It’s been a while since I posted an ASBO cartoon, but Jon still keeps me entertained / thinking almost daily (though I disagree with quite a bit of his theology). This one raises some pretty interesting thoughts and questions:
Once you get past the slightly confusing depiction that causes you to think that maybe the guy in the middle (representative, in this case, of you or me or anyone else) should also be reflected in the mirror, the concept of the cartoon gives me pause. In a Christian culture in which discipleship is sparingly practiced and personal lives only marginally reflect Christ, I wonder how many of us are following what appears to be Christ but is actually only a secularized version dimly reflected in a mirror. I know, I know… I’m the eternal pessimist of our American Christian culture, yes?
No actually I’m not… i see so much potential, so much hope, so many resources… and so much passivity in the daily lives of the majority of Christ followers. We (as a whole and with exceptions) are more more docile than active, more intrinsic than extrinsic, more self-serving than altruistic. I know there are those who disagree with me on this, but look at our conglomerate fruit. We are a fragmented, political Church (global) with numerous converts but few disciples.
In the Showdown in the Desert, Satan tempted Christ not with evil, but with seemingly good things: bread to sustain life, the chance to glorify the miraculous powers of God, and the chance to reign over all (which ultimately Christ will do anyway, so why not speed up the process?). This is how satan leads his operation, masquerading as an angel of light, deceiving us by preaching a Jesus different from the one we are taught through His word. If it sounds good, sells good, makes us feel warm inside, and invokes the name of Jesus, it must be God right?
So we accept the (westernized / imperialized / free-marketized / politicized / Americanized / emergentized / prosperity-ized / traditionalized / foundationalized / liberalized / post-modernized / other-ized) (circle your choice) version of Jesus with no regards to the factual Jesus which we have first hand accounts of.
Catch the next wave, open your sails to the next strong wind, and don’t step on anyone’s toes because we all have our own interpretations of who Christ really is.
When Christ asks His disciples who the world says He is, their answers elicit no response. Yet it is His follow up which we should concern ourselves with: “But what about you? … Who do you say I am?” Can we answer with confidence which is consistent with His teachings throughout scripture? Or are we blinded by the ambivalence that the mirror reflects? Can we answer with a unified voice? Or does it crack and fracture into a cacophony of dissonant confusion?
So then, let us build our foundation of this faith on the Truth that is Christ by (re)discovering who He truly is. Learning and leaning on each other by examining Christ in the light of His own words, not by the reflections and understanding of man. We who lack wisdom should ask of God who gives generously to all.
Gosh, J, I have to really disagree. I find so much hope when I look out into the Body that surrounds me on a daily basis. The Americanized church does have it’s flaws, and I concede that, but as a whole I think there’s more there than you seem to give credit to in this post. Hey, can I make a request? I would LOVE to read a post written by you giving testimony to the good things you’ve witnessed from the Body, or can see being affected by what our church is doing in our culture. I know you could put into words what so many of us feel but cannot say.
Hey Amy,
Help me understand what particularly you disagree with in order to better converse about it. The idea that one of satan’s ploys is to use seemingly good to mislead? Or the idea that we tend to follow the next big wave rather than examining what the next big wave really teaches? Or strictly the idea that we are full of converts rather than disciples? Or that we, for the most part, don’t have a good grasp of who and what Jesus was all about?
I’m guessing it’s the Converts/Discipleship thing, so I’ll address it first (though it was only a supporting point in the post and not the main issue):
I agree, the Church does good things and I am not implying the church is completely dead (i will be happy to write about some of the good things we do)… However, the idea that we are full of converts and lack disciples is not my idea, it’s widely held among authors and pastors alike. From the Barna Research group, to Mark Driscoll, to Christianity Today magazine, to Bill Hybels, to local Joe Pastor.
Perhaps my / our / their sights are too high? If roughly 50% of Americans still claim to be Christian, but only 9% have what can be qualified as a Biblical world view (absolute truths, the Bible is accurate and reliable, Christ is our perfect Savior and fully God, etc), is that 9% enough? If ministry *usually* only happens with the blessings of a local church, and mon, tues, thurs, friday, and sat, most of us just kinda live in our own little bubbles is that true discipleship?
I will not deny that I have strong views on how well or poorly we tend to represent Christ as Christians, and I will admit that I focus far more on what we don’t do than what we do (I appreciate the challenge to offer balance)… but I also cannot deny that from a holistic view of our culture, we have so much more to offer, don’t you think?
Hey Jeremy interesting post! Check out this article
http://www.csmonitor.com/2009/0310/p09s01-coop.html
Hey John,
Thanks for stopping by, you should more often now that we’re probably not going to run into each other in the halls too much.
Wow, if you think I’m doom and gloom, don’t read that article! I used to read a lot of Michael Spencer, and this is one of his strongest on this topic. I don’t agree with everything, but I agree with most. He says: “A small band will work hard to rescue the movement from its demise through theological renewal. This is an attractive, innovative, and tireless community with outstanding media, publishing, and leadership development.”…
I think is already happening, both at a high level and at a grass roots level, and this is what may help to avoid the complete collapse that Spencer is predicting. He is looking at an emergence of a vital, healthy church through the collapse of this one, I would prefer to hope for a reform / awakening on the horizon.
well, it’s more of an overall theme of the post. I realize that we should all strive to serve better, and yes it was the discipleship statement that got me, but I guess my question is, do you feel like this is the major consensus in our religious base? I do not. I will look at how God challenges us to be better. He does not use statistics or polls to fire us up to go and serve. He gives us an example to follow. That’s how we’ll spur on our brothers and sisters in Christ. Whatever Satan intends for evil, God can use for His glory. That’s why i think examples of the Body in action will serve much more of a purpose than bringing all of the problems out of the shadows (and yes, I know we do have some) but I guess we’ll just have to agree to disagree. Still my buddy?
of course we’re still buddies (unfortunately more net buddies than anything these days… we should remedy that at some point)…
God is sovereign and he will work all things for the good, but that should not silence us, rather it should push us to become His vessels for change.
We must also acknowledge our failures as a whole; we must show that we will not stand for an apathetic, watered-down faith. Just as stats are not the end of the road, the major consensus should also not guide our steps.
MLK did not change the face of social discrimination by ignoring the failures; Martin Luther didn’t invoke the greatest step forward in our Christian faith by simply showing another way, rather he vehemently spoke out against the failures of the church; Christ’s was a life of acts of love, mercy, and house cleaning.
I agree, appreciate, and accept your challenge to spur through examples of action, something I need to do more often… as long as you can put up with (or better, see the hope in my heart that is actually behind) these types of posts from time to time
touche’! I completely agree.
Holy crap and to think I’ve been missing out on stuff like this! What a conversation! I subbed for an 11th grade Bible class Thursday and we talked about this very thing. I love your thoughts and the discussion here has been great.
I have to say that I agree with you on this and it’s been a hot button for discussion with my Men’s small group that I’m in although I’m not sure I said it so well as you have here
Jeremy: I got goose bumps reading what you wrote. I had no idea of your gift with words on such a sensitive subject. You walk so quiet among us but have a talent to reach people with your words and open people to “thinking” as you saw with the comments. You truly are meant to keep pursuing your goal with serving God. You are asking the right questions.