Let's face it. Visitors to your church are a pain. They upset the dynamics of your routine. They don't know the drill. Someone has to explain it to them- where the kid's classes are, etc. They didn't bring a Bible and when the plate is passed, they just look at it vacantly and pass it on.
Visitors just slow things down and get in the way. Precious time that could be spent with our friends is wasted on people who probably visit once or twice, only to be never heard from again.
We grew up going to church with our families; they didn't. We went to college; they didn't. We're good Christians . . . it's obvious, isn't it? All you have to do is look at that glow in our smiles. As to these visitors, well, it's just as obvious that their lives have been . . . let's just leave it at "less than optimized."
We can save everyone a lot of time and trouble if we nip this in the bud at the outset. The bottom line is that the best way to deal with church visitors is to make them feel as unwelcome as possible. The following are some tips to help you do just that:
1. Ignore them. This is the easiest and perhaps the most important tool in our arsenal. Don't make eye contact. Instead, stick closely with your friends. Eventually, they'll go away.
2. Hire church staff who will ignore them. Church staff are paid to care for the needs of the flock, after all. We aren't paying them to take care of outsiders.
3. Create as much bureacracy as possible. Make sure that your senior pastor understands his/her role as a sort of CEO. He or she has built this church into what it is today. They can't be bothered with the mundane spiritual needs of visitors or newbies, or spiritually needy people.
Granted, gospel accounts tell us that Jesus made himself available to pretty much anyone who had a need. But then again, Jesus didn't have email, a website, a blog or a sermon to write every week.
4. If you have smaller group activities, make sure that it is impossible for visitors to participate. The best way to do this is to have an annual enrollment period and make sure that you do not, under any circumstances, provide any information to visitors as to these groups. You don't want to give them any ideas.
For that matter, make sure that the bureacracy that you create makes it impossible for visitors to particpate in anything. We certainly don't want them to get any ideas that they can pitch in- teach a class, say a prayer, help with the collection plate, etc. If they participate, they might actually feel like they are part of your group; like they have some ownership in it. It will make them feel almost as if they belong. And this is a real problem.
5. Never, ever, admit anything. The happier and more perfect your lives seem, the more that these visitors will realize that they don't fit in. If you ever admit sin or troubles, they might somehow identify with you and decide to stick around.
6. Always ask yourself: "What wouldn't Jesus do?" Then do it. If they actually see Jesus in your church, you'll never be able to get rid of them.
We can all save everyone a lot of wasted time and energy if we simply lay the cards out on the table. We've worked way too hard to build our church into what it is today. The last thing we need is someone coming in that might cause us to change the way we think, or the things we do.
And after all, challenging the religious status quo causes nothing but trouble for everyone.
The good news is that we live in a country where we are free to worship God. Despite our collective amnesia, America was at least in part a response to a country (England) that tried to impose it's religious values on its people. The founders were mostly Christians who believed that people should be allowed to worship God in their own individual ways.
One of Jesus' recurring themes was that the religious establishment of the day had lost its way. It had substituted rules and rituals for a true relationship with God. It had created a "form over substance" religion which had ironically created a gulf between man and God.
The bad news is that organized Christianity, if carried to the extreme, can do the same thing. If we focus on church attendance instead of humbling ourselves before God, we miss the point. If we lose ourselves in church activities, we can miss the point.
Jesus told us that it's all about two things- loving God and loving man.
Most of us feel pretty good, after a good sermon. We leave church uplifted. Our weekly church attendance obligation is fulfilled. When we tithe or put something into the plate, we believe we are giving money for God's work; we have given back to God. If we serve as a deacon or teacher, we may feel particularly righteous. After all, we've done what God wants us to do, haven't we?
Maybe.
This is because no one is righteous. We've all sinned and more than once. In fact, our situation is so abysmal that we can never earn our way into Heaven. We owe God everything. Whatever we have- beginning with our lives, and everything good after that, we own to God.
We need a savior.
We must never forget that.
