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Don't be a David Cameron Christian
Those of you who read the news may well remember some comments made by David Cameron before Christmas. The Prime Minister described himself as a “committed” but only “vaguely practising” Christian who was “full of doubts” around theological issues.
If you're expecting any political commentary at this moment, you'll be sorely disappointed. Instead I was struck by these comments and begun to think what a “committed” yet only “vaguely practising” Christian looked like.
 I suspect many people would call themselves “vaguely practising” Christians. The “vaguely practising” being that they attend church at Easter and Christmas. Attending a church meeting on Sunday does not make you a 'practising' Christian though, not even vaguely. More subtly, many people within the church would call themselves “committed”, but are in truth only “vaguely practising” as they confuse attendance to church with a commitment to Jesus.
How do you measure your Christian faith? Is it by how often you attend church? Or is it by how deep your relationship with the risen Jesus is, and how much that relationship is growing? Do you equate “commitment” to simply “attendance” on a Sunday and are in fact missing out on the full riches of living a radical life for Jesus?
A trap that can befall many people, especially students, is to simply attend a church on Sunday during term time. This is not “commitment”. Deciding to be counter cultural and get up early on a Sunday to go to church is not enough. For many going to church is nothing less than a box ticking exercise rather than something that enables you to become part of a church family. This only truly happens outside of Sunday meetings. That takes real commitment.
Perhaps like David Cameron, you are riddled with doubts about theological issues. Don't shy from confronting them. Open the bible and ask God to speak to you. Speak to your friends or leaders in your church. Ask them to help.
If your doubts are such that they cause you to ask big questions, then you should take the opportunity to delve deeper into the claims of Christianity. As C.S. Lewis said, “Christianity, if false, is of no importance, and if true, of infinite importance. The only thing it cannot be is moderately important.”
Andrew Kenyon 11/01/2012
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