#1 - WE ARE YOUR WORST CRITICS

#1 - We like to point fingers in judgment

If you don't agree with us, you better run for cover.
If you don't live the life we think you should, look out.

When I was a young Christian lad, I was one of those people who was self-righteous, "holier than thou", judgmental.  Whatever it is we want to call it, I was that guy.  I always looked down my nose at others who weren't living their lives as good as I was.  This was especially true of other Christians.  Rather than personally helping a weaker brother or sister in Christ, I made sure to point out to them how weak they were.

I was this way for much of my young-adult life, too.  That is, until I started my career in 1998.  When I was a young cop, I drifted away from Christ for about 3 years.  I was a "player" and a drinker.  I chased women like a kid in a candy store, and I drank to get drunk.  Suddenly, the people who were once my cohorts in judgment, were now my judges.  I had the fingers pointed at me, suggesting how terrible I was.

I always sensed the Spirit of God gently nudging/pulling me back to Himself, convicting me of my sin, but never condemning me.  His saints took care of that part for Him.  (I say that tongue-in-cheek).  One night, I prayed kneeling beside my bed, saying, "God, if I'm going to come back to you, I don't want to be "that guy" any longer.  I don't like the fingers pointed at me.  I don't want to do the same to others who may be weaker.

Today, I find it difficult to judge another man/woman for their life choices.  Sure, I may not agree with them, but you know what?  I've done some pretty sickening things in my life.  I have no room to talk, the way I see it.  I have no right to point fingers.  When I grow judgmental, I get punched in the face for breaking my vow.  I quickly have to repent.

Sadly, too many of us Christians are "that guy".  We love pointing fingers and making people feel worse about themselves and their situation than they already do.  The topics are endless: Divorce, Abortion, Alcohol, Tobacco use, Porn, Fatness, Foul language, etc.

But guess what.  I have a secret.  Shhhhhhhhhh.  Don't tell anybody.  I know Christians who have done alllllllllll of those things, and then some.

We are hypocrites in the worst way.  (Yeah, yeah, I know...the entire world is full of hypocrites in every walk of life.  But WE ought to set the example.)  Yes, we agree, the church is full of hypocrites.  A good many of us recognize our hypocrisy and we are working on eliminating it.  But far too many of us put on a mask that we grabbed out of the closet, speak out of both sides of our mouths, and then deride others for their bad choices.

May God have mercy on us.

#2 - WE PROSELYTIZE FOR WRONG REASONS

#2 - We proselytize because it makes us feel good about ourselves

I'll probably take a bit of flak for this one, but that's ok.  The idea behind this experiment is to get people thinking and talking about issues we may disagree upon and possibly re-think our positions.  So, I'll just dive right in. 

I don't fully agree with short-term missions trips.  There, I said it.

When I say "fully", I mean that there are some aspects with which I agree.  I agree with helping people and doing work they may not be able to do themselves, or getting them supplies to which they may not normally have access.  We are in a wealthy nation and in a good position to help people in need.

But the bulk of my angst stems from wondering what the motive is behind short-term missions trips. 

"It's our desire to take the gospel into all the world, as commanded by the Scriptures", many would say.  But if that's the case, why aren't we making these trips life-missions?  Why go to Africa for only 10 days?  How much can we possibly accomplish in such a short time? 

"We're part of a larger organization where teams accomplish specific tasks before the next team comes in to complete their task."

Would humanity be better rewarded for long-term commitment instead of short-?  What kind of impact would it have on the missionaries and the locals to know Christians are committed to people for the long-haul instead of just the trip across town?

If we're serious about seeing people in Africa fed and clothed, then why not take a sabbatical from our careers for a year and really do business?  Obviously, I wouldn't expect many of us to do this.  It would be very difficult to pack up the family and go when there are obligations and bills to pay at home.  But if we're serious, then it seems we'll make it happen.  Why not go long enough to actually build relationships with people, rather than simply performing a drive-by?

It is my opinion that the primary reason Christians embark upon these short-term missions excursions is to learn something about ourselves, or to feel good about getting our hands dirty for Jesus.  But we can only commit to one week!  It is my secondary opinion that we do them because we want to see another part of the world, so we may as well do something "good" while we're at it.  The trip is the vehicle; the mission is the third-wheel.