God gave up his only human Son, to provide us with a way out. Jesus makes us righteous. Anything else is self-righteous.
So, if our church service is done out of a sense of gratitude,then great. But if it's done to make us feel good about ourselves, then we are actually kidding ourselves. Certainly, church activities are arguably better than, say, stealing from someone. Then again, we've probably all hear of or witnessed activities done in the name of the church that would make stealing pale in comparison.
What really matters is whether or not we are doing it for Him. That can be a difficult question. We can get so caught up in the activities of church that we lose sight of the object of our worship- our heavenly Father.
There is a simple test you can use to determine whether you are acting rightously or self-righteously. Ask yourself, "Am I doing this for Him, or am I doing it for me?"
If it is self-rightous, then as Jesus put it, you have your reward. If it is truly righteous, then you have an incredible reward awaiting you in Heaven.
"Remember the sabbath day, to keep it holy." Chances are, you're familiar with this Exodus 20 scripture. It's one of the Ten Commandments. Most practicing Christians honor this commandment by engaging in in weekly church attendance. In fact, the American religious establishment is largely governed by this commandment. We've built churches and organizations that are designed for the primary purpose of honoring the Christian sabbath, on Sunday. You may know that before Jesus, the Jewish sabbath was honored on Saturday. The Jewish sabbath was, and is, strictly honored by practicing Jews. For some reason, the early Christian church began to honor the sabbath on Sunday, rather than Saturday. The Ten Commandments were, strictly speaking, Jewish in origin. However, Christians honor them as well. Although we believe that Jesus' crucifixion paid the price for all sins, we also believe that having faith in Jesus without obeying him doesn't make a lot of sense. So, the question is, which is right- a Saturday or Sunday sabbath? Answer: it doesn't matter. God wants us to honor the sabbath, but more importantly He wants us to be Christ followers 24/7. Jesus' disciples were picking grain one sabbath and the religious establishment criticized them for it. Jesus taught that the sabbath was made for man, and not the other way around. Have you ever noticed how people can get so caught up in the business of church that they forget to follow Christ the rest of the week. Worse, we can get so caught up in all of the church activities that we forget the point of church. We get so caught up in the forest of religion that we can't see the trees. Jesus taught us that there were two primary commandments. We are to love God, first and foremost. Then, we are to love each other. My book, "The Reasonable Person- Due Process of Law, Logic, and Faith" is somewhat unconventional. It wasn't published within mainstream Christian publishing. I tried that route, unsuccessfully. According to a local Christian literary agent, it's really more about who you are, than what you have to say. The book wasn't reviewed by any Christian celebrities or even "name" Christian preachers. As a "wrong side of the tracks" Christian, I worried that my doctrine might be off in some way. So I asked several heads of the largest Nashville area churches to check it. Everyone was too busy. If you take a stroll through the electronic aisles of internet retailers, you'll come to the "Christian" section. I can spot those books a mile off. They are the ones with Christian singers, celebrities, publishing czars and other dignitaries raving about the book. The Christian publishing machine is a pretty amazing thing. But the thing is that, with the recent Federal Trade Commission guidance on bloggers, all of the reviewers now disclose that they received a complimentary copy of the book in question, in exchange for an unbiased review. So, you get a pretty good sense of the books that originate from the machine. I read "The Reasonable Person" now and am amazed. I believe that other than contributing finger movement across the computer keyboard, I had very little to do with it. I don't have a background or education in Divinity, Theology or any other formal religious education. All I have are careful reading skills, the skills of any lawyer. And I apply them, as well as logical principles in my bible study and in the way I think about God. I am absolutely sure that God had and has a purpose for the book. Perhaps there is one person out there who needs to read it. I don't know. All I know is that I was faithful to the challenge and completed the book. Some of you know that I've been busy promoting the book. I've done radio interviews and other outreaches, in order to give the book some visibility. I've been pleasantly surprised by some of the smaller things- an email here and there from a reader, interest by a popular website, "The Berean Call." ( http://www.thebereancall.org/content/are-you-wrong-side-spiritual-tracks) I received a very kind