“The
greatest single cause of atheism in the world today is Christians who
acknowledge Jesus with their lips then walk out of the door and deny Him by
their lifestyle. That is what an unbelieving world simply finds unbelievable.”
– Brennan Manning
The biggest
turn off to Christianity is Christians? How is that possible? Christians are
Christ followers; they live their lives imitating Christ. They are loving not
condemning. They are doers, active in making a difference in the world. You can
tell who they are just by how they carry themselves and interact with others.
They pray for others and genuinely care about the well being of the people
around them. A Christian is more than just a good person but a person with a
special light about them that can only be explained with Christ. A Christian
looks like Jesus.
If that is
true then how are Christians the ones turning people away from Christ? Jesus
tells his disciples to deny themselves and take up their cross and follow him.
He didn’t say take my name, create a religion, sit in pews, sing some songs,
listen to a message then go on about your life like nothing has changed.
He said,
“Take up your cross and follow me.” Jesus carried his cross right up to death’s
door. He didn’t get there with a nice house and car, the perfect clothes and
money to spare. He got there bruised and bloody. He was covered in dust and
dirt with his clothing stripped to merely rags. Somewhere this message became
warped. Take up your cross became a fashion statement and we wear them around
our necks or on our clothes. Following Christ became filling the pews, staying
awake for the sermon, and then beating the church across town to lunch so we
don’t have to stand in line.
As
Christians we are called to more than this. We are called to a life of being
uncomfortable, a life of getting our hands dirty, and breaking our bodies for
the cross we have been asked to carry. Christianity is supposed to be more than
something worth living for but something worth dying for; which is exactly what
the world is looking for. Something worth living and dying for; a cause, a
mission, something to fight for. Not another set of rules and regulations
they’ll never be able to live up to. That is exactly what the world had before
Jesus came.
We are
called to be different, to be set apart; to live in this world but not be of
it. We are called to live a life of conviction. Our relationships with Christ
should be more visible than any other relationship we have.
A
relationship with Christ is a marriage, something we’re supposed to fight for.
In Joshua, God commands him to be strong and courageous, not to be frightened
or dismayed, for He, the Lord our God, would be with him wherever he went. Joshua was a warrior, he led the people of
Israel through battle. We have a war in front of us too. A war against evil and
darkness, a war against apathy and indifference. Casting Crowns said is so well
in their song Courageous.
Insert
Courageous here!
So how does
this mission minded United Methodist Church make a stand? By being courageous
and not afraid. By being willing to be loud for Christ. By putting our feet on
the ground and getting our hands dirty. The average United Methodist Church in
America is 94% White, 56% Female, and 32% 65 years old or older. Look around,
I’d say we’re pretty average. In America the people who consider themselves
unaffiliated with church are 68% White, 57% Male, and 72% ages 18-49. That is
the population we need to be reaching.
I am
someone that fits that statistic, I am white, male, and between the ages of 18
and 49, but I consider myself affiliated. But I haven’t always. I grew up in
the United Methodist Church, my father is a pastor, and I spent my time like a
lot of PK’s in the pews napping through my father’s sermons. I enjoyed youth
group, conference youth activities, camp, and would occasionally sing a special
on Sunday mornings. Over all I was a pretty active youth. Then I graduated and
started doing things my own way. My faith life took sort of a back seat. Then I
moved this direction and my personal life collided with this church. I started
spending time with the youth and it
reminded me how much I wanted and needed God in my life. So I restarted my
faith journey begging God to give me my dream job and getting angrier and
angrier each time the answer was no. To the point that the darkness took over
and moved into my life full time. This darkness was so great that I ceased to
function and merely existed on this planet. It wasn’t pretty in fact I was
quite ugly. And I did my best to put the light out around me, all the while
being frustrated with myself for doing so. It was a constant battle.
There was a
light in my life that wouldn’t go out, wouldn’t leave me alone, and wouldn’t
quit fighting for me. It turns out there were multiple lights but one in
particular was the most annoyingly
bright. There was a battle in my home for my soul. A battle between light and
darkness. The Star Wars fan in me sees this as an epic light saber battle. A
few months ago the light won and has helped me come to this place where I could
get up here in front of you.
Marriage to
Christ is a lot like the first few months of mine. A marriage to the light and
in order for that marriage to work the light has to win and when it does it is
called to shine so bright and beautiful people can’t help but be drawn to it.
Jesus tells us to shine like the city on a hill, leading others into
relationship with him.
Christianity
is called to move, breathe, to love, and fight. Christianity is called to be
real not just a church service. It took the light of Christ shining in my face
daily for months for me to become more than a statistic. It is going to take
you being the light of Christ for others for our church to be more than a
statistic.
A picture we took after church. After Daddy did a good job sharing his message!
