Entertainment Christianity or Radical Discipleship?

C.S. Lewis said of Jesus, “He was never regarded as a mere moral teacher. He did not produce that effect on any of the people who actually met Him. He produced mainly three results—Hatred—Terror—Adoration. There was no trace of people expressing mild admiration.” Let’s not be afraid to proclaim that Jesus. He is the only one who can truly save the lost for all eternity!

The Journey: Luke 9:4-5

Wherever you go, stay in the same house until you leave town. And if a town refuses to welcome you, shake its dust from your feet as you leave to show that you have abandoned those people to their fate.

I’m really concerned! I have a nagging worry that the way we are doing Christianity these days is a far cry from what Jesus had in mind. I think we are far more concerned with doing whatever it takes to attract people into our churches than in calling for the radical transformation of their lives through total surrender to the Lordship of Jesus Christ.

Just think of how the typical church in America today makes its appeal to the community: You’ll love our music—the band sounds just like [insert name of favorite pop artist]. Our pastor is great—he’ll remind you of [insert name of favorite late night talk show host], only funnier. We got some great programs, too—your kids will think they’ve died and gone to [insert name of favorite way too expensive destination resort]. Bring your teenager, they may win an [insert name of way too expensive tech gadget]—we have a drawing for one every week. And have we got a deal for you—we’ll help you improve you marriage, make you more successful in business, show you how to make money, and help you to feel really good about yourself. Oh, by the way, we’ll treat you to a [insert name of favorite coffee roaster] latte from our cafe in the lobby.

No kidding, I was sent an advertisement not too long ago for a start-up church back east that promoted itself as a church for the really busy. The outstanding feature of their advertisement was the half-hour service—10 minutes of worship, 12 minutes of the word, 3 minutes of application, and 5 minutes of fellowship—flim, flam, thank you ma’am.

Nothing like rearranging your life around the priorities of the kingdom, wouldn’t you say? Maybe their mission statement could be, “If you’re too busy for Jesus, just come to us—we’ll fix that!”

That is a far cry from the plan Jesus gave the disciples for building his kingdom in Luke 9:1-6:

Then One day Jesus called together his twelve disciples and gave them power and authority to cast out all demons and to heal all diseases. Then he sent them out to tell everyone about the Kingdom of God and to heal the sick. “Take nothing for your journey,” he instructed them. “Don’t take a walking stick, a traveler’s bag, food, money, or even a change of clothes. Wherever you go, stay in the same house until you leave town. And if a town refuses to welcome you, shake its dust from your feet as you leave to show that you have abandoned those people to their fate.” So they began their circuit of the villages, preaching the Good News and healing the sick.

Building the kingdom is not a matter of entertaining people into our churches. The more we do that, the more the world finds the church irrelevant. We can’t compete with them in that realm anyway, they do a far better job at entertainment than we do. Rather, building God’s kingdom is about invading your neighborhood, workplace, school or social circle—“whatever house you enter”—in the power and authority of Jesus Christ, casting out demons, healing diseases, and declaring to those who have been under Satan’s dominion that there is a new Sheriff in town.

That probably sounds a bit radical, doesn’t it? And that very fact shows you how far we’ve drifted from New Testament Christianity. But really, don’t you think it’s time we start depending on the power and authority of Jesus again to build the kingdom of God rather than trying to be hip?

C.S. Lewis said of Jesus, “He was never regarded as a mere moral teacher. He did not produce that effect on any of the people who actually met Him. He produced mainly three results—Hatred—Terror—Adoration. There was no trace of people expressing mild admiration.”

Let’s not be afraid to proclaim that Jesus. He is the only one who can truly save the lost for all eternity!

A Simple Prayer To Be More Like Jesus:

God, empower and embolden me to be more radical as a witness for Jesus Christ than I have ever been.

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