note from the pastor at a large church in Hendersonville and the church's bookstore is now carrying the book. Even more touching is the fact that Parnassus Books, Nashville's only remaining independent bookstore, carries the book. ( http://www.parnassusbooks.net/book/9781477640623) At the same time, there are plenty of mainstream Christian organizations that are simply too busy to consider the book. At first it bothered me. As a corporate attorney, father of two young girls, and author of three books, I'm a pretty busy guy myself. I spent almost seven years of 6:00 a.m. writing sessions on the book, on top of my day job and family responsibilities. And yet, if I run into someone who has a need, I generally try to find time to help them. I just think that it is what God wants me to do. Instead of taking it personally, I've given it to God. It's His book. It was written for Him. If the religious establishment isn't interested in it, then so be it. The book wasn't intended for people who think they already know everything they need to know about God. It was written for people like me, or at least like I was for the better part of my life- searching for God. "The Reasonable Person" cuts through Christianspeak and debunks many of the myths the religious establishment has perpetuated about Christian faith. At it's core, this faith is that of a child; and the good news of Jesus is so simple, that a child can understand it. I can always hope that the religious establishment will one day see the trees for the forest. After all, it's what Jesus taught us (and them) time and time again. But something tells me it probably won't happen. There's just something too comfortable about all of it- big church buildings, this and that ministries, the business of religion. But I can always hope.
A friend of mine had read "The Reasonable Person" and asked me what being from "wrong side of the spiritual tracks" meant. There are a lot of ways of thinking about it, but here's how I think about it.
For many years, I felt like a Christian outsider. I'd see people in church and knew that I didn't fit into their mold: happy, clean-cut, sin-free, never even a sinful thought. Of course, it was a myth. Everyone has sinned, and whether we want to admit it or not, continues to sin. Sin means acting in a way that is contrary to God's will. Unless you've scrutinized your heart and God's Word (the Bible) before taking any action, you have very possibly acted in your own interests, rather than God's. And that is sin.
So the truth is that we are all, to varying extents, spiritual outsiders. The real question is whether or not we will admit it. Admitting it means that we recognize we've acted in this way and determine to do something about it.
So, to my Christian brothers and sisters:
There are non-believers all around you; at work, neighbors, at school, even family. These people see you and think one of the following three things:
1. "I could never be like that. I've made too many mistakes. I've lived a bad life. I can never be good enough for God. It's just too late."
2. "I don't want to be like that." These people see what they perceive to be the hypocracy of many Christians, especially the failings of high-profile Christians. We don't practice what we preach. These people see Christianity as a phony religion. Worse, they see it as a religion that says, "We're right and you are wrong."
3. "I don't need that." To these people, either this life is it, or they view life and the afterlife as a sort of cosmic justice system, where one's good deeds are weighed against the bad.
Of course, no one is good enough for God. That's why He did what He did with Jesus. And it's why Christians act badly. It's part of our DNA. The difference is that the Christian knows that God forgives them. And knowing that, along with the fact that God has taken up residence in the Christian's heart, enables the Christian to get better. Although we continue to sin, we look back on our lives and see a trajectory toward goodness (and Godness) that can't be explained any other way. As to the people who think that their lives will be weighed on a cosmic scale, if they are really honest with themselves, they will quickly realize that their bad deeds will always outweigh their good deeds.
If you know one of these people, give them a copy of "The Reasonable Person- Due Process of Law, Logic, and Faith." (CreateSpace, June 21, 2012). Or, send me their name and address and I will.
Right now, I'm struggling a bit. I'll explain why in a minute. You may know that I have recently finished the final draft of "The Reasonable Person- Due Process of Law, Logic and Faith" and am presently seeking a publisher for the book. The book is intended to accomplish a couple of things. Most importantly, I hope it demystifies Christianity, especially for people who didn't grow up in church. And I hope that it provides a logical framework with which to analyze the claims of Christianity. After reading it, you should be able to determine what you believe, at least as to God, and why you believe it.
