In Rod Dreher's Crunchy Con Blog this week, he talked about the "Christian No More" ad campaign as seen in this YouTube video. I agree with him that a crusade of "Christ Followers" rejecting the name "Christian" seems like a flimsy, embarrassing approach, with much potential for backfire. Yet, the slogan does get your attention. It caught mine.
I appreciated the deeper message of the video. This is what it said to me (interrogatively speaking): "Are you a Christian in name only, or in truth and in deed? Does the very life of Christ indwell you and influence every aspect of who you are and what you do? Are you content to simply wear a label—"Christian"—or are you compelled to live out the life of Christ that bubbles up from the inside? Is your nature transforming through the power of the Holy Spirit, conforming to his image, or are you simply following a script, reading your lines, performing?
As I see it, rejecting the term "Christian" is not the significant point of the video campaign. Rather, rejecting performance-based, outward-only, dead religion—that is the message I hear.
Unfortunately, the advertisement simultaneously sends a regretful message. In light of these words of Christ, both the "Christian" and the "Christ Follower" fall short:
"By this all men will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another." John 13:35 (NIV)
some of the most devastating events in my adult life occurred at the hands of people who called themselves christian, but their personal lives failed to reveal that. those stories will be told in my second book that is currently underway. the first book, Euclid Avenue is currently available and covers my life from age 4 to 24. eloquentbook.com/euclidavenue.html
As we all know, being Christian is a substitute to rather than a synonym for being disciple of Jesus Christ. Only the latter has the privilege of prior, vision-based, firsthand and personal knowledge of Jesus; followed by training under the same and continuous growth in His grace and image! This is the model in the Gospel of Jesus Christ which is virtually absent in Christianity today!
The ad and its intent are very unfortunate.
One of the commonest complaints we hear from unbelievers is how they were hurt or used by Christians. To reject all Christians because of that is stereotyping and bigotry; because some members of a minority have committed crimes does not mean that all members of that minority are criminals.
Jesus promised us persecution and mistrust. We can’t police every Christian. We can only police ourselves. Changing our name is juvenile and cowardly. The same hypocrites who are abusing Christianity can just as easily act like jerks while calling themselves Christ Followers.
We are Christians, and none of us follows Jesus 100%. We wish everyone who calls themselves Christian were kind, compassionate and honest, but that’s just not the way life is.
Oh, and BTW, I don’t have any bumper stickers on my mini-van, but I do have a fish symbol on the back of it.
Jack –
You don’t strike me as the mini-van type.
But, I like what you wrote.
We Christians ought to stick to “working out our own salvation” and “loving our neighbor as our self.” Perhaps a video of a brother washing another brother’s dirty feet would send a better message?
Keith, I am so very sorry that you were in anyway abused by anyone. However, I agree with Jack. Regardless of what label the person claimed, to hold a whole group of people responsible is unfair, unwise and a form of bigotry and, I dare say, a tool of the enemy. Bigotry that will end up hurting you more than anyone.
I am weary of the confusion created by labels. I’m weary of people’s expectations that all Christians are at the same level of ideal maturity and will never do or say the wrong thing IF they are truely a Christian.
The term “Christian” is a human label and has always been used and abused and co-opted, as are denominational titles and creeds. Creeds first laid down in hopes of defining Christianity but edited to fit various groups beliefs without that group coming up with their own title.
What is considered “Christian” by one group might be considered heretical by another. When asked, “What is a Christian?” or “What must be done to be “saved”?, different people, often within the same denominational category, might very well have different standards. While a Baptist, Mormon, Catholic, etc. all claim the title “Christian” their defining standards or practices may not represent mine so the term Christian is of no value in defining me. But, then, neither is “Christ Follower”. A lot of people followed Jesus but for the wrong reasons and with the wrong motive. As Epheram put forth – are we merely label wearers (whether Christian of Christ Follower) or true regenerated, born again, disciples being renewed and transformed into the image of Jesus through the power of the Holy Spirit. That’s what God cares about, not labels or titles. If you are confident in your position in Christ and the standing that position grants you with God then labels don’t matter one way or another. If you are a born again regenerated Disciple of Jesus your fruit (your thoughts, words and deeds) should be in a continual process of developing, maturing and looking more and more like that of the Holy Spirit as you are in the process of being transformed by the Holy Spirit to be more and more like Jesus.