Still a long way to go

I was talking with a new friend about spirituality a few days ago at the coffee shop, and I had realized that I'd forgotten how much people are scarred by a perverted form of Christianity. He talked of Jesus with such high regard, but it was sad to realize that his only frame of reference for Christians were were not very much like Jesus. One of the first things he brought up was "How can anyone who is racist say that they love God or follow Jesus?" Great point. Too many Christians think the race problem is a think of the past, but until my friend sees black and white Christians loving each other and fellowshiping together, he won't change his mind. Another thing he commented on was how Christians are focused on wealth and are willing to hurt the environment and go to war for money. Another great point. The testimony of the Christian witness was not the only thing skewed for him, but also the testimony of Christian worship. He had a problem with the idea of worship, so I explained that worship is an expression of humility. He said "Show me a humble Christian." During the conversation I found myself trying to emphasize that the essence of Christianity is in Jesus, and yes, many Christians sadly fit in with his descriptions, but they are not all like that. But I have to admit that it gets old trying to say something that I can't show him. I believe in Jesus, and I believe in the church, but I want so bad for the church to be a credible witness to the world, which will only happen if they start being more like Jesus. We need to reconciled to one another and love one another, and we need to be willing to serve the world rather than try to dominate it with money and power. And it's not just Christians who are doing it, but it's just sad when Christians can't say no to the evils around them.

I was encouraged to see Shane Claiborne's tour on CNN.com the other day. The thing I love about what Shane is doing is that it is nothing extraordinary from the perspective of what the lifestyle of a Christian should look like, but Shane and his crew are so intentional about being like Jesus that they bear witness to the world around them. He always emphasizes peculiarity - and the peculiarity is beautiful. I think that unless we take being like Jesus seriously, we'll blend in with the rest of the world until we realize that we're the oppressors ourselves, which we know is too often the case.

Here's a link to the website of the community Shane is a part of: http://www.thesimpleway.org/

One other thing this made me realize - Christians may think they're doing their job until they talk to someone who is not a Christian. It was talking to my new friend that reminded me that the Church has a long way to go. But with Jesus I have hope that it will go there.