I have a theory that, at least to some extent, modern Christianity has recreated a Pharisaical-like structure, as the faith has become increasingly organized. In Jesus' time, the Jewish establishment, the Pharisees, had created an intricate and complex system of rules and requirements that had to be followed. Or, at least all those claiming to be good Jews had to follow them. They were the self-appointed gatekeepers to God. The rules included requirements like ritual washing and bathing, in order to be clean enough to enter the temple. And they included the giving of alms and other similar rule, which at least in theory, gave one a better chance at Heaven.
Jesus came along and challenged the system. He said that what was on people's hearts mattered much more than following rules. He said that it was most important to love God, and to love your fellow man. The Pharisees hated Jesus. They constantly tried to trip him up. The funny thing though, is that they never did. They had studied the Hebrew Bible since childhood, were from the best families and had gone to the best schools. Jesus was a carpenter from Galilee. And Galilee was sort of the Appalachia of the Middle East. Most civilized people thought that not much good could ever come from there.
In many of our Christian churches today, we've created similar systems. You have to know when to stand, when to kneel and whether it's "trespasses" or "debts." Some congregations prohibit musical instruments in worship. Others require baptism. And still others create new rules by throwing out all of the old ones. You can spot these groups because everyone wheres bermudas and flip flops to church. They've turned the rules on their end. But like the hippies of the '60s, eventually the societal majority emulates these "rebels" and they become mainstream. Think of the Beatles song "Revolution" as elevator Muzak.
In any of these cases, the issue is that there are insiders and outsiders. And the insiders want to stay insiders. It's not that they are necessarily trying to prevent outsiders from participating. It's simply more a case of they like things the way they are. They don't want anyone to change their "system." It's comfortable and they like comfort.
Which brings me to why I'm struggling right now. As I explained at the beginning of this post, I've recently finished the final draft of "The Reasonable Person." I've spent almost five years of my life working on it. I've written it while working in a very demanding in-house practice and being a husband and dad as well. The book has over 500 footnotes and I have painstakingly provided scriptural reference to every substantial assertion contained in the book. I wrote the book for one reason and ironically, it's for the same reason that I wrote my first book, "Law School Labyrinth- The Guide to Making the Most of Your Legal Education" (Kaplan Publishing, 2d Ed., May 3, 2012). I wrote Labyrinth to help struggling law students. I wrote The Reasonable Person" to help non-Christians who are struggling with finding meaning in their lives, and to help Christians who are struggling with their faith.
I've asked two preachers in Nashville mega-churches to take a look at the manuscript. I didn't ask them to review it. I didn't ask them to endorse it. I didn't even ask them to read the entire book. I asked them to take a look at it. I asked them to take a look at it for one reason. I wanted a doctrinal perspective on the book. In other words, I wanted them to look at the book and tell me whether the felt that it was built upon sound biblical doctrine. I'm a lawyer and not a theologian. The book is written from a lawyer's perspective. So, I wanted to make sure that someone with clergy credentials had "blessed" it (in the vernacular, and not as a pun).
The funny thing is, both had virtually the exact same response. It was almost as if they were responding from a script. Each of them said, "Thanks, but I've got too much on my plate right now."
And I struggle with that. I struggle with it because we've all got too much on our plates these days. The secret is to figure out what is important and invest your time in it. A person can run in hundreds of directions, chasing this and responding to that. But a person who has an impact knows how to decide what their life's purpose is and do all that they can to fulfill that purpose. I believe that God has a purpose for me, and I believe He has provided the Holy Spirit to help me accomplish it. So, I spend a lot of my quiet time doing all that I can to hear Him and try to discern His will. And I believe He wanted me to tell the story contained in "The Reasonable Person."
