Saturday, August 04, 2007

Do I want to be called a Christian?

I had the privilege of hearing Erwin McManus at a conference in Bracknell a couple of years ago. He said something that really challenged me. He said that he didn't call himself a Christian anymore. In his world the tag Christian had lost so much of its meaning and was even viewed in a derogatory way. Instead of being synonymous with being Christ like, full of love, justice, mercy and grace it has been polluted by a different breed. Christian seems to have become a term for a person who is narrow minded, judgemental and intolerant.

I have read many notes about this over the last couple of years and thought about it many times. This post by Nancy Beech made me think about it again.

I may be going against too much of a flow. But I must remember that in the early church the term Christian was a badge of honour. People were called that by the unchurched because they saw something. They saw people that were Christ like. We need to try to reclaim this great word for the judgemental people who have claimed it. Calling my self a follower of Jesus is not quite enough. Following is the start of the journey but becoming Christ like is the goal.

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