Easy “Christianity”

My wife and I were recently sitting in our living room with the new campus minister at Murray State University and his soon-to-be wife when we heard a knock at the door. I jumped up and ran to the door to find two people standing on the porch with some door knocking paraphernalia. The older lady with a clipboard inquired as to whether or not she could ask me a few questions to which I agreed. The first couple of inquiries were demographic questions, but they led to more personal questions.

“Do you attend a church?”

“Yes.”

“How often do you attend a worship service? A. Once a week; B. Once a month; C. Once a year”

“Multiple times a week. I am a full time minister.”

(Ironically enough, after I answered this question, the front door began to close on me. I had invited them into the house, but they ignored my gesture to begin the questions, so I had been standing in the doorway. Our front door is black, and the sun had been beating down on it for hours at this point. When it closed, it burned my leg and caught me off guard. Typically, I do not swear, but my initial reaction was to let loose from the pain. Thank GOD I only screamed.)

“Do you know if you are saved?”

I fought my temptation to engage her in a conversation as to what it means to be saved in order to get back with our friends and just answered with a simple “yes.”

She continued to read from the clipboard without making eye contact until there were no more questions. After she had finished, she handed me a piece of paper with the “steps of salvation” to read at a later time and then the two left to head to another house in my neighborhood.

They knew nothing about me other than where I lived, the fact that I am a vocational minister, and that I can sometimes keep from swearing when I am confronted with unexpected pain.

Is this what we have reduced Christianity to? I do not mean to pick on this group of people trying to share their faith the best they know how, but why have we made it so impersonal? Sharing the good news of the resurrected Christ and the work of the Holy Spirit in our lives is meant to be done through relational conversation…notice I said through a conversation and not a monologue.

I have to be honest. If I ever receive an impersonal tract or brochure to read on my own time concerning GOD, it makes me angry and a little sick. In my experience, people are willing to talk about GOD. In fact, people are open to talk about Jesus. According to a survey from Lifeway, 73% of 20-29 year olds consider themselves spiritual and want to learn more about “GOD or a highly supreme being,” and 89% said they would be open to a conversation about Christianity. It is the people that represent Christ that are not as popular, though.

Back in my college days, I did an informal survey where I asked other students on campus two simple questions. What do you think about Jesus? What do you think about Christians? In response to the first question, people’s eyes would light up, and they would say nothing but positive things about Christ. “He loves people. He cares for people no matter who they are. He is a peacemaker.” When they described Christians, their mannerisms changed. “They are judgmental. They are hypocrites. They hate homosexuals.”

I believe people want to know Christ. Why wouldn’t they? He is amazing! He is all the things that those students described Him to be during the survey and so much more. John tells us in 1 John that people see God through us and our love for one another. The world needs to meet Christ, but it has to happen through personal relationships. That means Christianity is not going to be easy. In fact, it will be messy.