I Like Jesus, Not the Church

This article 'I Like Jesus, Not the Church' really got me thinking.

What do my non-believing friends and family think when they hear the word Jesus?

What do they think when they hear the word Christian?

In the article Dan Kimball, the author, explores perceptions people have about the church. It is pretty interesting, but it has me wondering do I even know what people around me think about the church? How can I help clear up misperceptions if I don't know what people's perceptions are?

I have to say of those people I have on my "impact list" (those I'm building relationships with in hopes that they will come to a saving knowledge of Christ) most just see the church as hypocritical. I did have one person who saw the church as only wanting his money.

I used to see the church as hypocritical, but that was in ignorance. I never really saw it as judgemental, but I know that some do, and if you think about it, criticizing the church for being judgemental is judgemental and that would make the "judge" hypocritical!

If one looks to the media, as Dan Kimball discovered in his research, it is easy to understand why so many people have the ideas about Christianity that they do.

The media will find the interesting stuff to print. How boring a story about serving in the food kitchen or taking an elderly neighbor to her doctor appointment would be. It is much more exciting to print about the "christian" picketing the funeral of a dead homosexual.

These days people are getting their "education" from news media, all the inaccuracies and bias included. The Internet is filled with information, but we have to sludge through so much junk to find truth. Too many people stumble upon something that sounds interesting and pass it along to the next web surfer via links and soon, ignorance is being spread like wildfire.

Heck, these days the media is even spreading non-truth about Jesus Christ, through movies like the Da Vinci Code, and whacked stories about burial ossuaries. Why do people so easily fall for this stuff? Is it because we are too lazy to research things for ourselves and find out the truth? Is it because we don't want to know the truth?

I've strayed from my original thought about what the people around me think of when they hear the name Jesus and the word Christian. I figure it is my responsibility to live a life that best exemplifies what being a Christian should be.

I shouldn't have to introduce myself and constantly announce "I am a Christian". It should be evident in the way I work, the way I play, the way I serve others.

I'd like to make it a goal that if Dan Kimball asked someone that knows me and is a non-Christian, that they would light up when they hear the name Jesus and speak of true things about Christians just because of the fact they know one.