Interested in Jesus?
Do you think people aren't much interested in Jesus anymore? Think again. While doing in depth research for this week's Prayer champion email I did what any red blooded American does first when faced with an assignment - I Googled it. I entered "Jesus" into the search engine fully expecting numerous matches, but I was still surprised to see roughly 207 million. That's 207,000,000. I subsequently reviewed the first 50, and here's some of the results:
- At www.jesusdressup.com you can dress up Jesus for Halloween.
- At www.jesusoftheweek.com you can submit or view a picture of Jesus that, in their words, "...sums up the Ol' Christ!"
- At www.jesuschristsuperstore.net you can buy the Jesus Christ action figure which includes ninja-messiah throwing nails and death killer, pump action, over/under shotgun.
This is a posting on the Los Angeles Craigslist under TV/Film/Radio Jobs:
ARE YOU JESUS? DO YOU KNOW SOMEONE WHO THINKS THEY ARE JESUS? DO YOU KNOW SOMEONE WHO MIGHT BE JESUS?
A major production company is producing a documentary on Jesus. We are seeking those people who live their lives as Jesus, dress like Jesus or follow his word so closely that there is a possibility they could be Jesus. Maybe you or someone you know has miraculous abilities or claims to be the second messiah. If you or anyone you know fits this description, email a picture, contact number and a short bio about your faith!
These all seem a bit silly, but there is plenty of serious discussion out there about Jesus:
- www.technorati.com is a blog site that has 17,525 posts about Jesus at the time of this writing.
- The Jesus Seminar is a group of scholars who pour over the available historical facts about Jesus, debate their different opinions about the real person of Jesus and then vote in an attempt to declare who Jesus really was. Check it out at www.virtualreligion.net/forum.
So what's the point? The point is that people stay away from churches because of the way churches are, not because of Jesus. The church has a deadly propensity to sell people on Jesus, but deliver t-shirts, action figures, and studies on the historical person of Jesus. Real people, living real lives, with real problems need something bigger than that.
The time has come for the church to find a big Jesus. A mighty King Jesus straight out of Revelation 19 that manly men can bow down to and follow. A kind and sympathetic Jesus who calls the healed woman "daughter" in Luke 8. A Jesus by whom all things were created and all things were created for. A Jesus who holds all things together. (Colossians 1)
As I ponder my own role in Missio Dei, I have committed myself to two things as I encourage and equip people: First to speak from the sacred text of the Bible, and second, to talk about Jesus. This simple decision gives me confidence, and brings me great joy.
