Why do Christians s**k? by Tom Davis

I found this article and thought that it would be quite a good article to post and to see what other people think!?

Why Do Christians Suck?7/17/2008by Tom Davis

Each Sunday, millions of Christians in America gather to worship the God who commands us to “love our neighbor as ourselves.” We belt out praises to the God who tells us that “pure and undefiled religion is caring for widows and orphans in their distress.” We kneel in pious prayer before the Almighty God of the universe who describes Himself as loving, gracious, merciful, and generous. Then, we walk out the back door of the church, step into a world in need, and proceed to withhold the love, grace, and mercy that’s extended to us.
We might as well give God the middle finger. Outside of a tiny minority of Christians, we have become a self-centered group of priggish snobs. In short, we suck. Before you pick up a rock and throw it at me, think about this: I could have used other words that aren’t as nice as “suck.” Like “white-washed tombs,” “brood of vipers,” “fools,” or the ever ego-inflating, “Get behind me Satan!” Jesus used all of these choice phrases to describe religious leaders and some of his closest of followers. But calling someone a white-washed tomb just doesn’t cut it anymore. "We suck" is a much better choice for our cultural context. Poverty sucks. Divorce sucks. And, unfortunately, some Christians suck, too.

Here are the facts: Eighty-five percent of young people outside the church who have had connection to Christians believe present-day Christianity is hypocritical. Inside the church, forty-seven percent of young people believe the same thing. And why wouldn't they? We’re pretty stingy with our money:

- 80 percent of the world’s evangelical wealth is in North America.
- Giving by churchgoers was higher during the Great Depression than it is today.
- Christians give an average of $13.31/week to their local church.
- Only 9 percent of “born-again” adults reported tithing in 2004.

And let's take a peek in on our neighbors:

- More than 1 billion people live in absolute poverty.
- 500 million people are at the edge of starvation.
- 200 million children are being exploited as laborers.
- Half of the human beings on the planet live on less than $2/day.
- 1.5 billion people do not have enough money to buy food.

This is information that anyone can collect from the Internet, just as I did. Any reasonable person could make this simple conclusion: Most American Christians do not care about what God says in the Bible.We pick out the scriptures we like, as if we were dining at a five-star buffet. We conveniently ignore the scriptures that talk about caring for the poor, giving away material possessions, and loving money. Scriptures like:

- Anyone who sets himself up as "religious" by talking a good game is self-deceived. This kind of religion is hot air and only hot air. Real religion, the kind that passes muster before God the Father, is this: Reach out to the homeless and loveless in their plight, and guard against corruption from the godless world.” (James 1:26-27)

- Dear friends, do you think you'll get anywhere in this if you learn all the right words but never do anything? Does merely talking about faith indicate that a person really has it? For instance, you come upon an old friend dressed in rags and half-starved and say, "Good morning, friend! Be clothed in Christ! Be filled with the Holy Spirit!" and walk off without providing so much as a coat or a cup of soup—where does that get you? Isn't it obvious that God-talk without God-acts is outrageous nonsense? (James 2:15-17)

- "If you have two coats, give one away," [Jesus] said. "Do the same with your food." (Luke 3:11)


When Christians care about their political views, what sexual preference someone has, or their bank account more than they care about the millions of people who die in the world because they don’t have five dollars to buy the medicine that would cure them, something has gone drastically wrong. These kinds of Christians suck. What can we do to stop sucking? I think the answer is relatively simple. It's found in the Bible:

“Do not merely listen to the Word, and so deceive yourselves. Do what it says” (James 1:22).Give away material possessions to those in need, love the unlovely, take care of the widow and orphan. This is not rocket science. It just takes a heart committed to doing the things God said to do. Want ten simple steps? You got it.

Christians, listen up: People are tired of being criticized, judged, and listening to the lip service we are so great at giving. Instead, why don’t we commit to making the changes we can make? Christianity needs a renewal of the principles that made it great. It needs to be more like Jesus—compassionate, self-sacrificial, unconditionally loving, and caring for those who are most in need. That kind of lifestyle allowed twelve men to change the world. It will help you change yours, too.

*This article was originally published by Beliefnet.

Bieng Serious about Change!

