Social rules can't lead people to Christ

“Most Christians don’t act like Christians.”  That sounds like an oxymoron right?  Unfortunately most people would agree with that statement.  This week in Bible we watched a movie called Lord Save Me from Your Followers.  It was a very interesting movie.  Basically this man dressed up in a white suit with all sorts of “chirstiny” bumper stickers on.  He walked around the country and tried to start conversations with people.

                My first reaction to this was, well, actually I was a little too blown away to have a reaction.  All I could focus on was the fact that this man was breaking pretty much every social rule that I had ever thought of.  He was talking to random strangers about topics that could potentially start a fight, he was interrupting people’s conversations to ask them to look at his clothes and… it was working.

                Rules are rules for a reason.  Rules are designed to help and protect you.  They have a purpose.  All of the rules in the Bible are designed to help lead people closer to Christ by leading them away from temptation.  This is what caused me to wonder why a man who was breaking all of these social rules could lead people to Christ.  And that is when the most brilliant and obvious idea hit me.  He wasn’t breaking the Bibles rules he was breaking the social norm rules.

                Jesus didn’t follow the social rules either.  He ate with tax collectors (aka traitors) and he was friends with women of ill repute.  Jesus loved these people; he would go up to them and talk to them.  It didn’t matter what they had done (and believe me he knew what they had done) he loved them anyway.

                So if Jesus broke the social rules why was I so shocked that this man would do what he did?  The answer is unfortunately that I had started to believe the world’s version of right and wrong instead of God’s.

                The man in the white suit was really very inspiring.  He went to Gay Pride week and set up a confession both- sort of.  You see it was a confession both but he confessed and everyone else listened.  This had such an impact.  People who had always hated Christians said I forgive you.  This man inspired people who were hated by Christians to act more Christ like than the Christians did.  Does that last sentence sound messed up?  It should because it is.

                Christians have somehow gotten it into their heads that it if you want to minister to people you must first condemn them and then make sure that you only speak to them about things that are socially appropriate.  How did we get this?

                The man on this movie wasn’t perfect.  There was some theology that I didn’t agree with, but ultimately he had a really good point.  Christ didn’t reach out to people by condemning them.  He reached out by loving and serving them.  To serve someone you are put in a lower position than them and that can be very uncomfortable.  But that is the point.  To serve someone means you get out of your comfort zone and get into theirs.  And if that means talking about things in a way that you normally wouldn’t, go for it.

                The point of this blog isn’t to say that Christians aren’t prefect, because we know that.  The point of this blog is to remind Christians that we are called to bring others to Christ.  And we can only do that through love and service, not condemnation and social rules. 

Love at Jesus Camp

                I am an Evangelical Christian, or I guess it would be more accurate to say that I am a Christian who goes to an Evangelical church.  I used to think that all Evangelical churches were the same, but now I know that that is definitely not the case.

                We watched a movie in Bible class called Jesus Camp, and at the first I thought it was a joke.  Almost all of the kids who were in this movie were “speaking in tongues” of convulsing on the floor.  I kept waiting for someone to say “April fool’s” but no one ever did.   They were serious, dead serious.

                I had ever really thought about speaking in tongues before watching this movie.  I had heard of it, but had never heard it actually taking place. So, naturally, this movie took me by surprise.  And in great confusion I turned to the only infallible resource, the Bible, and found the following verses.

1 Corinthians 12:4-11

There are different kinds of gifts, but the same Spirit. There are different kinds of service, but the same Lord. There are different kinds of working, but the same God works all of them in all men.  Now to each one the manifestation of the Spirit is given for the common good.  To one there is given through the Spirit the message of wisdom, to another the message of knowledge by means of the same Spirit, to another faith by the same Spirit, to another gifts of healing by that one Spirit, to another miraculous powers, to another prophecy, to another distinguishing between spirits, to another speaking in different kinds of tongues, and to still another the interpretation of tongues.  All these are the work of one and the same Spirit, and he gives them to each one, just as he determines.