The point is this: We don't need to fly to the opposite side of the globe in order to help hurting people or to share the good news of Jesus Christ.  We all know neighborhoods in our immediate communities that need help and who need Jesus.  There are several area agencies that can help point us in the right direction.  There are even agencies that already have the ball rolling and they're simply in need of our help.

It is very difficult for Christians to get dirty with people close to us at home. 

I'll state it another way. 

It's much too easy to do drive-by missions.  After all, we can leave in a week without further commitment.  Missions abroad requires little more than a plane ticket, while missions at home requires on-going commitment.

Is it time for us to stop being commitment-phobes?

Is it time we "put up, or shut up", so to speak?

Jesus didn't have it easy.  He busied Himself with the work of the Kingdom.

Are we too busy with Wii and sports on TV and 4-wheeling and studying and reading and........?

Are we too busy to commit to people, especially when we believe eternity is on the line?

#3 - THE BIG AGENDA:

#3 - We have a difficult time making friends without an agenda to proselytize them

So far, I think this will be my most challenging rant because I want to be understanding of unbelievers' gripes about Christians, yet I want to be faithful to God's word and the Christian's commission.  It is difficult because I know I am violating the #1 crime I think Christians commit -- judging.  Also, I don't have the time to delve into the deep theology of the sovereignty of God in mans' salvation here.  I'm just going to address the surface issues.

I have a co-worker who turns every -- I mean EVERY -- conversation into Jesus.  While I admire his tenacity, the "Jesus talk" gets tiring.  Quickly.  When we're talking football or trucks, we're not talking about Jesus throwing a touchdown or torquing a wrench.  While typing a report on a Sunday afternoon, a song played on the computer.  He walked in and, without saying hello, said, "You're listening to that?  And on the Lord's day?"  (And no, it wasn't a bad song.  Just a secular one.)  The guy doesn't come across as sharing the good news of salvation.  Instead, it's more as if he simply wants people to know how great a Christian he is by adding Christian-ese jargon to every possible conversation on the planet. 

Oh, there's no doubt about knowing he's a believer.  The result, however, is that people dread talking to him.  And I don't blame them one bit; I feel the same way!  What good is your witness if people don't care to talk to you?  The same is true for all types of conversation.  If all I talked day-in and day-out, from sun-up to sun-down, was police stuff, people -- including my wife and friends -- would puke with excitement whenever another opportunity at conversation with me arose.

The same goes for the Christian-ese conversation pieces.  I love Jesus with all of my being, and I enjoy turning bane conversations into spiritual conversations.  But sometimes I want to talk baseball, or books, or exercise.  And that's what my friends want to talk about also -- WITHOUT DREADING BEING PROSELYTIZED.  My co-worker has very good intentions, but it comes across the wrong way.  It gives others the perception that he's not really as interested in them as he is in cramming the gospel in their faces.

This is where it is absolutely paramount for us Christians to trust the Holy Spirit for the power of convincing, convicting, and conversion.  In explaining the Kingdom of God, Jesus told a parable of the soils, where seed (the message of Jesus) is scattered on various types of soil (people).  Inherent in the parable is the understanding that the farmer has two basic jobs: First, to prepare the ground by weeding, tilling, etc.  Second, to scatter the seed, but only after the ground was prepared.  If he scattered before the ground was prepared, the soil wouldn't receive it and his efforts would be a wasted.  The remainder -- ie, the watering and the growing -- were left up to God through nature.

The parable applies to our witness to the world.  I find it careless to throw out the "seed" (the gospel) if/when people are not prepared to receive it.  Build trust; build rapport.  Trust the Holy Spirit for two things: to prepare people to receive and prompt us to speak when the time is right.  We have to understand that the Holy Spirit is doing and will do His job.  Remember, It is His job to water and grow the seed in a person.  Not ours. 

"We must go make disciples of all nations", someone will say. 
"But Rome wasn't built in a day", I would reply.
Growth takes time.  Coming to Jesus is sometimes -- often times -- a difficult decision for a person to make.  No doubt, it is the most crucial decision anyone can make.  But it takes time, like slow-cook simmering food in a pan. 

When we grow close with people simply because they are our friends, we will know/sense proper timing of opportunities to share the gospel.  I think we need to be cautious about making friends simply so we have more people to proselytize -- or cram.  When the time is right, we must share; but when it's wrong, we must wait patiently.  We need to accept the fact that maybe we are not the one to share to the person.  But we also must be ready to share when we are called upon to do so. 

