I'm reading John Burke's No Perfect People Allowed, and I'm only in chapter two but HAD to share this paragraph with you:
"It was not so much that Chris didn't like me; after all, he didn't really know me. What he didn't like was what I represented. He didn't like Christians, or should I say, the stereotype of what Christians are like. I'm afraid Chris' sentiments extend more broadly than most Christians care to realize. I've since discovered that the average person has a strong perception of what Christians are against, but little of what Christians are for. I was simply confirming his negative stereotype of a narrow, intolerant, arrogant perseon who just wanted everyone "to be like me." In our postmodern world, you can't separate the message from the messenger.
"I think Chris was really saying, 'Arguments don't convince me. Show me a faith that's attractive, and I'll consider it. Otherwise, I'm not interested, no matter how 'true' you say it is.' .Truth had gone relational" (p. 30, emphasis mine).
Just this week I've seen/read a lot of negativity about the decisions of our government. That's a whole 'nother blog entry or more, but it reinforces this idea of being known as "against abortion, against Muslims, against liberals, against rock music"...on and on I could go.
We are FOR Christ, for his kingdom, for his glory, for the world, for salvation, for loving the unloved, for the orphan and the widow, for becoming all things to all men so that by all possible means we might save some (1 Cor. 9:19-23). This verse demands further study and clarification, but it means that we must bring a gospel that is attractive by our lives, by our hearts, by our attitudes, by our love.
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