The Church Scorecard

Thanksgiving is over, and so now it is back to work. As I was reading today, I came across this quote:

"In his book East to Eden? Charles Corwin points out something that has been almost universally observed by those who have lived and worked in the Orient for a period of time. Despite the popularity of some of the non-Christian Eastern religions in the West, down through history those religions have not produced anything like the outpouring of compassionate service to humanity that has characterized biblical Christianity. Hospitals, leporsaria, literacy campaigns, and many other humanitarian services have accompanied the progress of Christianity across the face of the earth. Christianity's rivals cannot begin to match that record. In fact, research will reveal that works of compassion undertaken by Buddhists or adherents of some other Eastern religion often originated after Christian enterprises of the same stripe were initiated in the general area."

This is an exciting thought, assuming that it is true. The Christian church has historically been doing what it is supposed to be doing, sharing a tangible gospel message and promoting the Kingdom. But what about the churches in North America today? How are we doing? Can it really be said of us that we are significantly impacting our culture? What will history say about the American church in this century? What are your thoughts?