One of the books I’ve come across as I’ve been reading about launching a church in a post-Christian culture is I Once Was Lost by Don Everts and Doug Schaupp. They do a great job telling the stories of a number of postmodern skeptics who have become Christ-followers. They map out five thresholds that most people cross on their way to entering the Kingdom. These thresholds aren’t hard and fast rules, but they do tend to show up in predictable ways when new Christians tell their stories.
After making it clear that the path to faith in Jesus is both mysterious and organic they lay out the five thresholds of postmodern conversion.
1. There is a move from distrust to trust. At some point, skeptics learn to trust a Christian. This takes time and can’t be forced or rushed.
2. There is a move from complacency to curiosity. There is a shift where skeptics become curious about Jesus and his teachings.
3. There is a move from being closed to being open to change in their life. This is the hardest threshold for most skeptics to cross. To cross this threshold, they must be ready to change their way of life.
4. There is a move from meandering to seeking. When they cross this threshold skeptics begin to urgently seek after God and pursue answers, rather than merely hang out with Christians, go to a few Bible studies, ask lots of questions, and see what happens.
5. The final move is to cross the threshold of the kingdom itself. They repent and give their life to Jesus. Someone can cross all four of the previous thresholds and still not “enter the kingdom.”
Our role in helping our skeptical friends start following Jesus is to be attentive to where they are on their journey and walk with them appropriately. We’ll talk more about this later.
For now, what do you think of these thresholds? Do they ring true? How do they line up with your path to faith in Jesus? What are the implications of being aware of these thresholds?
Telling Stories, Asking Questions, Learning Lessons
Do the authors present any experiences of converting skeptics who are former believers?
I left the church almost a year ago and would describe myself as a skeptic most days. Having seen both perspectives personally, I’m curious how someone in my position finds a way to believe again. It seems that it would be more complicated to return than to enter having never believed. Perhaps it’s necessary to have a Christian mentor who himself has lost his faith before.
If you ever come across any resources that examines this returning experience, please post about it.
Thanks for your blog.
I think the thresholds ring true based on testimonies I have heard from fellow Christians who have been in that skeptic spot. A particular fellow I am thinking of (in his 70s now) mentioned going through some of these stages before he was saved as a young adult, but I have heard younger people give similar testimonies. It sure seems to point out the importance of BEING a Christian who others can trust.
Wayne…just wondering what caused you to lose your faith/become a skeptic? People in the church being hypocritical? It is really sad how we Christians treat each other sometimes… I hope you will seek God again. Ask Him to speak to you through the scriptures and to speak the truth into your heart. I believe that if you ask Him to show you the truth He will – if you really keep seeking Him. Try spending some time alone with God each day and with your Bible. I know that when I’ve been confused before, if I cried out to Him and kept seeking and asking Him to show me the truth, He did. He didn’t always give me every answer to everything, but He gave me what I needed and helped me trust Him with the rest. He’s still doing that. The key is being willing to open our hearts to Him and be willing to hear whatever He has to say. If there is any anger inside, let it go, give it up to Him and just be willing to listen. Anger and hurt make it hard to hear His voice. It’s a journey, and I have a long way to go, but I don’t want to live without Him. He means everything to me. God bless you and help you in your searching for the truth. He loves you!
Amazing that this list has little to do with most seeker-oriented church strategies and everything to do with beginning and building meaningful relationships with the 70+% of folks who aren’t even looking for church, let alone Christ, yet.
1. Trust from real, caring relationship (and not just “I’ll care if it’ll get you saved).
2. Do we move from trust to curiousity when others see the hope within us and begin to wonder?
3. Doesn’t openness to change follow belief that change is desireable, possible and achievable, perhaps because we’re viewed as imperfect followers who not only have been changed, but who are still in process of change.
4 and 5. If you’ve been there through 3-5, what a blessing to be included in the seeking and hopefully the accepting. Not that we can’t be instrumental in planting at any part of the earlier stages, or that we may come along later and see the actual harvest, but how much better to be involved in unbelieving friend’s lives throughout the entire process.
I’m working through some major conviction that I need to majorlyly change I spend my “church time” so that includes more relationship time outside the body. I’m finding this change to be very hard.
I came across this book recently and am greatly intrigued by it. In the weeks ahead I will be working with a small group to read and reflect on these five thresholds, and am wondering if anyone has done anything like this. Is there a study guide or has someone attempted to create one?
Weird, you were preaching at HOC and I was hearing Spivey at my old church in Long Beach.