As Mr. Miyagi once said, "Patience, Danyoson."  Don't be afraid to be a friend.  If you've tried to share the gospel and it is rejected, give it some time.  But if you push it, you may push the person further away.  In the meantime, just be a friend.

#4 - WE ARE IN LOVE WITH OURSELVES

#4 - WE ARE PRIDEFUL...

...and we like it. 
We love it, actually. 
Because it proves to us we are better than everybody else.
You see, at the center of this thing we call ChristIanity is "I"...big fat I. 
Don't you see it in there?
And "I" spells "ME" all day long!
While there may be no "I" in "team", there sure is in Christianity.

And that philosophy carries over to the gospel.
I am at the center of the gospel.
The gospel is all about what Jesus did for ME...
...and how He pursues ME to be in relationship with Him.
We have turned the message of the gospel into all that Jesus wants to do for US,
and how we wants to do nothing less than bless US.

But, ironically, we forget that Jesus died for people just like us, and that He is right now calling "them" -- US -- to Him.
Oh how quickly we forgot that we were ugly people when that happened. 

After all, He died on the cross for ME, right?
We have gotten so much in the way that we have forgetten that Jesus died on the cross for HIM.
We forget that it glorified God to offer Jesus on the Cross for our sin, and that it was all about HIM. 
It was -- and still is -- about HIS glory.
Not ours.

If it was about US, then we wouldn't need Him...
...but what He wants
is for US
to need HIM.

But our pride gets in the way of needing Him.
And if our foolish pride gets in the way of God, then you can be sure it gets in the way of other people who are watching us.

#5 - WE ARE BIBLICALLY ILLITERATE

Maybe someone's joining us half-way through this experiment.  If that's the case, maybe you're wondering what I'm up to.  I took a challenge from a friend to be "anti-religion" from a Christian perspective for one week.  I began with a "Top 10 list of senseless things Christians do" and chose to use those items as springboards for each of these "rants".  We may not like it much, but sometimes it's not a bad idea to look critically at who we are or what we do (religious, political, racial, etc) from a different point of view.  That is this series.

#5 - We are biblically illiterate

Sad, but true.  Painfully true.  I have unbelieving friends who know the big-picture story of the Bible better than many Christians I know.  It seems like people who call themselves by Jesus' name should know the Book that is inseparable from His name.  But rather than blather on, I will cite others who have written entire articles on the topic. 

Here are just a few of the statistics:
Many professing Christians cannot identify more than two or three of the disciples.
Seven out of ten born again Christians said they do not believe in moral absolutes.
Only one out of ten Christians base their moral decision-making on the principles taught in the Bible.

Why can't we name them?  Because we're not in God's word.  No just "not enough", but hardly at all.
How can we possibly have moral absolutes when we lack a basis for understanding?

Why does this happen?  One author has opined on that very question. "There are, no doubt, many reasons for the current predicament. In general we spend far less time reading anything at all in this culture, much less dense and demanding books like the Bible."

My beef is not with unbelievers, but with professing, faithful Christians.  One article cited the following: "Eikenberry asked churches and youth pastors in West Michigan to administer a simple biblical literacy survey to parishioners. "The scores were just atrocious," he said. "I don't expect those outside Christianity to know the Christian book, but shouldn't people of the Book be familiar with it?"

I cannot help but to agree with the Associates for Biblical Research: "The Church Has Been “Dumbed Down” by the Culture".  Culture tells us, "If it feels good, it must be right."  Culture has demanded we read short blips of information (ie, Facebook, Twitter, etc) rather than full tomes.  How can a Christian today possibly understand the whole of scripture when we read a sparse verse here or there?

From the Barna Group:
"Adults who attend small churches - i.e., those averaging fewer than 100 adults on a typical weekend - were more likely than people attending larger congregations to admit to struggling with Bible knowledge and consistently practicing their faith principles."

For those who think their large churches are immune from the problem, here's one for you: "Those who attend mainline Protestant churches were more likely than people who attend other Protestant congregations to rate themselves below average in worship, sharing their faith, and Bible knowledge."

C'mon, brothers and sisters.  This is truly disappointing and heart-breaking.  Utterly painful.  I think this issue lies at the center of all my rants, for it is probably THE major causal factor of the issues I've been addressing in this series.

