"We're 'disciples.' We're 'students.' We're 'followers.' We're 'doing it.' But what's really interesting is if you insist on using the word 'Christian' and you insist on embracing the word with such power and passion and conviction that you force people to readjust their definitions" -Rob Bell
"Come, follow me" -Jesus
There's a recent trend in the world of Christianity. We call ourselves "believers." Or "disciples." Or "followers." We've found a bunch of new, "authentic" names for what we can people who follow Jesus.
But one word seems to be getting left behind, particularly among younger church-goers.
"Christian."
There's just too much baggage that comes with it: anti-gay, hypocritical, conservative, BORING, completely outdated, not authentic, fake, cliché, parents, etc. For many, to call oneself a "Christian" is a bit of a scary term. It doesn't encompass everything their faith means to them.
But why is that?
I remember writing papers in middle school (well, more like essays... or probably MORE accurately, "lots of run on sentences and bad English"). My favorite introduction went something like this: "The dictionary defines (insert subject here) as..." My English teachers must've gotten bored reading "paper" after "paper" that began with dictionary definitions. I probably defined half of the B section. At the very least I was consistent.
But as we all know, words and names mean SO much more than what we can find in Mirriam-Webster's masterpiece. Just ask the Obama campaign. They made a name mean more than just a face and policy ideas. It became "hope" and "change."
Or take Facebook, Instagram and Twitter. By definition, they are modes of social networking facilitating the articulation and connection of people, pictures, ideas and experiences. But to a middle schooler they might be life. And to a grandparent they might signify the downfall of society. They are so much more than a definition. They carry second, or as my sophomore English teacher Mr. King would remind me, implicit meanings.
"Christian" is no different. By definition, it is "one who professes belief in the teachings of Jesus Christ." But, over the years it has grown to mean a lot of different things, and to a lot of people it has grown to mean things that aren't always positive. In fact, to most, especially those who don't claim any faith. So we've abandoned it a lot.
But what if we reclaimed it. What if we were willing to CLAIM the name Christian? What if we were willing to love God and love our neighbors SO well that people were forced to redefine how what they think about when they hear the word?
If the words "Christian" and "church" carry less than flattering connotations for people, it is because they have seen people claiming them and not loving in the way Jesus loved.
What if we didn't leave it behind, but claimed it for what it is? What if we didn't keep it at arms distance but so fully embraced the incredible depths and truth that are Jesus and the God who created us in His image?
We aren't perfect. We who call ourselves Christians will always be hypocrites and less than Jesus calls us to be. We will always be broken vessels through which graces spills and moves. But so were the disciples. So is every living person who has ever claimed the name Christian. God uses the broken and left behind, but He calls us to live and love in such a way that His love is unmistakeably at work!
Let's be disciples. Let's be followers. Let's be all these new age words for "Christian." Let's be people who love our neighbors with our whole heart and all that we are. But know that those words are just new Christianese words that will come to mean the same thing if we don't let God invite us into His much better story.
"Christian" isn't a dirty word. It's not a scary word. At it's core, it is a word to define people who have been so moved by the grace of a personal, infinite God that to love out of that truth seems wrong. So let us live in such a way that people hear Christian and can't help but think of love. Let's redefine it.
forever unfinished...
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