get to see each person as Jesus Himself sees them; worthy of His shed blood regardless of their complexion, their income, their status, their ability, their beliefs, and their habits to name a few. We get to be the very representation of the gospel of grace in the world around us.

*What I’ve shared here has been largely nothing more than my inner dialogue up until now. What are your thoughts on any of this? Do you see any differentiation between the concepts of post-Christian and pre-Jesus? Where do you see the church’s efforts falling short? Where is the gospel advancing in your life as you seek to serve others? I’d love to hear your thoughts.

(If you’d like to read more about common beliefs about Jesus, check out Barna’s research here.)