Are we Jesus Freaks?

In the book Jesus Freaks, there is a humble story of a Russian Captain in Romania during the 1940's. This narrative reads:

"Christianity has become dramatic with us," wrote Pastor Richard Wurmbrand, a leader of the underground church in Communist Romania. "When Christians in free countries win a soul for Christ, the new believer may become a member of a quietly living church. But when those in captive nations win someone, we know that he may have to go to prison and that his children may become orphans. The joy of having brought someone to Christ is always mixed with this feeling that there is a price that must be paid.

"When I was still living behind the Iron Curtain, I had met a Russian captain. He loved God, he longed after God, but he had never seen a Bible. He had never attended religious services. He had no religious education, but he loved God without the slightest knowledge of Him.

I read to him the Sermon on the Mount and the parables of Jesus. After hearing them, he danced around the room in rapturous joy, proclaiming, 'What a wonderful beauty! How could I love without knowing this Christ?' It was the first time that I saw someone jubilating in Christ.

Then I made a mistake. I read to him the passion and crucifixion of Christ, without having prepared him for this. He had not expected it. When he heard how Christ was beaten, how He was crucified, and that in the end He died, he fell in an armchair and began to weep bitterly. He had believed in a Savior and now his Savior was dead!

I looked at him and was ashamed that I had called myself a Christian and a pastor, a teacher of others. I had never shared the sufferings of Christ as this Russian officer now shared them. Looking at him was, for me, like seeing Mary Magdalene weeping at the foot of the cross or at the empty tomb.

Then I read to him the story of the resurrection. When he heard this wonderful news, that the Savior arose form the tomb, he slapped his knees, and shouted for joy: 'He is alive! He is alive!' Again he danced around the room, overwhelmed with happiness!"

As I read this story, I cannot help but remember a day as I was working at Family Christian. As I stacked the new books, I noticed a little boy slumped and crying under a picture that portrayed Jesus on the cross. Although I passed this painting daily, it never moved me in this way. As I lingered, I heard the boy sobbing and telling his mom "look Jesus has a boo boo."

I just wonder - are we numb to that? Why don't we dance with joy upon the hearing of the resurrection, or mourn upon the truth of the crucifixion? Do we wear crosses as mere jewelry, hang nice photos of Jesus, and never really get it? Are we missing the point? The truth is that Jesus is real - and therefore the crucifixion and resurrection are just as real. During this Lenten season we are called to reflect on our sins, and as we do that how can we keep from leaping with joy over the promise of grace offered through the cross? It is easy to grow numb - to read the words for a thousandth time, once again partaking in the Eucharist and forget that our Savior did die for sinners such as us, only to rise again creating the beautiful story that brings salvation to such wretched sinners like me.

Prozac Jesus

As of late I have had an undying infatuation with Philip Yancey. Due to this passion, I have been reading his book The Jesus I Never Knew. In one of the chapters, he aptly states that the American church has successfully created a “Prozac Jesus.” A Jesus that is always calm and level headed – a Jesus that spoke in a monotone voice to a group of tame followers. The problem is, it takes a great deal of deception to create this form of Messiah because the Jesus we view in the New Testament looks nothing like long haired, white, relatively handsome, Prozac Jesus. In reality we see a Jesus that was probably dark skinned, poor, and anything but tame. A Jesus that turned tables and told a man not to bury his dead father because the dead can take care of themselves. He tells a potential follower to sell everything he owned, and had the gull to tell his disciples to stop fishing which was their only form of income.

Now let's align this Biblical representation to that of the present day church. First, we would never turn away a potential follower. Rather than tell them to sell everything, we would probably step on stones in a desperate attempt to not offend them. If a pastor called people to leave their jobs to follow Jesus, it just might result in the pastors termination. We have taken the truth of scriptures and formed an “American Christianity.” A belief system that is safe – it allows us to be Christians yet enjoy the American dream as well. More than anything, it allows us to play it safe.

One year I went with my church choir on a mission trip to Florida. While on the mission trip, many kids suffered from dehydration and a few had to be hospitalized. In a desperate attempt to combat this, my youth pastor created what we aptly named “waterade.” Since they didn’t have the money to buy us each water and Gatorade, they unevenly mixed both to create an awful concoction of half water – half Gatorade. Needless to say, it was terrible. In many senses, this is what we do to the gospel. We mix what we enjoy about the world with what is easy of the scriptures to create a mix that is good for nothing. We have strayed away from the true Christ – the Messiah that loved unconditionally in such a way that he was able to reveal sin while instigating change.

In Revelation 3:15-16 God chides the church of Laodicea by saying, “I know your works; you are neither cold nor hot. I wish that you were either cold or hot. So, because you are lukewarm, and neither cold nor hot, I am about to spit you out of my mouth.” Often, we are content with being lukewarm. We fill a seat on Sunday and offer our mandatory ten percent but God demands so much more than that. John Wesley often talked about sanctifying grace. This is a grace that leads you toward holiness. Once we accept Christ, this should be our goal. As a church, we can never grow content or lukewarm. God wants all of us.

It is high time that we as the American church stop being lukewarm. It is imperative for us as Christian to delve into the truth of Christ, a Messiah that was anything but the “Prozac Jesus” we have so masterfully created. We have got to rise up and take a stand – to show the world Christ. God wants nothing to do with lukewarm, “waterade” faith. This is an all or nothing game. Now that is not to say that I am anywhere close to being there, but that should be our goal. If just five people decide to live out loud with an unadulterated passion and zeal for truth, imagine the difference that could make. God has called us to so much and given us so much more, how could we ever settle for “waterade?”