Christians Suck

Christian Marketing has an article showing a nice breakdown of what the average 19-29 year old American thinks about Christians – not because it is what they have been taught, but because of what they have personally experienced from self-proclaimed Christians. The numbers show the perception, which I can’t disagree with, as Christians being…

Anti-homosexual: 91%
Judgmental: 87%
Hypocritical: 85%
Old-fashioned: 78%
Too involved in politics: 75%
Based on a conversation I had just today trying to explain that doing ministry will cause you to get your hands dirty to a “life-long” Christian confirms this. The basic conversation turned debate went like this:

Me: I had a great opportunity to have a faith-conversation with a smoking, drinking friend of mine last night. Hopefully some good seeds were planted and I can follow-up in the coming days. I can assure you that me walking into the church reeking of cigarette smoke would result in assumptions and judgments about the sincerity of my devotion. People would think because I smelled like smoke I must have bee out smoking and Christians don’t do that.

Other Person: You would be talked about because you should not come to church like that. It will mislead people.

Me: First of all, smoking is not directly banished from the Bible and most arguments made against it are weak and hypocritical. Secondly the reason I smell like smoke is because the person I was ministering to was smoking.

Other Person: You should go home and clean yourself up before you come to church.

Me: The people at church should not make assumptions without asking me why I smell like smoke. That is accountability. If I came to church dirty and sweaty from fixing a widows house would they assume I was a homeless bum or ask me why I was so dirty?

Other Person: You are a church leader and have a responsibility to not hurt someone else’s witness. You should not come to church smelling like smoke.

Me: OK. I will talk to you tomorrow.

Frankly, the fact is true that a “dirty” person is not welcome in the church. Even when those who are supposed to be the examples for the believers go and do ministry and come back with the smell of the atmosphere they are judged. We have missed the boat. How can we ever accept the “dirty sinner” himself when even those close to them are rejected?

Dwight L. Moody said, “Of one hundred men, one will read the Bible; the ninety-nine will read the Christian.”

Brennan Manning said, “The greatest single cause of atheism in the world today is Christians who acknowledge Jesus with their lips then walk out the door and deny him by their lifestyle. That is what an unbelieving world simply finds unbelievable.”

Dave Burchett said, “Christians, like physicians, should vow to do no harm. But forgive us, Lord. Because we do.”

Let’s face it—to paraphrase Relevant author Matthew P. Turner, we all suck. No way around it—we are all messed up in one way or another when it comes to our relationships with others and how we deal with them. We’ve all at one time said something utterly stupid, done something hurtful or thought something we know we shouldn’t have about a fellow brother or sister in Christ (I think I’ve successfully knocked off all three of those in a record breaking 30-second span before—check out Guinness Book of World Records and there I am under “World’s Fastest Hypocrite”).

It’s so easy to feel superior when we know that God’s grace is available to us. Yet it is so easy for us to forget that that same grace applies to everyone, even that young upstart youth pastor who refuses to wear a suit and tie to worship (and the older church member who tends to drive the upstart youth pastor crazy with comments like that).

Okay, I know that example is pretty lame. It’s just my attempt at biting sarcasm to get you to empathize with the plight of upstart youth pastors everywhere. In all seriousness, we tend to point out the specks in the eyes of alcoholics, drug addicts, prostitutes, homosexuals and whoever else falls short of our own self-righteousness, while totally missing the planks of greed, jealousy, hatred, prejudice, judgment, insert other character flaw here … in our own eyes. No wonder we’re the cause of so much negativity in the world.

Dave Burchett, who I mentioned above, is the author of When Bad Christians Happen to Good People. He starts the book with this self-realization: “I am a hypocrite. I can be arrogant and selfish. I have been known to stretch, conceal, or slightly message the truth. I am sometimes inconsiderate and insecure. I struggle with lust and impure thoughts. My ego often rages out of control, and I battle foolish pride. I can be lazy and foolhardy with my time. I get angry, petty, and ill-tempered. I am sarcastic and cynical. I am a Christian.”

With the exception of the “arrogant” part, I think he pretty much nailed me in the head. He goes on to say that because we all tend to exhibit some of these traits, “bad” Christians have harmed many people. He makes a suggestion that may help us: “Those of us who follow Christ in this culture will never achieve all that He desires for us until we are willing to open every nook and cranny of our own behavioral house for remodeling and cleaning. Only then will we begin to live the kind of lives that others will find intriguing and distinctive.”

I guess to put it in hip,TV-based relevance, we need to do an “extreme makeover” on our “behavioral house” so that we can feel comfortable “trading spaces” with others. Yeah, I know, that was fairly lame, too. I think Burchett said it better, as doesJesus:

Do you have the nerve to say, “Let me wash your face for you,” when your own face is distorted by contempt? It’s this whole traveling road-show mentality all over again, playing a holier-than-thou part instead of just living your part. Wipe that ugly sneer off your own face, and you might be fit to offer a washcloth to your neighbor. (Matthew 7: 4-5, The Message Remix)

So, let’s get off the soapbox of pointing others out and start looking at our own lives. Anyone got some sneer-away for me?

They are corrupted. They gossip. They are hypocrites.

they forgot what christianity stood for.

Because when i think of christians, i think of good-hearted people who will give up the comforts of their lives to help others.

like if it wasn’t for my faith and many others, i probably be too stuck up my own ass worrying about taxes than shit that really matters: helping others. Giving people hope.

America is fine, people, you don’t need to help America. People need to stop building so many Goddamn churches and have more missionaries. America can help themselves.

But it’s these people in these third world countries that need helping. If you were a true Christian you would devote your life on helping people in poverty instead of worrying about how you can get that nice car or new home.

But I forgot, “how can I help others without helping myself first?”

its more like “when you help others you can’t help helping yourself”

Christians have become so me-me-me instead of you-you-you.

this is probably the why I turned away my faith in the first place.

that and because my parents forced me to go to church while my dad and brother stood home.

by jamestown