Outside the University Union Building at the University of North Texas, a small stone marked one of six "free speech areas" on campus. In the early 2000s, when I was a student there, these designated areas were used mostly by Christians to proclaim hellfire and damnation upon "whoremongers, atheists, homosexuals, and church gossips," among many others. As an agnostic at the time, I marveled at how ineffectively they used the precious little real estate they had to talk about their faith.

Though policies have since changed at UNT, more Christians today tend feel like those students did: that our place in the cultural conversation is shrinking, and we need to shout louder to have our voices heard. A report by Lifeway Research found full 70 percent of pastors (and just over half of the general public) believe that religious liberty is declining in America, and 59 percent believe that Christians are losing the culture wars.

Lifeway Research president Ed Stetzer attributes this unease to "shifts in American culture and church practice" as well as a decline in the number of American Protestants. In the 1960s, Christians made up two-thirds of the population, but today, they make up less than half.

Since Lifeway's research only measured perceptions, it doesn't tell us if Christians really are losing their religious liberty and if so, to what extent. But it isn't hard to get a good read of the situation from the headlines: the contraceptive mandate in the Affordable Care Act (being argued in the Supreme Court this week); the veto of controversial SB1062, which would allow Arizona businesses to refuse services to gay weddings; the rights of businesses to terminate individuals based on their views on homosexuality. The right to sexual freedom hasconsistently trumped the rights of religious groups.

It's the latest incarnation of a very old story. John the Baptist lost his head for challenging Herod's marriage to Herodias, the wife of his brother. Church tradition tells us that the Apostle Peter was crucified for teaching sexual purity to the prefect Agrippa's concubines. The Mayflower launched for the New World because King Henry VIII wanted a divorce.

Jesus was accused of being a friend of sinners. That was the word on the street in first-century Palestine.

The precise phrase — "friend of sinners" — is mentioned twice in the Gospels, inMatthew 11:19 and Luke 7:34. The naysayers of the day, the religious aristocracy, criticized Jesus as a "glutton and a drunkard, a friend of tax collectors and sinners."

They called him this because it was true. He was a friend of sinners. Jesus himself said that he didn't come for the spiritually healthy, but for the sick. "I have not come to call the righteous but sinners to repentance" (Luke 5:31–32).

Just like he greeted children that others thought were a nuisance, he welcomed sinners that others didn't (Matthew 19:14; Luke 7:37–39). He looked at them, as Mark says he did with the rich young man, and he loved them (Mark 10:21). He had compassion on them. And most glorious of all, he wielded his authority to speak those wondrous words, "Your sins are forgiven" (Luke 7:48).

This is all very important for us because, as some have noted recently, we Christians pattern our lives after Jesus's example. He has, after all, sent us into the world in the same Spirit of his own mission (John 20:21–22).

If Jesus was a friend of sinners, we should be too, it seems — somehow, someway. And instantly, this discussion can drift into a much bigger one about Christians and culture and all that. But instead of going there, let's just talk friendship for a minute. Friendship, which is not without its implications, is more practical and relevant than a primer on the church's posture in society. So in that light, here are three tips on being a friend of sinners.

Welcome to Leadership Network's 2014 Large Church Salary, Staffing and Budget Survey. It's intended for U.S. and Canadian churches with attendances of 1,000 to 50,000+.

Five compelling reasons to participate
1. Nowhere else will you learn from so many really large churches. The payback in information you'll receive is well worth asking one of your staff members to participate.
2. You not only get the executive summary (free) before it goes public, but you also get an invitation for anyone in your church to a free video webcast with early findings (open only to churches that participated in the survey) including Q&A with the survey director, Warren Bird, Ph.D.
3. You get a significant discount if you buy tailored services such as a customized compensation analysis for your senior staff.
4. You receive a actual salary tables, church budgets, and other comparison data from the survey (with every specific-church identifier removed, of course).
5. You will help thousands of other churches who will learn from you, even if anonymously.

Who should take this survey
It's typically filled out by someone in the office of executive pastor, business manager, or church administrator – someone privy to salary and budget information. Only one response per church is requested (even if multisite). Forecast: The survey may take up to 30-45 minutes to complete.

How to prepare
You'll work fastest if you are able to gather the following information before you start.

Information needed
- Salaries of those you consider "top tier" (plus campus pastors, if multisite)
- Number of staff (full and part time) from 2013
- Church budget for current and past year, including breakdown of giving
- Worship attendance annual average for 2012, 2013, 2014 to date
- Senior pastor's age, year became senior pastor
- Year church was founded
- Top four zip/postal codes of where your congregation lives (so we can create ratios based on specific economics of your area)