The Enduring Truth

I am writing this post because I cannot sleep. I have been reading this book, the aforementioned UnChristian, and it has caused an overload of mental intake. Don't misunderstand me, I am not writing this post on the defense because I don't feel the need to defend anything that I believe in. I think my faith defends itself, but I am writing out of my forward-looking insight to alleviate that mental intake I was talking about. Let me start by saying that I do not associate myself with any denomination of
religion. I attended a baptist church when I was a child. When I was a teenager, I did not attend church at all. As an adult, I chose to attend a nazarene church. I believe in the Holy Bible as God's spoken word and I believe that everything in it is Truth. I am a follower of Jesus, not any man, doctrine, or religion. For those of you that need a category, that would make me a christian I guess. Also, let me say that I do not follow Christ because it seems like a nice set of life principles to live by. As a matter of fact, it's really hard. Some might ask me why then, do I follow a faith that is hard for me, or that is typically known for it's religion, rules, and standards. The answer is simple. I believe that Jesus is the only legitimate path to a dynamic spiritual world that goes far beyond my five senses. To me, and many others, christian faith offers a sophisticated, livable response to the nature of the world and how everything fits together. I believe that Jesus is the Son of God, and my only connection to God. I love Him because He first loved me.
I am 28 years old. My generation (not everyone, but statistically speaking) views christianity as sheltered, clueless, dull, flat, and lifeless. I can understand why. I regularly attend church and my husband is a senior pastor, and I see why a younger generation is having a hard time embracing the church. They have found that christians don't even speak on the same level as everyone else, that we use words that no one else uses or understands unless they go to church. People that are my age and younger are living in a very different world than people were twenty years ago. Young adults find it difficult to resonate with the vision of christianity, especially since our society is fast-paced and ever changing. The youth of today have lives that consist of a patchwork of diversity, perspectives, friendships, and passions. They are willing to try a little bit of everything to see where they fit in, and they are not bothered by contradictions, uncertainty, or ambiguity. A faith that that does not effectively address life's current issues seems out of tune with a generation asking big questions, expressing their doubts, and searching for their significance. Diverse lifestyles, family structures, casual sex, and drug abuse are just a few of the issues that I can think of that plague our young people today. Christianity seems really out of touch with confronting these issues. Sure, the christian faith is known for taking a stand against being immoral, but young people have significant needs that push the boundaries of conventional lifestyles. Why is this important and why should people that profess to be christians care? We should care because if we push it aside, we will fail to connect with a younger generation. We are responsible if we fail to represent a holy, just, and loving God. I believe that all people should own up to and be accountable to change the negative image that christianity has, and not just view it as a negative perception that we can do nothing about. We can do something. We can stop walking around projecting self-importance, making others feel minimized if they are outside of our faith. In scripture, God shows little or no use for people who walk around acting like they have it all together. We can stop being judgmental and hypocritical, insensitive to other people's needs, and talking words that are confusing to them. I am not suggesting that we portray the image of Jesus as a big-hearted, open-minded hippie that tried to be friends with everyone. He taught tough truths about human beings and their sin. Reshaping the gospel in order to not offend people or promoting a less offensive faith as a response to objections is not the right way to change the reputation of christianity. Honestly, my suggestion is to stop trying to convert everyone as if we are in an exclusive social club, and start listening. Find out who people are before you start pushing your belief system onto them. Try to understand where people are coming from and why they are in the situations they are in before you go handing out advice on how they can make their lives better. The reason people don't want to follow Christ is because they have seen for themselves, those who follow Christ outwardly, but not inwardly. Where did we go wrong? How can we put the enduring truth of love into practice in our lives and in our churches? Are we waiting on the world to change, or are we passionate enough about Jesus to change the world?