Assumptions

My default position is to assume people aren't Christians. I remember this attitude began forming for me years ago when a friend and I were talking about the musician Ben Harper. My friend said, 'I'm pretty sure he's a Christian'. Having just read a Rolling Stone article where Harper expressed a fairly clear pluralistic mindset I asked why she thought that. It was because Harper's album 'Diamonds on the Inside' was draped in Christian overtones with songs such as, 'Picture of Jesus', 'Amen Omen' and 'Blessed to be a Witness'. That said, the album also has a song called, 'Touch from your Lust'.

I'm sympathetic with the view that, if someone is a follower of Jesus or not is ultimately between them and Jesus. But if our desire is to present everyone mature in Christ there is benefit in understanding to the best of our knowledge where people stand with God. I'm not talking about celebrities, and let's face it, the whole American Christian thing is fluid at the best of times, but about those for whom we come into contact with.

Of course there are tell-tale signs that someone may not understand the gospel. For example if a peron identifies primarily with a denomination rather than as Christian (e.g. I'm Anglican) then I'm likely to try and ask some leading questions to try and understand what exactly it is they believe.

And if someone walks in to our church gathering I always assume they are not a Christian. What's the worst that could happen? If they don't trust in Jesus death and resurrection for their sin I might get a chance to explain the gospel to them. If they are a Christian, they'll appreciate being reminded of the gospel again, and that I was loving enough to make sure.

Some downsides to this 'assume nothing' approach is that I think this makes me less likely to work with people and denominational groups that I don't know. Which is a problem, I think.