Hanging out

I just finished reading an interesting and challenging book by Dan Kimball called They Like Jesus, but Not the Church. It was interesting because Kimball talks with people outside the church to get their perspective on the church. It was not pretty some of the things they said about the church. They see the church as a judgmental place that is full of strict guidelines that you have to adhere to or you are out. It was challenging because Kimball suggested some things that challenge the status quo of the church as we know it. I do not like status quo. Status quo equals boring for me. It means living an uninspired and uneventful life. I want to live a life on the edge. I want to live the great adventure that is being a follower of Christ. I want Jesus to take me to places I would never have dreamed of going on my own. This book really challenged me to love like Jesus. As Christians, we spend too much time with other Christians and not enough time with non-Christians. It's almost become an us vs. them mentality for us. More often than not Christians are known for what we are against rather than what we are for. We need to get out to where the people are and not concern ourselves with sharing the gospel with them right away on the first meeting. That would be like asking a girl to marry you on the first date; too much too soon. Rather, we should get to know them. Jesus spent time getting to know people. This shows people that we genuinely care about them. We see them as a person, not as a conquest for the kingdom. This is what people in a post-Christian world are going to respond to. They want to see the love of Jesus through us. They need to see the love of Jesus through us. If the church in America is going to survive, then we need to get out of our buildings and start loving people with the love of Christ.