Last week I was at a business meeting with a friend and
associate that is a nonpracticing Jew. He had just seen the
movie
”
Jesus Camp
”
and he was curious to get my take on it. I was so glad he asked
me instead of just thinking to himself,
”
Wow, these Christians are really bizarre.
”
Though I had not seen the movie in whole, I’ve seen enough of it
to have my have my heart pump a little faster and my blood come to
a slow boil. But let me explain why.
Last week I was at a business meeting with a friend and associate that is a nonpracticing Jew. He had just seen the movie “Jesus Camp” and he was curious to get my take on it. I was so glad he asked me instead of just thinking to himself, “Wow, these Christians are really bizarre.” Though I had not seen the movie in whole, I’ve seen enough of it to have my have my heart pump a little faster and my blood come to a slow boil. But let me explain why.
Being misunderstood and misrepresented is one of the most frustrating feelings in the world. I once got a call from an irate person that I had never met who accused me of being greedy, power-hungry and abusive because the caller “knew what kind of men run churches.” But for me as a pastor, it is becoming especially concerning when people don’t only misunderstand me, but my God. The film Jesus Camp gives me a different perspective of how the non-Christian world sometimes sees Christians and by inference at times, how they see Christ Himself. (In my opinion, Christianity is portrayed in the movie as a fanatical attempt to take over the government and brainwash kids.) So in this short introduction to “Christianese,” I’ll try to simplify, to define and to at least give one person’s perspective of what a Christian is and how a Christian thinks.
Let’s start by explaining who our Leader is. It is not Billy Graham or the Pope or James Dobson. It is Jesus. To get to know His character better, read the Gospels (oh … yeah, I forgot to translate. The Gospels are the first four books of the New Testament. They are named after the authors: Matthew, Mark, Luke and John.) I would pay close attention to the words in red if you have a red letter edition Bible. They are the words of Jesus. In John 14:6, Jesus said, “I am the way, the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father, except through Me.”
So why, you may ask, do Christians follow a dead guy? I really hope you know the answer to this one already, but just in case … it’s because He’s not dead! Yes, He died on the cross, but He did not stay in the tomb. He rose again a few days later. That’s important, because if He didn’t then there would be nothing to really set Him apart from many other good leaders of the past. It was the resurrection from the dead that really showed that He was who He said He was! If you read the accounts carefully, you will find that if the Romans simply produced the body of Jesus, then all the fanaticism over this “resurrection” would have come to an end. But they couldn’t find the body. It wasn’t there.
In fact there are some who say the disciples stole the body and it’s a hoax! Whoa, hold on. Remember that when Jesus was arrested they all split. They took off, ran for their lives. But after the resurrection these guys died, were boiled in oil, crucified because they wouldn’t recant and say that it was all a hoax. What did they have to gain from it? What would their motive have been?
So there you have it. A very short, simplistic introduction to Christianese. By the way, the Bible says that if you confess with your mouth the Lord Jesus and believe in your heart that God has raised Him from the dead, you will be “saved” (Romans 10:9). For that lesson, you will have to wait until next time.
Finally, would you do me a favor? Clip this, e-mail this and pass it on. (Hey, “clip and save.”) You can look forward to some more translation of Christianese in the future. In the words of Ricky Ricardo, “I have some ‘splaining to do!”
Calvary Chapel, with Pastor Matt Valencia, is located at 8955 Monterey Road Suite A, Gilroy. For information, call (408) 848-1218.
