In recent years, the United States has witnessed a significant decline in the cultural dominance of Christianity. As more Americans identify as religiously unaffiliated, and as Christian influence in the public sphere appears to wane, many within the church have responded with concern, anxiety, and efforts to reclaim lost ground. This reaction is especially evident in the growing entanglement between certain expressions of Christianity and political ideologies, where the faith is often invoked to preserve cultural traditions, national identity, and moral order. However, such responses reflect a misunderstanding of the gospel’s nature. Christianity was never meant to function as a tool of cultural dominance. Rather, the gospel is an apocalyptic and transformative event that calls individuals and communities into a radically new way of life, reconfiguring identity and allegiance under the lordship of Jesus Christ.
Gospel as Revelation, Not Ideology
The term “apocalyptic” often brings to mind ideas of catastrophe or the end of the world, but in its biblical usage, it refers to an unveiling—a divine revelation that discloses ultimate reality. In the New Testament, and especially in the writings of the Apostle Paul, the gospel is portrayed as precisely this kind of unveiling. It is the revelation of God’s righteousness, enacted through the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus Christ. This revelation is not simply a new doctrine or moral code; it is the inbreaking of God’s reign into human history, confronting and transforming everything it touches.
The gospel, then, is not merely a set of beliefs or a religious worldview. It is not a static message to be affirmed but a dynamic event that demands participation. It reshapes how we understand God, ourselves, and the world. As such, it does not exist to affirm the status quo but to disrupt it—especially when the prevailing cultural order stands in opposition to the values of the kingdom of God.
Reconfiguring Identity and Allegiance
One of the most significant ways the gospel functions apocalyptically is in the way it reconfigures human identity. In the Greco-Roman world, one’s value and status were largely determined by ethnicity, citizenship, gender, and class. Paul’s proclamation of the gospel confronted these hierarchies by declaring that in Christ “there is neither Jew nor Greek, slave nor free, male nor female” (Gal 3:28). Such statements were not merely theological abstractions; they were radical redefinitions of what it meant to be human.
In Paul’s theology, to believe in Christ is to undergo a fundamental change in identity. Believers are no longer defined by their previous allegiances or social categories. Instead, they become part of a new humanity, formed in and through the crucified and risen Christ. This identity transcends ethnic, cultural, and political boundaries. It demands loyalty to Jesus as Lord—a claim that stands in deliberate contrast to any allegiance to Caesar, nation, or ideology.
A Challenge to Christendom
Throughout much of Western history, Christianity became entangled with structures of cultural and political power—a phenomenon often referred to as “Christendom.” In Christendom, the church is not simply a community of faith; it is embedded within the state, shaping and enforcing public morality and identity. While this arrangement once gave Christianity significant influence, it also led to a distortion of the gospel. Rather than functioning as a countercultural witness, the church often became a tool of the empire, blessing wars, marginalizing outsiders, and preserving systems of oppression.
In contemporary America, echoes of Christendom remain. Appeals to a “Christian nation,” fears over religious decline, and efforts to preserve cultural dominance through political means all reflect this legacy. However, when the church aligns itself with power in order to protect its position, it risks losing its prophetic voice. The gospel no longer confronts injustice but becomes a justification for it.
The apocalyptic nature of the gospel calls the church to repent of such alliances. It invites believers to return to the disruptive message of Jesus, whose kingdom is not of this world (John 18:36). Rather than lamenting the loss of cultural dominance, the church is called to embrace its identity as a pilgrim people—rooted not in nation or empire, but in the crucified Messiah.
Toward a Transformative Witness
Understanding the gospel as apocalyptic and transformative offers a hopeful and constructive path forward. Rather than fighting to reclaim the center of culture, the church is freed to embody an alternative way of life. It can form communities of reconciliation across racial, social, and economic divides. It can resist systems of violence and exploitation, choosing instead to serve the poor, welcome the outsider, and seek justice for the oppressed.
This is not withdrawal from the world, but engagement on different terms—terms defined by the cross and resurrection rather than by fear or nostalgia. The church is at its best not when it wields power, but when it lives faithfully in the margins, bearing witness to a kingdom that is already breaking into the world.
Conclusion
In a time of cultural upheaval and religious decline, the church must recover the apocalyptic and transformative nature of the gospel. This gospel does not affirm existing power structures; it exposes them. It does not seek cultural preservation; it proclaims new creation. It does not demand political dominance; it calls for radical discipleship. As the American church grapples with its changing place in society, it faces a choice: to cling to the fading privileges of Christendom or to step boldly into the future as a people defined by the inbreaking kingdom of God. Only the latter will allow the church to remain faithful to its calling—and to the Lord it serves.
Debbie and I serve as the FMI Global Associate Director for MENACA and Europe. We focus on cultivating disciples, leaders, and church planting movements.
