My name is Norman Mitchell, and I consider myself to be an irreligious follower of Jesus Christ.
Western Christianity, which is of mostly Protestant origin, has been the most profound influence on Western civilization for the last 500 years. Where Christians have embraced the truth about individual freedom and responsibility, civilization has flourished. Where Christians have sought to exert human control over others, civilization has degenerated. The dawn of the second millennium after the birth of Christ has arrived with advances in scientific knowledge and technology that are nothing short of astonishing. The level of personal wealth in Western nations is historically unprecedented. As technology and wealth have increased, Christian influence has decreased at an inversely proportional rate. Christianity has likely never been less a part of American culture than it is today.
The loss of influence, adherents, and revenue is throwing Christian denominations and organizations into a panic. To survive, Christian organizations are either embracing the values of the increasingly secular popular culture or redoubling their recruiting efforts with desperate attempts to appear relevant.
The problem is that since Jesus left the earth, His followers have generally implemented man-made religious practices to build a power base for themselves. Over time, the religious practices became tradition, tradition solidified into an institution, and the institution became inviolable. Religion became a barrier to relationships between God and man and between believers. As religion became suffocating and oppressive, splinter groups would occasionally break away with the desire to “reform the church.” Over the centuries, several reform movements have sprung up out of a sense of spiritual starvation, only to begin using religion (and usually politics) as a means of controlling people. The result today is a severely fractured Christianity, with myriad denominations, sub-denominations, independent congregations, and short-lived movements—each claiming to hold true Christian doctrine. Where the teachings of Jesus have been embraced in their simplicity and applied, spiritual life has sprung up and the surrounding civilization has flourished. Where man-made religion has been embraced, it has maintained an oppressive stranglehold over its followers, frequently resulting in spiritual abuse.
The unfortunate reality is that Western Christian religion has occluded the teachings of Jesus and presented a severely distorted picture of God. Jesus offers life, love, forgiveness, and freedom. Religion shackles through guilt, ritual, and subservience.
The rapid advance of technology and the simultaneous collapse of Western Christian religion is an extraordinary opportunity for the followers of Jesus to discard all vestiges of man-made religion and truly exemplify the teachings of Jesus. I believe that the assembly of believers is at a turning point such as has not been seen in 2,000 years. While this sounds dramatic, I believe it is true.
My intent is simply to seek and share the truth about God and about life. This site was named after the Randy Stonehill song “The Wild Frontier.” Like the song encourages, I desire to live life to the fullest, embrace the adventure that God intends this life to be, and shine a light into the darkness. It is a life that is sometimes scary, yet liberating and exhilarating.
It’s as close as your heartbeat,
It’s as far as your fear,
It’s beyond the great horizon
Out on the Wild Frontier.
– Randy Stonehill
The Wild Frontier 