"Our worst fear is not that we are inadequate, our deepest fear is that we are powerful beyond measure. It is our light, not our darkness that most frightens us. We ask ourselves, 'who am I to be so brilliant, gorgeous, talented and fabulous?' Actually, who are we not to be? You are a child of God: Your playing small doesn't serve the world. There is nothing enlightening about shrinking so that other people won't feel insecure around you. We were born to make manifest the glory of God within us. It is not just in some of us, it is in everyone and as we let our own light shine we unconsciously give other people permission to do the same. As we are liberated from our own fear, our presence automatically liberates others."

~Marianne Williamson

(widely mis-attributed to Nelson Mandela)

"Injustice furiates me. Yet I keep oppressing!
Two-thirds of our world lives in poverty. Yet I keep consuming!
I desire for all to experience the fullness of life. Yet I keep protracting!
I see the oppression on their faces. Yet I keep forgetting!"

When I wrote this poem I realised that there would come a time when; belief would lead to action, and truth is the way you live and breathe the teachings of Jesus. Belief in Jesus should no longer just mean agreeing with right doctrine and truth should no longer be theological ideas.
Now is such a time! Not just to be enthusiastic about the Teachings of Jesus, but also to be obedient to them, to live and act on them as it was meant to be. To be truly converted not just in the mind, but in the heart also and in the way we live.

Those who follow Jesus should be known for the way they live, and love and serve others and not for what they’re against. They will love their neighbours, but not only say they do, in fact they would as Peter says become, ‘administers of God’s grace’ (1 Pet. 2:10). Faithfully serving others with the gifts God has given them. Grace is not something we have earned, yet we hold on to it as though it were. We are to be ‘administers of God’s grace’. Jesus’ teachings call for a serious change in the lives of those who follow him. Changes in lifestyle and priorities, changes in the way we use our money, changes in the way we respond to those in need among us.

So, how serious are you about change?

Andy Crowe
Incedo Gisborne

*This piece was an article I wrote for the Gisborne Herald as a part of the Christian Comment for the week.

Got Fish? by Harry Heintz

Text: John 21: 1-14

There are questions we don’t like to hear.

-Did you finish cleaning your bedroom?
-Where is that milk you said you’d bring home?
-Did you misplace this speeding ticket I found in your car?
-Is that your natural hair color?
-What birthday is this?
-Honey, do you remember what day this is?

If you know fishing and you’re fishing on waters you know well and you recently made your living fishing those very waters, here’s a question you don’t like to hear: "Friends, haven't you any fish?” Ouch. What do I answer? “Sure. They’re swimming right beneath this boat.” “Are you kidding? I’m a bass master.” In my childhood we went to Sunday evening worship. We would get home just in time for “Candid Camera.” That TV show would set up people to look silly while a hidden camera was catching the action. I remember one segment set in a pet shop. There was a wall of aquariums with colorful tropical fish. In the aisle was a large aquarium with this label on it: “invisible fish.” The camera caught just the right guy. He went from casual observer to obsessive watcher. He looked from every angle in every possible way. He was going to be the one that saw the invisible fish. Instead the nation watched him get caught by a simple net. I suppose Peter might have tried this line: “We’ve caught a lot of fish, invisible fish.”

“Hey, out there. You fishing men of Galilee on that weathered fishing boat. Have you caught anything?” "No,” they answered. Give them points for honesty. I wonder what that no sounded like: no, or No, or NO!, or what’s it to you, buddy? Don’t you hate it when someone sees you in a moment of failure and lets you know it? When I have a small fix-it job to do at home, the kind any kindergarten graduate should be able to do in, say, two minutes, I don’t want anyone in the house for the next two hours. I want all traffic within one mile of my home detoured. I especially don’t want any members of my family present. If I do it right I’ll let you discover it. If I don’t, please don’t remind me. There is a plumbing truck that says on its sides in big letters: “We repair what your husband fixed.” Have you any fish? No.

Why did they go fishing? The placement of this appearance in the Gospel of John is interesting. On Easter morning Jesus appears to Mary Magdalene in the garden. She goes to the disciples and says, “I have seen the Lord!” Then he appears to the disciples in a locked room, except Thomas isn’t there. There are overjoyed and when they see Thomas they say, “We have seen the Lord.” A week later Thomas, the one we call the doubter, is doubting this when Jesus appears to him and says, “My Lord and my God!” Now it’s a while later. We’re not sure how long. John simply says, “Afterward Jesus appeared again to his disciples, by the Sea of Galilee.” Seven disciples are named. Three are well known: Peter, Thomas, and Nathanael. Two are implied: James and John. And two are left unnamed. That means we’re there. Either named or unnamed, we’re there in those seven. With our faith and with our doubts, we’re there. And Peter, true to his nature, speaks up, “I’m going fishing.” The rest join him.

