I’m a Sinner, but at least I’m annoying

non-Biblical Christianity

Wow! It’s exciting and refreshing to experience God pulling together so many people, resources, and ideas all at one time. The church I’m privileged to pastor has seen some considerable growth in the past year, and it has endured a couple challenges along the way. One of those challenges, to be sure, is being led by a sinner. Regardless of how hard I try, I just can’t seem to get out of God’s way fast enough to avoid making a mistake from time to time. Thankfully, I am pastored and led by Jesus-loving men of God capable of sharpening my iron with theirs. May they never shrink from speaking truth into my life, and may I never stop listening.

Other challenges come from those simply not willing to make the sacrifices necessary to reach a Christ-less generation with the life-changing gospel. Efforts made at trumping truth with tradition lead to frustration for any mission-minded congregation, and ours has been no different. Some stay, and some go; both decisions present challenges for a body of leaders who need to be both missional and pastoral. My deepest desire in life is to model Jesus as much as I’m able (1 Cor 11.1). The Jesus of the Bible[1] constantly reminded us of this often-ignored nugget of golden common sense: If we’re not being missional before everything else, there will soon be no one to pastor. Staying in the corral and spoon-feeding those who are under orders to sacrifice everything (including their spoons) so that others may know Jesus isn’t just bad leadership (though it is), it’s a blatant disregard of our King’s Command (Mt 28.19-20)[2].

I was encouraged recently through some stuff I read. While my heart breaks for pastors who struggle to keep their flocks from flipping Jesus off with the continual, “but I want…,” it’s somewhat soothing to know we’re not alone. One of the corny-yet-true-and-applicable clichés hits close to home: If you’re going to make an omelet, you have to break an egg or two. In the church world, I suppose that equates to seeing a few Jesus-loving eggs jumping ship when things don’t go the way they want. OK. That’s going to happen, and you do your best to take it in stride. But, the frustrating part comes when those who stay expect you (the paid Jesus representative) to go after them. Where is that in the Bible? (cf. John 6.66)

Perhaps we should be clear here: it’s not. And, quite frankly, it’s a downright insult to the Suffering Servant to even suggest it. Francis Chan touched on this in an article recently:

“Continuing, the popular Christian speaker challenged those in the audience to compare their lives to the Bible and see if it also fits. He said it is more weird that some Christians change churches because of the service time, the music style, or the fight they got into with someone. Think biblically ’What is weird?' 'Who is weird?‘ based on the scripture and whether we fit in it,” Chan stressed. “So many things don’t make sense. I got to look at scripture and go ‘Does my life make sense?’ I want my life to fit in this book one day.””

Brad Powell, another highly respected and successful pastor, recently wrote on the frustration and tension that exists when we’re “asked” by parishioners to chase down grumpy Christians or honor antiquated relics of the American Gospel at the cost of saving souls from the eternal reality of Hell (cf. 1 Cor 9.22 for starters).

“Sometimes the best thing that can happen for the health of a church is for the right people to leave. By the right people, I don’t necessarily mean bad or ungodly people. Though to be honest, this is sometimes the case. Rather, I mean those people who, for whatever reason, will never be part of the church moving forward. I strongly believe that you should let them go. But be prepared. These people don’t generally leave quietly or respectfully. I’ll never forget the very public words one disgruntled lady directed my way as she was leaving for the last time:  “You have the face of an angel, but the heart of a thief.” Ouch. When people leave this way, they seldom are content to leave alone. Just remember:  the negative splash won’t last long, but the health and peace that follows will have long-term positive impact.”

However, DCC must realize even larger challenges are (always) looming over the horizon. While growth is great, we kid ourselves if we don’t recognize the current superficiality supporting our numbers. Our goal now must be to convert, keep, and disciple those who have come to know, experience, and serve Jesus Christ. That task is daunting, and it requires continual realignment and constantly refusing to accept “good enough” when it comes to building the Kingdom. May we never stop going deeper, pushing harder, and asking for more from our flock. And, may we realize that starts with us (James 3.1)

Why do I get so passionate (or annoying, depending on your view point) about this? First of all, because I still remember my life without Jesus. It wasn’t good. And, it’s even scarier as I now realize that I didn’t then realize it wasn’t good. Now that I’m a pastor, I live haunted with the constant fear that some people sit in my pew with the false confidence that comes with believing in a Jesus they’ve conformed to themselves. When did we stop trying to look more like Him and start trying to mold Him into our image? Probably when we let Joel Osteen tell us Jesus came to give us Our Best Life Now rather than a cross to carry until He comes back. We have, “Blindly and unknowingly embraced values and ideas that are common in our culture but are antithetical to the gospel He taught.” (Platt, David. Radical: Taking Back Your Faith from the American Gospel)

I’ll give Jesus the last word, as long as you realize he was preaching to a very “religious” crowd when He said this:

Matthew 7:21–23 (NLT)
²¹ “Not everyone who calls out to me, ‘Lord! Lord!’ will enter the Kingdom of Heaven. Only those who actually do the will of my Father in heaven will enter. ²² On judgment day many will say to me, ‘Lord! Lord! We prophesied in your name and cast out demons in your name and performed many miracles in your name.’ ²³ But I will reply, ‘I never knew you. Get away from me…

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[1] No, there exists no other Jesus; but, we too often hear people theorizing, ‘Well, I think Jesus would say/do this’ without opening their Bible to realize he never elevated anything above Evangelism—hymns included.

[2] Yep, the Great Commission. That part’s still in the Bible.