Save Us

The other day I saw a bumper sticker that said “Jesus save me from your followers” which has an interesting double edge to it in my opinion. First at the surface level it is an undeniably anti Christian message. Yet at the same time, it can not be denied that to some extent the church had it coming from how many Christians have been acting. All too often it seems as if the cultural warriors within the church are picking the wrong issues to fight over which only seems to cause resentment among non-Christians and “proves” to them that the Christians are crazy by carrying on in a fight often to impose Christian moral standards on non-Christians which has zero chance of success. Sadly I’ve encountered Biblical justification for this, citing Jesus calling His followers the salt of the earth, when pointing out that salt both preserves as well as burns and irritates so if they are doing a good job people should either be getting saved or pissed at them. While overlooking John 13:34-35 “A new commandment I give to you, that you love one another: just as I have loved you, you also are to love one another. By this all people will know that you are my disciples, if you have love for one another”(ESV). As how is one supposed to reach out with a message of God’s love when being seen as a judgmental person trying to force others to submit to their rules by acting in a way contradictory to love? I heard a person say that much of what Christians consider an bold witness for Jesus is viewed by non-Christians as equally ridiculous as someone standing on a street corner loudly proclaiming that one type of underwear is superior to all others. And the same holds to Christians to some extent as a friend told me about an incident that happened at a church conference. They were with a group of pastors leaving a restaurant after lunch when they were ambushed Bible thumping style by a group of street preachers who wanted to know if they were saved. One of the pastors responded by laughing and responding we’re clergy when opening his jacket slightly to make his clerical collar visible. Evangelism serves as a good study point as I was taught in seminary that evangelism also needs to be directed toward Christians, which caused many cringes around the classroom. But think about it if most of the people in the church don’t want to sit through their own sales pitches doesn’t that say that something is clearly wrong with how it is being done much of the time? Of course the professor meant it in a different way within the context of preaching which should included the core basic truths of Christianity. As preaching just like fitness advice is not just about teaching people new things for the first time but to remind you about the things that you know but might not be putting to good use, so in theory a good sermon aimed towards Christians is also evangelism to any non-Christians present.