"The Reasonable Person" is intended to demystify Christianity. I feel that we have overcomplicated the subject, which really only deals with a couple of things. God loves me and He loves you. He sent His Son Jesus to live among us, teach us and provide an example for how He wants us to live. He became one of us. God was one of us. And when that part of Jesus' mission was completed, God allowed Jesus to be sacrificed as payment, once and for all, for the sins of every single person. It righted the cosmic scales forever. The blood of God outweighed the sum total of every sin that man could ever commit. He paid for my sins and He paid for your sins. It's what Christians call a "free gift." All you have to do is receive it through faith in Him. It's really not that mysterious.
I don't know, I suppose that there are people who would prefer that it remain mysterious. There certainly were those people, the Pharisees, in Jesus' time. The mystery preserved the status quo. And it meant job security for them. But God doesn't want gatekeepers. Jesus welcomed everyone- sinners, tax collectors, prostitutes, and I suppose even lawyers. God wants every single person to come to Him.
So, I suppose the book will have to go to print without being "blessed." But I'm okay with that. And somehow, I think He is as well.
Christian preachers and teachers, in their zeal to follow Jesus’ command to share the gospel [1], can seem at times to value conversion quantity over quality. They measure their spiritual wealth by their converts. But these folks can become so focused on winning souls for Christ that they inadvertently may omit the spiritual fine print. They don’t tell you that you have to work at your faith. [2] Their focus is entirely on convincing non-believers to accept Jesus and get saved. These evangelists characterize the Christian experience as a miraculous
transformation. Typically, at the end of their message, they issue an invitation to their audience to pray a prayer and ask Jesus to come into their hearts. And to be fair, in many cases, that’s all it takes. A person prays the prayer and their life is instantaneously, permanently and irreversibly changed. But some new believers expecting the process to be instantaneous are disappointed. For these people, the change seems to be only temporary. They still have problems. They still struggle with sin. They begin to question the validity of their conversion. Things haven’t worked out as promised so they blame God. But they were rushed into making a commitment that they really hadn’t thought about. They didn’t really understand the prayer that they prayed. Their conversion was more akin to a fast-food experience. They were told, “Pray the prayer, God comes into your life and all your problems go out the window. Pray the prayer and God will do the rest.” In a sort of a get rich quick spiritual scheme, these new Christians are told to sit back, enjoy the ride and be blessed by God
beyond comprehension. But when life’s troubles arise as they inevitably do (and are scripturally predicted), these people are disappointed, and perhaps embittered. Eventually they may fall away from their faith. And they blame it on a god that failed them. I believe that Christian conversion is absolutely miraculous. And I believe that it can be, but does not have to be, instantaneous. Or at least, the effects of the conversion may not be instantaneously visible. And I also believe that we are saved by God’s grace which we receive through faith. [3] But Christian growth is a process. You ask Jesus to come into your heart, declare yourself to be a Christian and promise to follow Him. The entire act of becoming a Christian takes a few seconds, at most. But you spend the rest of your life developing this relationship through a daily, if not hourly, step-by-step faith walk. You learn to give every single aspect of your life to Him. You stumble. And you begin the process again. This is the Christian growth process. To be fair, anytime that the Creator of the Universe reaches out to mankind, then by definition a miracle has occurred. Having a relationship with the Creator of the universe is nothing short of miraculous. But an authentic Christian experience is, in reality, also lot of work. This is not to say that Christian salvation is based on our works. It’s not. We are saved by God’s grace; a free gift in the form of Jesus. But faith that doesn’t turn into action isn’t really faith. [4] God is ultimately responsible for the change that occurs in true Christians. But we have to cooperate and at times simply get out of His way. And letting God truly run our lives, giving it all completely to Him, is a daily, if not hourly challenge. Humans want to control things. Giving your life to God means surrendering all control over it, and it goes against our nature. [5] But the sooner you surrender, the sooner God can begin to change you into a new creature- less worry, less fear, less temptation, less anger, angst and