Are you woke? Do you have any friends who fit the description?

There is a real concern, by some religious leaders, that “woke” ideas will come into churches. If that happens, imagine how religion will change. Christians are not the only people who are concerned about popular modern ideas. Other religions could also change if new ideas erode and replace beliefs that we have held for centuries.

We could see some world-shaking changes, in our modern times. Brace yourself.

So, what am I talking about? And who cares?

Here is an example of a debate on the issue. Notice that people are emotional, and that emotion sounds like anger:

• READ: r/Christianity is becoming a mere echo chamber for woke anti-Christians

One comment in the Reddit debate is: “The only circumstance I’ve heard the word ‘woke’ used seriously is when some conservative goober is blaming his bigotry on some nebulous group of ‘SJWs.’”

That sounds forceful and angry.

Also, being a woke Christian is defined as “modern socially influenced Christianity.”

So, are Christians becoming modern socially influenced? Yes, some are, depending on how we count Christians.

This is a sleeper issue, like so many modern ideas. If we judge with emotion, instead of understanding what is happening, we will come to a place where we can’t change direction, and everything around us could change. That is the power of ideas. They change our world.

Do you want the things you value the most to change into something you don’t recognize? That is a possibility if we are not careful.

So, let’s understand:

1) What is woke?

Wokeness began as awareness of racism, by people who were victims of unfair treatment. That seems fair: The original idea, for a few people, have grown into a sense that injustice is everywhere, and it must be corrected.

Victims need to be rescued and protected from injustice. It’s important to be a victim, which makes you a good and deserving person. That thinking is becoming a powerful force in our modern times, and it is starting to dominate our thinking.

2) What is Christian?

We probably all know the words to the song “Amazing Grace” … “I once was lost but now am found, was blind, but now I see.” We also have the words in the Bible “ … and such were some of you, but you were … “ (1 Corinthians 6:11). Notice “I” was and “you” singular were. Whatever theological arguments we have, the heart of real Christianity is a change to one person at a time, from darkness to light.

3) What are we becoming?

It is important to know what we are, so we can know what a change will mean. There are two ways to see injustice: 1) Look at those other people. 2) Look in a mirror. Only one of those belongs in a Christian church. I am a Christian because I got tired of me, and I asked God to make a new me. I believe God forgave me, did make that change. We don’t make ourselves tall by pulling down others, the judge is not always innocent and morally superior.

I believe that real social justice comes from people who have been humbled by God. Do you know the story of the hymn “Amazing Grace”? John Newton wrote the words in 1772, as the pastor of a church in a small English town, Olney.

As a young man, John Newton was a slave trader, forcing African people into slavery, and transporting them in slave ships to plantation owners, across the ocean. Those who survived the cruel voyage were sold into lifetime slavery.

John Newton was a prime example of injustice; lost and blind. When he finally got to the end of himself, he asked God to forgive him, and to make him right. He later became one of the leading abolitionists, who worked to end slavery, and we won that struggle, in his lifetime. He really was a social justice warrior.

Social justice came from a humble man, a sinner who surrendered and was changed into a saint.

We can’t afford to lose that in our Christian churches.

“So then, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation. The old has passed away. The new has come!” (2 Corinthians 2:17)

READ: The Incredible True Story Behind ‘Amazing Grace’