Plenty of Jesus to Go Around

I cannot remember a time when I did not consider myself a Christian, but only within the past several years have I had a relationship with God. Religion and relationship are no equal. I was religious long before I was spiritual, at least I thought more in terms of religiosity than in terms of spirituality.

I believe we are spiritual beings, but that most of us do not routinely recognize the spirit within. We recognize our feelings and emotions on varying levels, but the human spirit has long been neglected in our American culture. As much as it looks and seems as if I'm about to rip off a blog about spiritual formation, I am not. I am simply setting the stage to say that we are spiritual beings who have spiritual longings for a Higher Power and that we will seek until we are fulfilled, be it in substances, addictions, world religions, academia, sports, human relationships, video games, culture, media, Lady Gaga, what-have-you. . . we will seek to fill the spiritual void. We are designed to need God and will allow someone or something be god of us.

When I began to take Jesus seriously and devote my life to Him, I was scared to death of what that might mean. I could not find nary a denomination whose doctrine I agreed with completely. I found precious few Christians who shared my world-view. Church, religion, and Christian sub-culture were huge spiritual-buzz kills to me. Here I was with a new, passionate devotion to Jesus . . . but I was all dressed up with nowhere to go.

Christian counsel on the subject was lacking: "Suck it up, just choose a denomination that best suits you"; "You're gonna have to forfeit your progressive political views if you're an evangelical"; "You don't have to agree with everything they say"; "You're going to have to overlook a few things"; "Well, just keep quiet and don't broadcast your views."

My interpretation of the above was: You best fit in. The rules and culture are already in place. Keep your mouth shut when you don't agree. Sign on the dotted line.

Uh, no. I'm in love with Jesus - the Way, the Truth, the Life. I am not in love with Christian sub-culture or denominational by-laws. In an age of pedophile priests, church cover-ups, gazillionaire pop-celebrity preachers with private jets, and denominations who have just recently under much pressure officially apologized for their role in slavery, I am not going to be pressured into signing anyone's dotted line nor drink their kool-aid (or grape juice, depending on church tradition - ha).

I know Christians today who think that if you don't belong to their particular church, that you're condemned. I know Christians today who think you have to vote Conservative to be right with God. I know Christians today who have a blanket negative outlook on poor people regardless of their situation. I know Christians today who push for all Believers to home-school. I know Christians today who are racist, sexist, and just plain mean.

There are broad social movements within Christian sub-culture that presents Christianity as an Us-vs-Them. Us=Saved, righteous, conservative, better Vs. Them=Lost, worldly, secular, liberal.

Let me be clear: I am not trying to convert anyone to my way of thinking. If you feel compelled to vote straight-ticket R, then I think that is absolutely what you should do (just preferably the day after the election). If you feel compelled to home-school, then go for it. If you choose to align yourself socially with a certain movement, then have at it. Seriously, I think that we should do as we feel led or as we discern best for ourselves and our families, but what about everyone else?

Several preacher friends and Christian counselor friends of like mind have shared with me recent studies, statistics of what the word 'evangelical' means in today's culture. Most Americans associate this word with politics. What?! You can't tell me that the church that Jesus died for has become. . . Fill in your own blanks, but have we let a social movement and a political party become the mouthpiece for Jesus. Isn't that our calling?

What's burdens me the most is what about those on the outside? What about someone who would love Jesus, but they can't see Him in us because we have secluded ourselves in million-dollar sanctuaries, home-schools and private schools, elite social circles with people that look just like us, and are predominantly represented by one political party. I'm picturing an SUV with a Jesus fish and just the right bumper sticker at a country club church in the 'nice' part of town. . .

Just consider that you are on the outside and you have a lifelong deep hunger for more and you might just be receptive to accepting Jesus Christ, but His followers have said hateful things about homosexuals and your daughter is gay. What if they've left your school district in droves and built a beautiful school out by the country club where you could never afford to send your children. What if the Christian neighbor kid berated your child for watching Harry Potter? What if evangelical lady at the office opines loudly and vehemently about abortion and you had one as a teenager? What if (right or wrong) you respect the President of the United States, but all your Christian friends say horrible, hateful, mean things about him that you've never been able to get them to substantiate?

Again, I think we should all believe as we are led and act accordingly. I'm not asking anyone to think like me, vote like me, church like me, pray like me, but can we as Christians give some thought to others outside of evangelical Christianity? We have a world at our fingertips that would absolutely love Jesus if they were to ever recognize Him or see Him in us, but I fear that too often they see elitists, they see conservatives, they see separatists, they see social clubs, but not the Christ-in-us!

We are called, commanded actually, to love God and love others. Nowhere are we told to convert to a particular denomination, movement, political orientation, but we are called to love. There are hurting, spiritually wounded people in our sphere of influence who desperately need a Savior, but we're offering them politics, subculture, divisive opinions, and a lot of nonsense. It's clear that the vast majority of evangelical Christians are aligned with a general movement. I don't necessarily disagree with them on many issues nor do I think they're wrong on these issues, but while evangelicals have done a superb job of rallying the saved to be united, they have done a crappy job of presenting themselves and their message of the GOOD NEWS to others. Kudos for some organizational skills and taking over a political party and positioning them to do legislatively what the church is called to do relationally, BUT what about the others? The world gets a big dose of how right we think we are, how saved we think we are, but do they get any sense that we represent a Savior that died for them and wants to fulfill their deepest needs in this life and eternally?

Let's pray that despite our politics, worldviews, biases, and beliefs about government that we as Christians can unite and expose the world to Christ - not our culturally skewed, watered-down version of Him. Let's not send any perverted message that you must look like, think like, vote like, dress like US to be saved. John 3:16, "For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life." For God so loved the white people? No. The conservative people? No. Actually, yes, but EVERYBODY else, too. The world.

The Lord's Prayer models for us that we are to pray that His will be done on earth as it is in Heaven. We are called to love God and others - all others. Social movements come and go. Earthy kingdoms come and go. Jesus is forever. Let's not keep Him to ourselves. There's plenty of Jesus to go around.