all of the rest of the bad psyche stuff. [6] Christianity is a lifelong process of growth that occurs through the relinquishment of self to God. Some Christian proselytizers avoid this fine print. When their new converts realize that they still have problems, they may simply give up and move on to the next thing. The truth is that these folks intended to lead others to Christ, but led them only in the general vicinity of Christ. This is not to say that these new converts are not Christians and were not miraculously transformed. They were. They were transformed by God into new creatures as a result of their faith in Jesus. [7] But as long as these new believers wait on a miraculous tangible experience, they will delay the heavy lifting and hard work that comes with the Christian process. Worse, they may even give up hope waiting for that miracle and eventually abandon their faith. Jesus himself explained a long time ago that this would happen through his parable of the sower and the seed. [8] People can hear about Jesus, but things in this life get in the way of a truly fulfilling spiritual experience. The truth is, you have to work at being a Christian. You have to work at your faith. [1]Mark 16. [2]James 1-5. [3]Ephesians 2. [4]James 2:14-26. [5]Deuteronomy 10:12-22. [6]2 Corinthians 5. [7]Id. [8]Matthew 13:1-23
Christian preachers and teachers, in their zeal to follow Jesus’ command to share the gospel [1], can seem at times to value conversion quantity over quality. These folks are so focused on winning souls for Christ, that they inadvertently may omit the spiritual fine print. They don’t tell you that you have to work at your faith. [2] The focus is entirely on getting non-believers to accept Jesus and get saved. These evangelists characterize the Christian experience as a “miraculous transformation”. Frequently, following an inspirational message, they will issue an invitation to their audience to pray a prayer and “ask Jesus to come into their hearts.” And to be fair, in many cases, that’s all it takes. A man prays the prayer and his life is instantaneously, permanently and irreversibly changed. But some new believers expecting the process to be instantaneous are disappointed. For these people, the change seems to be only temporary. They still have problems. They still struggle with sin. They begin to question the validity of their “conversion” and blame God. They were rushed into making a commitment that they really hadn’t thought about. They didn’t really understand the prayer that they prayed. They didn’t understand what they were asking for, or more importantly, what they were agreeing to. Their conversion was more akin to a fast-food experience. They were told, “Pray the prayer, God comes into your life and all your problems go out the window. Pray the prayer and God will do the rest.” In a sort of a “get rich quick” spiritual scheme, these new Christians are told to sit back, enjoy the ride and be blessed by God beyond comprehension. But when life’s troubles arise as they inevitably do (and are scripturally predicted), these people are disappointed, and perhaps embittered. Eventually they may fall away from their faith. And they blame it on a god that failed them. I believe that Christian conversion is absolutely miraculous. And I believe that it can be, but does not have to be, instantaneous. Or at least, the effects of the conversion may not be instantaneously visible. And I also believe that we are saved by “grace, through faith and not works.” [3] This is because for many people, including me, Christian growth is a process. You ask Jesus to come into your heart, declare yourself to be a Christian and promise to follow Him. The entire act of “becoming a Christian” takes a few seconds, at most. But you spend the rest of your life developing this relationship through a daily, if not hourly, step-by-step faith walk. You learn to give every single aspect of your life to Him. You stumble. And you begin the process again. For a lot of believers, this is the Christian growth process. At the same time, if the Creator of the Universe reaches out to mankind, then by definition a miracle has occurred. And Christians believe that if you ask God to come into your life, He will do it. Having a relationship with the Creator of the universe is nothing short of miraculous. But an authentic Christian experience is, in reality, also lot of work. This is not to say that Christian salvation is based on our works. It’s not. We are saved by God’s grace; a free gift in the form of Jesus. But “faith without works is dead”. [4] Certainly God is ultimately responsible for the change that occurs in true Christians. But we have to cooperate and at times simply get out of His way. And letting God truly run our lives, giving it all completely to Him, can be a daily, if not hourly challenge. Human nature is such that we want to control things. Giving your life to God means surrendering all control over it, and giving absolutely