From James Bell:
What the Bible Says to a Church Without Power
So what does the Bible say about the church losing cultural power?
It says the loss is real, but it is not strange.
It says the church has lived here before.
It says exile is not abandonment.
It says minority status is not failure.
It says public suspicion is not proof that the church is wrong, and public approval is not proof that the church is right.
It says Babylon is seductive before it is violent.
It says the people of God must seek the good of the city without mistaking the city for the kingdom.
It says the church must be ready to answer, but with gentleness and respect.
It says the Sermon on the Mount can be lived without establishment.
It says the faithful often die before they see what was promised.
It says the crucified Lord is not surprised by a cruciform church.
That is not bad news.
It only sounds like bad news to a church that has forgotten its own book.
The grief remains. The losses are real. Churches will close. Institutions will weaken. Families will fracture over faith. Pastors will feel the cost of preaching within a world that no longer knows why preaching matters. Christians will have to explain words their grandparents assumed. Children will have to be formed deliberately because the culture will not form them accidentally into Christians.
But none of that places us outside the biblical story.
It may place us more deeply inside it.
The American church is being invited to read Scripture without the padding of Christendom. That will be painful because the padding was comfortable. It softened the harder edges. It allowed us to imagine we were the moral center of the story. It let us read exile while living as establishment, read Babylon while benefiting from Babylon, read the cross while pursuing influence, and read 1 Peter while assuming we were still the respectable ones.
Now the padding is being removed.
The text is sharper without it.
The question is whether we will let it cut.
If we do, we may find that the Bible has been waiting for us here. It does not give us a plan to regain lost power, but shows us how to live faithfully without it. It does not tell us to hate our country, but tells us to seek its good. It does not promise purity by pulling away, but calls us to be holy in public. It does not leave us hopeless because we are on the margins, but gives us a priestly identity that the world cannot take away. Being faithful on the margins is not a reason to despair, but a reason for hope. The Bible shows that God loves to meet his people in exile, to bring unexpected joy through perseverance, and to fill ordinary obedience with quiet confidence. Being called to faithfulness outside the center means sharing in the story God has told for generations, a story where hope grows not from power, but from trust and steadfast love.
So let us take heart and embrace this calling with courage and trust. Let us step forward as strangers and witnesses, confident that Christ’s presence is already at work wherever we find ourselves. Even at the edges, our faithfulness matters; even in uncertainty, God remains faithful. This is our invitation: to embody hope, seek the good, live with holy courage, and become, by God’s grace, the people we were always meant to be.
We do not need to retake the center to be the church.
We need to return to the Word that formed the church before it ever had the center.
That return will not make us impressive. It may make us free.
Free to serve without needing to be admired.
Free to speak without needing to dominate.
Free to suffer without turning suffering into grievance.
Free to repent without fearing the loss of respectability.
Free to love a country that is not our kingdom.
Free to build houses in Babylon without bowing to Babylon’s gods.
Free to be, at last, what the Bible has been calling us all along: strangers, sojourners, priests, witnesses, servants, citizens of heaven, the body of a crucified and risen Lord.
That is what the Bible says about the church losing cultural power.
It says we have been here before.
What the Bible Says to a Church Without Power
So what does the Bible say about the church losing cultural power?
It says the loss is real, but it is not strange.
It says the church has lived here before.
It says exile is not abandonment.
It says minority status is not failure.
It says public suspicion is not proof that the church is wrong, and public approval is not proof that the church is right.
It says Babylon is seductive before it is violent.
It says the people of God must seek the good of the city without mistaking the city for the kingdom.
It says the church must be ready to answer, but with gentleness and respect.
It says the Sermon on the Mount can be lived without establishment.
It says the faithful often die before they see what was promised.
It says the crucified Lord is not surprised by a cruciform church.
That is not bad news.
It only sounds like bad news to a church that has forgotten its own book.
The grief remains. The losses are real. Churches will close. Institutions will weaken. Families will fracture over faith. Pastors will feel the cost of preaching within a world that no longer knows why preaching matters. Christians will have to explain words their grandparents assumed. Children will have to be formed deliberately because the culture will not form them accidentally into Christians.
But none of that places us outside the biblical story.
It may place us more deeply inside it.
The American church is being invited to read Scripture without the padding of Christendom. That will be painful because the padding was comfortable. It softened the harder edges. It allowed us to imagine we were the moral center of the story. It let us read exile while living as establishment, read Babylon while benefiting from Babylon, read the cross while pursuing influence, and read 1 Peter while assuming we were still the respectable ones.
Now the padding is being removed.
The text is sharper without it.
The question is whether we will let it cut.
