These last two days challenged me to reflect on how people viewed Christianity. I’m grateful to be able to look behind people’s actions and connect their hearts for a conversation about faith and practice.
I went to a Friendsgiving Getaway with a few friends. These friends have different perspectives about life, faith, and practices. While the environment was a typical party-type vibe a lot of the guests didn’t expect a pastor to be at a party. I have known the host for 3 years and I do not typically follow the traditional “Christian Clique” and to live in your “Christian Bubble” cause it to hinder me to connect with people who are not like me. There are two ways to evangelize, based on your words and based on your actions. I’m able to share two encounters that I have noticed when I was in this environment.
1.) I’ve impressed them by my No’s
I don’t just automatically tell people I am a pastor, because it tends to change people and their behaviors quickly. It wasn’t until my friend brought out my Bible while I was having conversations with someone that this individual found out. Eventually, they were ready to take shots, the individual asked if I drank and I said no and she was impressed and started calling me “Jesus”! She didn’t say it mockingly but in a really impressive way. So later on she explained me to why and this is what she said. “Throughout my lifetime I have known ministers and Christian drinking and doing everything the world has done, so while you do not engage In our behavior I was super impressed that you stuck to your values”
This kinda reminds me of the account of how Jesus hung out with sinners!
13 Once again Jesus went out beside the lake. A large crowd came to him,(B) and he began to teach them.14 As he walked along, he saw Levi son of Alphaeus sitting at the tax collector’s booth. “Follow me,”(C)Jesus told him, and Levi got up and followed him. 15 While Jesus was having dinner at Levi’s house, many tax collectors and sinners were eating with him and his disciples, for there were many who followed him. 16 When the teachers of the law who were Pharisees(D) saw him eating with the sinners and tax collectors, they asked his disciples: “Why does he eat with tax collectors and sinners?”(E) 17 On hearing this, Jesus said to them, “It is not the healthy who need a doctor, but the sick. I have not come to call the righteous, but sinners.”(F)
Mark 2:13-17
While my position on alcohol is abstinence. I do not deny the “moderation” that Christian use to justify drinking. It’s a comment practice for Christians who believe drinking is okay while I think being abstinent leaves a better example. But if I leave more good impressions based on my denial of drinking that builds my credibility and glorified Jesus then so be it. This just proves that your actions make an impression even if sometimes you can justify Scripture to approve drinking.
2.) Out actions impact other’s view of Christianity and Jesus.
There is another encounter who wanted me to hear her story about how Christianity left a bad taste in her mouth. She summed up the story about how a deacon was is influential took advantage of the grandmother in the midst of dying for the funds of her Will by being a lawyer involved. The family also didn’t allow the grandmother to stay in her house until she passed away instead they relocated the mother to another state and sold the house before she passed. She was hurt because the church was super connected and the grandmother’s wish wasn’t respected which she now comes up with this statement “It makes me mad when they were able to do all this and still preach on Sunday’s, If they claim to be Christians and have done something like this then I for sure do not want any of that”
It was hard for me to figure out what to say because if I were in her shoes I would feel the same way. So I tried to advise her to don’t look at the “titles” but look at the heart. We are all wicked and we tend to sin but I do agree that this type of sin is not a oops see, it was planned out and deceitful. This concludes that we need to do a better job living holy lives and not just claim we are Christians. If we do not uphold our standards then we have no right to label it.
So this taught me a lot about how others who don’t live to be Christians view how Christians are. I’m grateful that I stick to my values to set an example. I want to be the light for those who are struggling in darkness and we cannot do that if we are just stuck at church but being involved in the outside world.
My Faith Journey 