What's Important?

I am currently reading a book called UnChristian by David Kinnaman, where he talks about the more common negative perceptions that people have about Christianity like being hypocritical, judgmental, anti-homosexual, out of touch, and so on. He spends a chapter on each view, and I am currently on the chapter about hypocrisy. I wanted to share some of my thoughts, because I think there are some good things to learn from the research done through this book and through the barna group.

The Barna Group conducted a survey where they asked adult Christians (those that are committed to a life of following the teachings of Christ) to list the priorities of the Christian faith. The most popular response had to do with lifestyle such as being good, doing the right thing, not sinning, and the like. Lifestyle was higher on the list than discipleship, learning about the Bible and Christ, evangelism, worship, relationships, serving others, and pretty much everything else.

Christians believe that the main reason people are not followers of Christ is because they cannot handle the rigorous standards of following Christ. Research shows, however, that about a quarter of young people that do not follow Christ are concerned with Christianity limiting their lifestyle. In fact, the main reasons that people say they are not Christian are they never thought about it, they are not interested in spirituality, they are committed to another faith, or they are repelled by Christians.

The crazy thing that Kinnaman discovered is that young people are not overly bothered by Christians being hypocritical as many of us might think. Hypocricy is everywhere, so we have come to expect it in all areas of our lives. Why would Christianity be any different? The problem is not that we are hypocrites, and we are hypocrites. The problem, I think, is that we put too much emphasis on the rules and regulations and the things that we do or don’t do. If people think that Christianity is solely based on being a good person, doesn’t it make sense that there is a sense of disappointment in what they see in the representatives?

Christ is of the utmost importance of Christianity. Sounds pretty simple, doesn’t it? What about putting the emphasis on our need for Christ in our lives? Kinnaman says, “Our passion for Jesus should result in God-honoring, moral lifestyles, not the other way around.” Our lifestyles are important, but we cannot change ourselves. It is the power of the Holy Spirit at work within us that results in our behavioral changes.

The Debate

I guess this is kind of Part 2 to my previous blog about relationships. I hope I do not sound too negative towards the people in my story, but my prayer is that we will remember that “no one has ever seen GOD; but if we love one another, GOD lives in us and his love is made complete in us.” (1 John 4:12)

I do not remember the exact year in school, but I think it was seventh or eighth grade. A small debate had erupted before class, as they did on most days, between a couple of hard-headed youth (myself included). The topic for the day? Salvation. In our youth, we were sure that we were right about most topics of discussion, so theology was no exception. I was a Catholic from the North while my counterpart was a conservative evangelical from the South that would have felt victorious in the debate if he could have baptized me through full immersion right then and there. Instead, he settled for telling me that I was going to Hell, because my belief system did not fully match his. Wow.

Now, I do not want to share this story to show how wrong this other kid was, because I was just as involved in the debate as he. I was also just as judgmental towards him as he was to me. I am just saddened by the fact that several years later I am seeing the same "conversation" happening among people well older than seventh graders. How did we get to the point where we felt the need to fight with others to get them to believe in what we believe? Maybe a better question to ask: Do we really think that verbally fighting with others is the best way to invite others to investigate a possible relationship with Jesus? Are you kidding me?

It was my Junior(ish) year in college when I decided to really take my faith in God seriously. My dear friend and mentor, Mike, had described it as putting on my walking shoes. I had always believed in God, and I had heard and believed that Jesus was the Son of God, but I had not attempted to live out my faith up to this point in my life. I went to church for the most part, but I had not gone in 3 or 4 years. I tried to read the Bible at times, but I mostly found it boring and difficult to relate.

So why did I decide to “put on my walking shoes” and allow God to transform me? It was because of relationships. It was late night conversations with roommates who were genuinely concerned for my life, here and now. It was people that had truly befriended me, because we shared common interest and enjoyed spending time together. Spiritual conversations came out of already established foundations of companionship. It was not because of people that were only concerned with converting me as if I was a trophy to be won.

As GOD loves us, let that love flow through us in such a way that all people can see the Father.

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.