If we do, we may find that the Bible has been waiting for us here. It does not give us a plan to regain lost power, but shows us how to live faithfully without it. It does not tell us to hate our country, but tells us to seek its good. It does not promise purity by pulling away, but calls us to be holy in public. It does not leave us hopeless because we are on the margins, but gives us a priestly identity that the world cannot take away. Being faithful on the margins is not a reason to despair, but a reason for hope. The Bible shows that God loves to meet his people in exile, to bring unexpected joy through perseverance, and to fill ordinary obedience with quiet confidence. Being called to faithfulness outside the center means sharing in the story God has told for generations, a story where hope grows not from power, but from trust and steadfast love.
So let us take heart and embrace this calling with courage and trust. Let us step forward as strangers and witnesses, confident that Christ’s presence is already at work wherever we find ourselves. Even at the edges, our faithfulness matters; even in uncertainty, God remains faithful. This is our invitation: to embody hope, seek the good, live with holy courage, and become, by God’s grace, the people we were always meant to be.
We do not need to retake the center to be the church.
We need to return to the Word that formed the church before it ever had the center.
That return will not make us impressive. It may make us free.
Free to serve without needing to be admired.
Free to speak without needing to dominate.
Free to suffer without turning suffering into grievance.
Free to repent without fearing the loss of respectability.
Free to love a country that is not our kingdom.
Free to build houses in Babylon without bowing to Babylon’s gods.
Free to be, at last, what the Bible has been calling us all along: strangers, sojourners, priests, witnesses, servants, citizens of heaven, the body of a crucified and risen Lord.
That is what the Bible says about the church losing cultural power.
It says we have been here before.
From James Bell:
What the Bible Says to a Church Without Power
So what does the Bible say about the church losing cultural power?
It says the loss is real, but it is not strange.
It says the church has lived here before.
It says exile is not abandonment.
It says minority status is not failure.
It says public suspicion is not proof that the church is wrong, and public approval is not proof that the church is right.
It says Babylon is seductive before it is violent.
It says the people of God must seek the good of the city without mistaking the city for the kingdom.
It says the church must be ready to answer, but with gentleness and respect.
It says the Sermon on the Mount can be lived without establishment.
It says the faithful often die before they see what was promised.
It says the crucified Lord is not surprised by a cruciform church.
That is not bad news.
It only sounds like bad news to a church that has forgotten its own book.
The grief remains. The losses are real. Churches will close. Institutions will weaken. Families will fracture over faith. Pastors will feel the cost of preaching within a world that no longer knows why preaching matters. Christians will have to explain words their grandparents assumed. Children will have to be formed deliberately because the culture will not form them accidentally into Christians.
But none of that places us outside the biblical story.
It may place us more deeply inside it.
The American church is being invited to read Scripture without the padding of Christendom. That will be painful because the padding was comfortable. It softened the harder edges. It allowed us to imagine we were the moral center of the story. It let us read exile while living as establishment, read Babylon while benefiting from Babylon, read the cross while pursuing influence, and read 1 Peter while assuming we were still the respectable ones.
Now the padding is being removed.
The text is sharper without it.
The question is whether we will let it cut.
If we do, we may find that the Bible has been waiting for us here. It does not give us a plan to regain lost power, but shows us how to live faithfully without it. It does not tell us to hate our country, but tells us to seek its good. It does not promise purity by pulling away, but calls us to be holy in public. It does not leave us hopeless because we are on the margins, but gives us a priestly identity that the world cannot take away. Being faithful on the margins is not a reason to despair, but a reason for hope. The Bible shows that God loves to meet his people in exile, to bring unexpected joy through perseverance, and to fill ordinary obedience with quiet confidence. Being called to faithfulness outside the center means sharing in the story God has told for generations, a story where hope grows not from power, but from trust and steadfast love.
So let us take heart and embrace this calling with courage and trust. Let us step forward as strangers and witnesses, confident that Christ’s presence is already at work wherever we find ourselves. Even at the edges, our faithfulness matters; even in uncertainty, God remains faithful. This is our invitation: to embody hope, seek the good, live with holy courage, and become, by God’s grace, the people we were always meant to be.
We do not need to retake the center to be the church.
We need to return to the Word that formed the church before it ever had the center.
That return will not make us impressive. It may make us free.
Free to serve without needing to be admired.
Free to speak without needing to dominate.
Free to suffer without turning suffering into grievance.
Free to repent without fearing the loss of respectability.
Free to love a country that is not our kingdom.
Free to build houses in Babylon without bowing to Babylon’s gods.
Free to be, at last, what the Bible has been calling us all along: strangers, sojourners, priests, witnesses, servants, citizens of heaven, the body of a crucified and risen Lord.
That is what the Bible says about the church losing cultural power.
It says we have been here before.
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