Why did they go fishing? There are several options. Some Bible students see this as a return to what they used to do. Though Jesus was risen and had already appeared, they knew he was going back to his heavenly home. So what had they to do but go back to fishing? Some see this as a way to get some food. And some see this a picture of the global mission of the Church. We remember that Jesus had said to these would-be disciples three years ago, “I will make you fishers of people.” There is a fascinating interpretation from a leader in the Church about 300 years after this. His name was Jerome and he noted that Greek zoology at that time had identified 153 different kinds of fish. So he, being a good preacher, saw the catch of 153 fish as a picture of the Good News of Jesus going into all the world.

Why did they go fishing? I take some little truth from each of those options. Fishing was what they knew how to do. Fishing can be very relaxing. And fishing wasn’t just a sport, but a way of making a living and feeding hungry people. Fishing is mentioned a lot in the Gospels, but never do the disciples catch a fish in the Gospels without help from Jesus. Seems there’s a lesson there about learning to depend on him in everything. Jesus said, “Apart from me you can do nothing.” We’re still learning that truth. What strikes me as far more important than why they went fishing was what happened while they were fishing. They saw Jesus. Again. He keeps appearing in the most everyday places.

Jesus is raised from a borrowed tomb. He then proceeds to appear to his disciples in their everyday lives. He doesn’t appear to them in the Temple in Jerusalem. He doesn’t show up only when they’re gathered for worship. He doesn’t appear when a committee has completes its planning and sends out announcements. He shows up in a garden. He appears on a long afternoon’s walk to an otherwise forgettable town named Emmaus. He arrives on the shore of the Sea of Galilee to help some fishermen catch 153 fish.

Where do we look for Jesus today? I think the more accurate question is, where is Jesus looking for us today?
Here are some of my suggestions:

-Look for him in the needy around us. He loves to reveal himself to people in need and through people in need.

-Look for him where people are rejoicing. Jesus loves to rejoice with those rejoicing. He loves a good party.

- Look for him where people are weeping. Jesus weeps with those weeping. Our tears matter to him. He is well acquainted with suffering.

-Look for him where people are serving. Jesus defined his ministry as serving the Father and serving others. Help serve the community dinner at First Baptist in Troy some Tuesday evening. You’ll see Jesus there.

-Look for him on mission trips. In the last month we have had people serving on short-term trips to the Gulf Coast and to Naivasha, Kenya. They saw Jesus in those places, in the midst of need and in the midst of active faith.

Let me make this clear. I believe Jesus reveals himself when people gather to worship God in places set apart for the worship of God. Jesus regularly reveals himself here, in this very space. I have experienced that and so have you. But if we only look for him here, we’re missing him way too much. The cross of our Lord was not set in a sanctuary and gilded with gold. It was set by a roadside where the everyday folks traveled and turned their heads from the gore of bloodied crosses. When we’re getting this right, what happens in here has everything to do with who we are and what we do out there. And who we are and what we do out there have everything to do with who we are and what we do in here. If Jesus is present when we break the sacramental bread and lift the cup to our lips in here, he is present when we have grilled fish and toast for breakfast on a lake shore. We’re trying to break down that wall between who we are in here and who we are out there, because the Jesus who is present when we gather in his name in here is present when we scatter from here to out there where we live and work. Elizabeth Barrett Browning said it as well as anyone I know: “Earth’s crammed with heaven, and every common bush afire with God. . . .” This risen Christ cannot and will not be confined to our sanctuaries.

Here is my simple challenge to us—for the next week, or month, or year, or all our years. Let’s be looking for Jesus where he is looking for us. In our daily living. In the stuff of our lives. In our fishing. In doing our homework and practicing the piano. In our neighborhoods and schools and factories and offices. Yes, in our worship center, too; but never only there. Never only here. If we are looking, we’ll be seeing him out there. And we’ll be saying it in here and out there, "It is the Lord!” We’ll join Mary Magdalene and the disciples in saying, “We have seen the Lord.” He is risen indeed.

an extract from www.ivmdl.org , a website dedicated to lowering the wall from being "in here to being out there".