every ounce of it to Him. [5] The sooner you surrender, the sooner God can begin to change you into a new creature- less worry, less fear, less temptation, less anger, angst and all of the rest of the bad psyche stuff. [6] And for many people, Christianity is a lifelong process of growth that occurs through the relinquishment of self to God. Some Christian proselytizers avoid this fine print. They tell people that all you have to do is ask Jesus to come into your heart and He will. And once He does, all of your problems are solved. When these new converts realize that they still have problems, they may simply give up and move on to the next thing. The truth is that the folks intending to lead others to Christ, actually led them only in the general vicinity of Christ. This is not to say that these new converts are not Christians and were not miraculously transformed; they were. They were transformed by God into new creatures as a result of their faith in Jesus. [7] But as long as these new believers wait on a miraculous tangible experience, they will delay the “heavy lifting” and hard work that comes with the Christian process. Worse, they may even give up hope waiting for that miracle and eventually abandon their faith. Jesus himself explained a long time ago that this would happen through his parable of the sower and the seed. [8] People can hear about Jesus, but things in this life get in the way of a truly fulfilling spiritual experience. The truth is, you have to work at being a Christian. You have to work at your faith. [1] Mark 16. [2] James 1-5. [3] Ephesians 2. [4] James 2:14-26. [5] Deuteronomy 10:12-22. [6] 2 Corinthians 5. [7] Id. [8] Matthew 13:1-23
If you are not a Christian, you may be intimidated by the appearances of Christianity. From the outside, everything looks so squeaky clean and everyone seems so together. Perhaps you didn’t grow up going to church. You decide to give it a try and walk in one Sunday. You hear unfamiliar music and awkwardly walk down the aisle and find a place to sit. Everyone seems to be looking at you and you just know they know how bad your life has been. You are convinced that they, on the other hand, have lived unblemished lives. You just want to get through the next hour, so that you can get home to watch the game. But the truth is for most of us, life is messy. And everyone has their story, even Christian “insiders”. And if you read the Bible carefully, you will quickly learn that most of the principal players had very messy lives. It started with Adam and Eve, Cain and Abel and the others, and only went downhill from there. Heros of the Bible, people like David and Moses struggled with sin and disobedience. One of Jesus closest friends, Peter, betrayed Him. Another friend, Judas, turned him over to the authorities, and ultimately committed suicide. The rest of his friends scattered and abandoned Him in His one time of need. And although there are plenty of Christians who grew up going to church every Sunday, there are plenty of others like me. These folks have seen and done things that are rarely talked about in church. Name a sin and these Christians have either done it or witnessed it first-hand. And even the church-raised Christians have had their share of troubles. In fact, if we were all completely honest with one another, you would probably realize that their “sin quotient”, relatively speaking, is not vastly different from yours. God loves all of us, no matter what we have done. [1]Further, I believe that we “other side of the tracks” Christians are actually pretty special to God. We are an opportunity for Him to demonstrate his love, power and glory. We are the before and after photos in the spiritual rapid weight loss commercial of life. People know what we were like before God touched us. And they know what we are like now. And in a way, I feel sorry for folks who grew up going to church every Sunday. They get use to it. They might take God for granted. Folks like me, who found themselves at the spiritual bottom, thank God every day for what he has done in their lives. I’m not saying other Christians aren’t thankful. But as Jesus explained in the parable of the prodigal son, [2] God really wants a radically changed heart. It’s because when people like us change so radically, there is no other reasonable explanation for it. God is the only reasonable explanation. Jesus didn’t hang out with squeaky-clean people. He surrounded himself with the castoffs of Jewish society- the tax collectors, adulterers and sinners. But all of these people had one thing in common. They knew they were wrong and sorry for it. And they believed that only Jesus could make it right. Squeaky-clean Christianity is a myth. We’ve all sinned. And we’ve all done what we knew was wrong. You may be thinking that you’re not good enough for Christianity. But no one is. And that’s the point- God loves us anyway. [1] John 3, 4. [2] Luke 15.
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