Once again, the closing disclaimer: I know not ALL Christians are Biblical idiots.  A good many are literate, but even more are NOT.  The only way we can truly know God is by being in His word.  The Psalmist wrote that it was the only means to living in accordance with God's ways -- by hiding His word in our hearts, by seeking to understand it.  Sadly, this is far too uncommon.

#6 - WE WANT YOU HERE

#6 - We care more about you coming to "our church" rather than coming to our Jesus...

I've heard from several pastors over the years that I need to invite people to church.  Of course, they need to get saved.  Where else could they possibly do it except church?  (Yes, I say that a bit tongue-in-cheek.)  I understand the push, because there are a lot of Christians who can't really explain the message of salvation all that well.  They fully believe it in their hearts, but just cannot explain it convincingly.  So, it may very well be easier for that person to invite the friend to church instead, saving himself the embarrassment. 

I'm not standing in judgment of that person who cannot explain it well, because some people can't even explain our structure of government (ME) very well.  It would be of better service for me to direct an inquisitive foreigner to someone who understands it better than I do.  But I still have a general working knowledge of it.  That said, the responsibility lies with me in my ability to explain. 

Back to the Church, though.  I hold more judgment for our church leaders and mature Christians not explaining the big-picture story of the Bible to younger/newer Christians for them to better understand.  Again, this does not apply to all Christians in every church, but it does apply to a great many of them.  But, as is the case in my example of me learning the governmental system to explain it, shame on Christians for not taking education in God's word upon themselves.  (I'll stop there and save that rant for #5.)

I've long lived by the rule that when I share the gospel with someone, I try to put them in touch with decent churches in their relative area (if I know of any) where s/he can plug in.  Because I commuted 65 miles to work for a decade, most of my acquaintances, run-in's, and co-workers didn't live anywhere near me.  I didn't care to invite them to "my church" because I knew it was not practical for them to do so.  Instead, I wanted them to know Jesus and to be discipled in the gospel with a body of believers with whom they can fit in and grow accountable.  I wanted them to plug in with a church near them, not me.

Sadly, however, most proselytizing today comes in this form:
Guy 1: "Man, my church is really lame.  Can you believe what they did this time?" 
Guy 2: "Dude, that is such a bummer, because my church is rockin'.  You should come check it out sometime." 
And that, my friends, is the extent of "witnessing" many Christians today ever do.

"In his book entitled 'Exit Interviews,' William D. Hendricks writes something astonishing: 'Almost all growth reported by North American churches today is the result of CHURCH SWITCHING and birthrate within the churches rather than conversion growth.'"  

If we really cared about the lost coming to Jesus, we would bury our faces in our Bibles so we could better understand God;
We would bury our faces in good books to help us better explain the gospel;
We would pray for our unsaved loved ones, friends, and acquaintances a LOT more fervently than we do, and our hearts would be broken for them.
But we just want them to come to our church.  It's a whole lot easier.  I wonder if this phenomenon has anything to do with our craving to simply have our churches more populated on Sundays, i.e, higher attendance numbers.  Because a more populated church is a successful church, right?  I wonder if we're too hung up on numbers as indicators of success, rather than individual growth. 

Jesus told people, "Follow me", and He led them to God.  He didn't say, "Come check out my church."  I think we need to get back to Jesus' example and lead people to God by our own example, beckoning them, "Follow me."

#7 - WE MAJOR IN THE MINORS AND MINOR IN THE MAJORS

#7 - We major in the minors and minor in the majors.

We Christians like to bicker over relatively minor things, but seem to ignore much larger life-issues.  Once again, I recognize this is largely a human nature issue, but we Christians need to set a better example if we want the world to follow.  Therefore, this particular rant has more to do with how Christians behave WITHIN the church, but it impacts the way the world perceives us.

General examples include arguing over interior design and decoration of our churches, what kind of music will be played, whether or not drums and guitars are of the devil, and whether the King James is the only version authorized for use.  Seriously?  One particular Baptist church split over a piano bench dispute.  A PIANO BENCH!  Another split because a senior member didn't like a particular tempo and chord of one of her favorite hymns.  C'mon, people.  I'm sure there's more going on behind the scenes, but that's pretty fickle.

