Evangelizing Christians with the gospel should be our highest priority. It is sad, but we need to begin to reach Christians with the gospel. This sounds like an oxymoron because it is. Can I hear an “amen?” This is not a post to just harp on Christians. I personally follow Jesus and would identify as a Christian. However, the condition of the church is increasingly obvious to the world: we are not looking like the radical love, grace, and forgiveness of God we talk about.
Often, Christians find themselves self-defending against the attacks from culture. We think that the world is trying to give Christians a bad name. But the Christian gives Christianity a bad name.
People in the church and in our city are fully aware of the need for people in the church to fully understand the love and grace they are called to. The world only has a problem because we don’t live out what we claim to believe. The only ones not aware of this need are the ones who desperately need to hear it.
It is my experience that church is one of the only places that will devour their own. What I mean is that as we help people become more loving and holy as they follow Christ, at the same time we tear them down through unrealistic demands, un-biblical expectations, and conformity to our church culture over conformity to Jesus. The very place that should foster growth, health, and Christlikeness often does not. The result is that many people in our churches are walking away wounded, and the people outside of the church don’t ever want to go near it. Many of my friends have been disillusioned by God and church simply because their non-Christian friends are frankly kinder and more loving than their Christian acquaintances.
With this said, there are some really good communities of Christians out there. And I applaud the boldness they have to be radically…Christian.
There are some trends in Christianity that are shaping our communities. An article by Carey Nieuwhof sheds light on 10 future predictions for the church. I believe many of them are on target. I think God may be getting the church’s attention.
I also believe one of those trends should be a move towards radical love and grace in our cities. Christians should be increasingly known as those who model a living gospel. It may be time to re-evangilize Christians.
There is a great article in Christianity Today, “Why the Church Can’t Compete with Hollywood.” Being in Hollywood, I know the tension that churches have in Los Angeles to put on a bigger and better show and be more attractive to our neighborhood. But what if looking more like Jesus is what the neighborhood is asking us to do?
What we have been trying isn’t working and perhaps what is happening through the world’s mirroring back to the church its condition is that God is trying to reach His own people. Again.
Amen !!!!! well said, matt.