Christian No More
By Shaun L. Ettinger – Founder/Senior Pastor LifeChurch of Morris
I asked a friend who doesn’t believe in Jesus, Why don’t you believe? He answered by quoting a bumper sticker he had recently seen: “Jesus, save me from your followers.” This man didn’t believe because of the behavior he saw among people who said they were followers of Christ.
A pastor in Morris has felt so unwelcome and marginalized by some of his congregants that he has left. This is not the first time such a situation has happened in Morris.
Is this really how we want to represent God and his church? If we were public relations professionals working for Jesus, would we still have jobs? If we can’t walk in love inside of a church and defend and protect a man of God, how can we possibly show love to unsaved people and be living examples of God’s love and salvation?
Disrespecting God’s servants is a serious infraction to God. It can take many forms: undermining a man of God, lying, gossiping. In Matthew 12: 36, Jesus said: “Men will have to give account on the Day of Judgment for every careless word they have spoken. For by your words you will be acquitted, and by your words you will be condemned.” Imagine what Jesus would have said about words and actions that are intended to harm someone who represents him on the earth.
Many non-believers, including the friend I mentioned, are saying, “I don’t want any part of God or the church. Church people are too judgmental and hypocritical.”
A recent national survey by Barna Research found that 87 percent of respondents thought current Christianity was judgmental, and 85 percent thought it was hypocritical. As long as non-believers perceive us this way, we will not be effective at pointing them to the Lord. Young people, especially, are looking for authenticity, not phoniness.
Jesus said the two greatest commandments were to love the Lord our God and to love others as we love ourselves. If we really love God and want to honor him, let’s commit ourselves to following these commandments from our Savior.
Let’s fast and pray and bind the spirit of division that seems to be afflicting some of our churches and the body of believers in Morris. Let’s not tolerate divisiveness in our churches. And let’s commit ourselves to acting with love toward others, especially those we don’t like or agree with.
If we won’t do that, we might as well close our church doors.