1 Corinthians 14:2-6 & 10-19

For anyone who speaks in a tongue does not speak to men but to God. Indeed, no one understands him; he utters mysteries with his spirit.  But everyone who prophesies speaks to men for their strengthening, encouragement and comfort.  He who speaks in a tongue edifies himself, but he who prophesies edifies the church.  I would like every one of you to speak in tongues, but I would rather have you prophesy. He who prophesies is greater than one who speaks in tongues, unless he interprets, so that the church may be edified.  Now, brothers, if I come to you and speak in tongues, what good will I be to you, unless I bring you some revelation or knowledge or prophecy or word of instruction? Undoubtedly there are all sorts of languages in the world, yet none of them is without meaning.  If then I do not grasp the meaning of what someone is saying, I am a foreigner to the speaker, and he is a foreigner to me.  So it is with you. Since you are eager to have spiritual gifts, try to excel in gifts that build up the church.  For this reason anyone who speaks in a tongue should pray that he may interpret what he says.  For if I pray in a tongue, my spirit prays, but my mind is unfruitful.  So what shall I do? I will pray with my spirit, but I will also pray with my mind; I will sing with my spirit, but I will also sing with my mind.  If you are praising God with your spirit, how can one who finds himself among those who do not understand say "Amen" to your thanksgiving, since he does not know what you are saying?  You may be giving thanks well enough, but the other man is not edified.  I thank God that I speak in tongues more than all of you.  But in the church I would rather speak five intelligible words to instruct others than ten thousand words in a tongue.

                1 Corinthians chapters 12 and 14 both deal with spiritual gifts, first the types, and second the usage; a major gift discussed in both of these sections, is the gift of tongues.  Tongues, according to the Bible, is the ability to talk to God.  But I can’t help but believe that it must be something more than that.  Perhaps not merely to talk, but to communicate, to communicate with him in a manner of the utmost intimacy, not on your plain, but almost to his, to communicate like that would be a blessing. 

                But with all that said, is it possible, or even appropriate to a whole group or church to speak in tongues?  I think not. 

                When it talks about speaking in tongues in 1 Corinthians, it says that the person speaking in tongues should have an interpreter so that the words can be shared.  Christians collectively are called the body of Christ, and it does no good for one member of the body to grow while the rest does not.  Can imagine?  Suppose your pinky finger never stopped growing.  It would be big and strong, but would it help the rest of the body?  No!  In fact it would harm the rest of the body by making it hard to pick up things and the like,

                I don’t think that speaking in tongues is bad, after all, it is from God, but I do think that caution needs to be exercised, because the only use for a gift, any gift, is for it to bring glory to God.

                Now that I have had my rant about spiritual gifts, please allow me to tell you the most disturbing thing I found about the movie Jesus Camp.  In this move I heard children get up and preach and say that ours is a key generation.  True.  I heard adults get up and tell children that Satan doesn’t like being beaten, and that we are in a constant war against him.  True.  But the thing I never heard was never “God loves you.”  Oh, don’t get me wrong, I heard “God loves you but…” but never just “God loves you.”

                The message of salvation is simply that, a message of salvation!!  We need to be saved.  We can’t save ourselves, so God in his infinite mercy and grace stretched out his hands and allowed them to be pierced to that we could be saved.  He stretched his hands in LOVE so that we could go to heaven.

                Something interesting I found in 1 Corinthians chapters 12 and 14 was that they were interrupted.  Both talked about spiritual gifts, but then, in the middle, a chapter on love was crammed in.

1 Corinthians 13:13

And now these three remain: faith, hope and love. But the greatest of these is love.

                Did you know that faith is a spiritual gift? It says so in 1 Corinthians 12:9.  Faith is a spiritual gift, yet love is greater than it.

                I think the real reason I thought Jesus Camp was different was because of my own insecurities.  Somewhere in the back of my mind, underneath the cries of “weirdoes’” I wondered if I was missing something.  I have no obvious spiritual gifts like these children; did that mean that I was not truly saved?

                Let me tell you the truth.  I am a Christian, just as I said in the first sentence of this blog.  I am a Christian.  I don’t know what my spiritual gift is, and that is okay.  Right now I have something that is infinitely better.  I have love.

                Love is greater than faith, a spiritual gift, and I have love in my heart.  So instead of asking God to shower me with spiritual gifts, I have decided to ask him to show me how to love.  Yes, prophesy is cool and speaking in tongues is awesome, but I want something greater than either one of these, I want the greatest gift of all.  I want love.  And thanks to the sacrifice of my Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ, I have just that.

                So, is Jesus Camp and the church behind it evil?  Certainly not.  But I do think that they have certain things, just like us, that need improvement.  They are training their children to be missionaries and preachers and prophets which is wonderful.  But they, like us, need to work on the thing that matters most, understanding and sharing God’s love.