When getting to know people in this country, one of the first questions you get asked is “Are you Protestant or Catholic?” In America, this is a question of religious denomination. What church do you attend? But that’s not what people in Ireland are asking… they are asking about politics. It would be similar to being asked “Are you Democrat or Republican?” Except that you would need to add deep emotional attachments based on years of violence to that party alignment. So what is our answer to that question? “I’m a Bible Believing Jesus follower…” That just isn’t understood here…
You see in Ireland, if we told someone we were missionaries, they would look at us and say “Why are you here? We’re already Christians…” In fact, Ireland is a Christian nation. To be Irish is to be aligned with the church. So why are we here? If everyone here is already involved in church, why would we be looking for an open door to do ministry here?
Because this is the church of Ireland. A grand Cathedral, now turned into a restaurant. Empty of people looking for Jesus and full of people looking for a good beer. A man with a Ph.D in Religion would know tons about Irish history and politics and may have never cracked open a Bible. You would think (especially if you know me…) that I’m exaggerating here… but no. Religion has nothing to do with Jesus and everything to do with politics. We talk about the Spirit of Religion in America being people who punch in a time card at church and don’t have a relationship with Jesus… The Spirit of Religion in Ireland means people don’t even go to church…
Yesterday we toured Christ Church… a historical landmark in Dublin. We watched the video explaining the history of the cathedral. The opening statement of the video said that Christ Church is a deep part of the culture of Dublin – it’s the place where Dubliners celebrate New Year’s Eve every year. The next thing we see is a picture of a couple making out. Maybe they were married, but if I was advertising my church, is that what I would put in the video?
So is Ireland hopeless? Not at all… As we toured Christ Church there were significant spots for the purpose of pointing visitors to Jesus. They welcome everyone to partake in communion, no matter what Christian affiliation. They have a stand set up for prayer requests – things the church will pray for daily. The brochure stated that the point of the tour is that in the end, the visitor will have grown closer to Jesus…
Maybe it’s not our preferred method of evangelism, but it’s hope. Jesus hasn’t left Ireland behind. God hasn’t vacated the premises. And He never will…
