“The greatest, single cause of atheism in the world today is Christians; who acknowledge things with their lips, but [walk out the doors of their church] and get on by their lifestyle. That is what an unbelieving world simply finds unbelievable.” (From the D.C. Talk album Jesus Freak)
I LOVE THAT QUOTE! It is absolutely true… Christians are some of the most offensive beings on the planet. They preach and get excited about a faith that many of them refuse to live themselves. They offer guidelines for living, but rarely live by them. They get angry with people who habitually sin differently than they do. They expect lost people (those who do not believe) to hold to the same morals and standards the Bible does when they have little use for such standards (if they do not believe in God, why would those morals mean anything to them anyway?). They preach about loving others and not gossiping when they themselves are typically the biggest culprits.
IT IS TIME FOR THIS TO CHANGE!!!! How can we expect a lost world to find value in a God that we only value with our lips? So on that note, I taught a lesson this last Sunday (in our youth group) about being an offensive Christian for the RIGHT reasons and challenged my students to come up with a list of guidelines for living such a life. So here is their blended list:
8 Ways to Be an Offensive Christian (without being Offensive)
Authors of each are in parenthesis.
1. Respect the values of others, while questioning the reasoning behind them (High School: Sara J, Drew G., Ashley S., Ian H., Sam A., Brandon W., Cierra D., Catherine B.)
2. Be willing to discuss issues with people, while warning of the possible consequences (High School: Sara J, Drew G., Ashley S., Ian H., Sam A., Brandon W., Cierra D., Catherine B.)
3. Be willing to challenge messages in media versus accepting them blindly (Jr. High: Trandon J., Tre R., Christian R., Ben O., Nadzeya P., Amanda R., Cameron M.)
4. Be honest and hard working students (desiring to raise the standard) (Jr. High: Trandon J., Tre R., Christian R., Ben O., Nadzeya P., Amanda R., Cameron M.)
5. Be a Christian influence with friends (Jr. High: Trandon J., Tre R., Christian R., Ben O., Nadzeya P., Amanda R., Cameron M.)
6. Be willing to not watch or listen to shows, movies or music that have highly offensive messages or content (Jr. High: Trandon J., Tre R., Christian R., Ben O., Nadzeya P., Amanda R., Cameron M.)
7. Be willing to talk about and deal with sin in a loving and gracious manner (all of it, not just the easy stuff) instead of ignoring it or acting as if “that’s not my place to tell them that” (Christian)
8. Learn to love the world that God so loved by choosing to show faith (love your neighbor as a part of loving God with all your heart, mind, soul and strength – Matt. 22:37-40) versus just talk about it (Christian)
Good job students! Now the key is (for teens and adults alike) to challenge themselves to try to live out such a visible demonstration of faith, versus just talking about it…
And that’s what “8 Ways to Be an Offensive Christian (without being Offensive)” is all about Charlie Brown…
I LOVE THAT QUOTE! It is absolutely true… Christians are some of the most offensive beings on the planet. They preach and get excited about a faith that many of them refuse to live themselves. They offer guidelines for living, but rarely live by them. They get angry with people who habitually sin differently than they do. They expect lost people (those who do not believe) to hold to the same morals and standards the Bible does when they have little use for such standards (if they do not believe in God, why would those morals mean anything to them anyway?). They preach about loving others and not gossiping when they themselves are typically the biggest culprits.
IT IS TIME FOR THIS TO CHANGE!!!! How can we expect a lost world to find value in a God that we only value with our lips? So on that note, I taught a lesson this last Sunday (in our youth group) about being an offensive Christian for the RIGHT reasons and challenged my students to come up with a list of guidelines for living such a life. So here is their blended list:
8 Ways to Be an Offensive Christian (without being Offensive)
Authors of each are in parenthesis.
1. Respect the values of others, while questioning the reasoning behind them (High School: Sara J, Drew G., Ashley S., Ian H., Sam A., Brandon W., Cierra D., Catherine B.)
2. Be willing to discuss issues with people, while warning of the possible consequences (High School: Sara J, Drew G., Ashley S., Ian H., Sam A., Brandon W., Cierra D., Catherine B.)
3. Be willing to challenge messages in media versus accepting them blindly (Jr. High: Trandon J., Tre R., Christian R., Ben O., Nadzeya P., Amanda R., Cameron M.)
4. Be honest and hard working students (desiring to raise the standard) (Jr. High: Trandon J., Tre R., Christian R., Ben O., Nadzeya P., Amanda R., Cameron M.)
5. Be a Christian influence with friends (Jr. High: Trandon J., Tre R., Christian R., Ben O., Nadzeya P., Amanda R., Cameron M.)
6. Be willing to not watch or listen to shows, movies or music that have highly offensive messages or content (Jr. High: Trandon J., Tre R., Christian R., Ben O., Nadzeya P., Amanda R., Cameron M.)
7. Be willing to talk about and deal with sin in a loving and gracious manner (all of it, not just the easy stuff) instead of ignoring it or acting as if “that’s not my place to tell them that” (Christian)
8. Learn to love the world that God so loved by choosing to show faith (love your neighbor as a part of loving God with all your heart, mind, soul and strength – Matt. 22:37-40) versus just talk about it (Christian)
Good job students! Now the key is (for teens and adults alike) to challenge themselves to try to live out such a visible demonstration of faith, versus just talking about it…
And that’s what “8 Ways to Be an Offensive Christian (without being Offensive)” is all about Charlie Brown…
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2 comments:
I like this list and think that your students (and you, Christian the Christian) did a good job at coming up with 8 ways to be an offensive Christian. I'm a christian [and a teenager] and find myself not thinking before I act, meaning I know about and agree with everything on that list, but I think I just act impulsive a little. I don't go to parties or drink or smoke or act promiscuous or anything of that nature, but sometimes I get caught up in sin and the world. But, I'm glad that there was a group of teenagers that saw the importance of being offensive christians and I will try my best to be one of those kinds of christians by first examining my own life and then by living the life that christians are supposed to be living.
Right on! That's a very humble and honest respose! I understand (as do most honest Christians) your "impulsivity" as it takes one to know one. :-) But praise God for your willingness to be honest about the need to examine your own life and live accordingly (not because we HAVE to, but want to demonstrate our love to God with our lives). If you do not have a church home, I encourage you to find one. The journey is always easier with friends traveling with you! If you do not have a church home and would like help finding one, email me (5jesusfreaks@gmail.com) and i'd love to help you find one near you. :-) Thanks for posting... for your honesty and heart! Until next time... CONTEND FOR THE FAITH (Jude 3)! :-)
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