For over a decade, I’ve sounded a name as a non-Western church chief: Christian civilization, the bedrock of democracy and human flourishing, wants defending—not only for the West, however for the world.
The West’s retreat from its Christian roots, worn down by progressive ideologies and colonial guilt, dangers unravelling a legacy constructed on the idea that each individual bears God’s picture and is redeemed by Christ’s sacrifice. From Asia, Africa and past, I’ve watched this erosion with alarm, questioning if the West nonetheless has the voice to reclaim its heritage.
Then got here the ARC (Alliance for Accountable Citizenship), led by Jordan Peterson. This motion of unapologetic thinkers stirred hope. I adopted their early talks and, in February 2025, attended their London convention. Peterson’s unpacking of sacrifice as Christianity’s core thread—echoing Christ’s cross—resonated deeply.
Periods on human dignity, household, and sensible vitality options, paired with a rejection of divisive ideologies, felt like a clarion name. Ayaan Hirsi Ali’s incisive voice and the British Conservative Occasion chief Kemi Badenoch, added welcome breadth.
But I left unsettled. ARC may simply turn out to be a white-majority echo chamber, a peril for a civilization that’s by no means been certain by race. The early church unfold from Jerusalem to Rome and Africa, defying ethnic traces. Immediately, most Christians reside outdoors the West, wrestling with secularism whereas constructing faith-rooted societies. If ARC desires world affect—suppose Nigeria’s vibrant church buildings or India’s persecuted believers—it should elevate non-Western leaders and their thought. In any other case, it dangers being dismissed as a ‘Christian proper’ relic, irrelevant to the Majority World.
The convention nailed necessities: people aren’t cosmic accidents however bear divine objective; households anchor society; sacrifice blesses past self. Peterson’s riff on Abraham’s near-sacrifice of Isaac hinted at larger questions: what does sacrifice imply not only for us, however for the outsider? Missionaries as soon as answered that: serving the poor globally. Immediately, figures like Trump and Musk, eyeing corrupt assist cuts, face a check. If Trump’s push for faith in America skips James 1:27—caring for widows and orphans—it’s hole. Who’s America’s neighbour in 2025?
However one absence loomed largest: the emphasis on native Christian communities. Scripture and historical past shout their energy. Acts 2’s Spirit-filled bands toppled Rome’s pagan grip, compelling Constantine’s reckoning by AD 313. These weren’t establishments however dwelling hubs—messy, genuine, transformative.
Immediately, ‘church’ conjures scandals—the Archbishop of Canterbury’s resignation over obvious abuse cover-ups – or slick, star-driven companies. Millennials and Gen Z, even Christians, crave actual connection over dogma. ‘Church crops’ usually peddle belief-first cliques, not belong-first communities that Jesus modelled – “Come unto me all you who’re burdened and I provides you with relaxation” (Matthew 11:28-30).
This hole issues. Jesus didn’t simply save ‘souls’; He constructed a Physique ( learn household) (1 Cor. 12). The West’s disaster isn’t solely misplaced religion, it’s misplaced belonging. Household decay offers rise to isolation; 1 in 5 US adults report loneliness, per 2024 information, fuelling psychological well being woes and narcissism. ARC’s emphasis on sparking thousands and thousands of small, vibrant communities—open to doubters and devotees alike—is a missed likelihood. Think about a billion such teams, lifting a world mired in despair. With out such communities, can Christian civilization endure?
Peterson’s sacrifice lens may bridge this. Christ’s loss of life wasn’t for insiders solely however for all (John 3:16). Early Christians lived that, feeding the poor, burying the lifeless, gorgeous Rome. Immediately’s non-Western church echoes it—suppose Uganda’s orphan care or Brazil’s favela ministries. ARC mustn’t cease at concepts; it ought to seed communities the place religion meets flesh. Not non secular silos, however locations the place anybody—sceptic or saint—belongs, prays and meets Jesus.
Why the disconnect? The phrase ‘church’ could be a stumbling block, evoking management and establishment, not communion. But Scripture’s ‘ekklesia’ isn’t a constructing however a individuals—known as out, gathered in. My non-Western lens sees this clearly: the place Western individualism reigns, neighborhood withers. ARC’s renewal can’t lean on nostalgia or coverage alone. It wants a billion Acts 2 sparks—small, native, actual.
For many people that is private. You’ve felt the ache of shallow fellowship or the sting of church harm. You recognize religion thrives in relationship, not isolation. ARC may rally us, however provided that it dares to reimagine neighborhood—not as a buzzword, however as Christ’s dwelling witness. Can it rise above ‘church’ baggage and ignite a worldwide motion of belonging? Our civilization—and our religion—hangs within the steadiness.