On a little weightier issue, one local church is currently splitting over a 5-point Calvinism dispute, and whether or not it should be preached.  I'm just about as Calvinistic as they come, but I actually understand the position of the "other side".  Rather than embracing differences on non-core issues (like eschatology or eternal security vs. free will), we drive wedges between ourselves and exclude those who are not like us in their beliefs.  On top of that, we make these debatable topics membership qualifications/disqualifications.  I think healthy debates within the church among Christians who believe differently from one another are very good things, for they inspire us to consider or re-consider our positions.  I've been on the "other side" of a couple issues, and I almost lost a dear friend over one of them. Was it worth it?  I think you know the answer.  Sadly, however, churches today are demonstrating that disagreement is unacceptable behavior. 

When our behavior is disagreeable, we split.  Instead, we prefer to focus on how the world ought to behave instead of working out our own personal holiness.  Sad, but true.  We're comfortable justifying our own sins while at the same time pointing out the sins of others. Quite honestly, I think we like discussing and debating the hot-topic moral issues du-jour only because it takes the spotlight of God's eyes off our own ugliness.

On the other side of the aisle are majors that we miss.  We want a bigger, nicer church, with up-to-date sound systems, and a glowing sign out front.  Don't get me wrong, I like those things too.  But when was the last time we thought of using all those THOUSANDS (if not millions) of dollars that are increasingly allocated toward our building program for feeding and clothing the poor in our communities?  I have a hunch poor people like and depend upon food and clothing more than we do our church upgrades (etc).  It's much too easy to give a bag of groceries or a couple hundred bucks here and there, but thousands?  That cuts too deep; It requires much sacrifice.

One church agreed to cut funding to a previously-sponsored missionary because, God forbid, that missionary doesn't teach the doctrine of the eternal security of believers.  Heretic alert, heretic alert!!!  Get him out of the mission field, now!!!  But I truly wonder if that will matter to God in the long run.  Ahhhh, what am I thinking?  No I don't.  While this particular missionary is praying for money to fix the bicycle he rides from village to village in the sweltering heat, we can be found reclining in our comfortable chairs, sipping lemonade, and cooling off inside the newly-renovated air conditioned building.  And we think cutting his funding over a debatable issue is prudent. 

Hmmmmmm.  God help us. 
Disclaimer: see #8, #9, and #10 disclaimer.  I think you get the idea...

#8 - WE ARE ESCAPIST

#8 - We have an escapist mentality

This one is a mild pet peeve of mine, but I think it is mportant enough to make it into the top 10.

We Christians are so caught up in our future hope God will give us in Glory that we forget about what He gave us today.  God made the heavens AND the earth...to inhabit it, to possess it, to work it, and to enjoy it.  We forget that He declared His creation good! Yes, sin indeed corrupted the good, but that doesn't mean all was flushed down the sewer from there.

It seems that we want out of all we have today, in exchange for everything future:
Rather than working through our difficult marriages, we want out;
Rather than excelling in what we do, we want new jobs, better jobs, higher paying jobs;
Rather than reconcile with the jerk in the next cubicle, we want to be moved;
Rather than care for the bodies we've been given, we want our glorified ones now.

I fully recognize this is a human nature thing, and not just a Christian thing.  But of all people, Christians ought to set the example in contentment. 

We want everything except what God has already given us. 
We want to escape this life -- AND QUICKLY -- in exchange for the next.

Sadly, we resign ourselves that things will only be better in Heaven, and that our only joy will be found there.  But Jesus said He came so that we could have abundant life with full joy!  I doubt He ONLY meant life and joy that awaits us in Heaven.

Again, the disclaimer: I know the escapist mentality does not apply to ALL believers.  Just many of them.

#9 - WE'LL BOYCOTT YOU

#9 - We boycott with the best of 'em when organizations' immoral behavior disagrees with our standars...

Remember back in 2008-ish when Christians called for a McDonalds boycott because McD's supported same sex marriages?  Same for Walmart in '06.  We've most recently launched a boycott against the Girl Scouts.  Bummer, because I really like the cookies.  Believe it or not, someone even boycotted Amazon.com.  Seriously, you can't make this stuff up, people.

Here's a test for you.  Stop reading this page for a moment (but be sure you return) and open another webpage.  In the search field type in "Christians boycott ______" and name your blank.  Chances are pretty good...no, wait...REALLY good there will be a boycott for whatever you enter there.  Go ahead, give it a try.  I'll wait for you, I promise.

Was I right?  I confess, I was shocked when I did not find a boycott of Autozone.  Thank God, cuz I love the good deals they offer every month!  I probably just didn't search hard enough.  Anyway, here's the point: We boycott companies and organizations just because they don't agree with what WE believe THEIR moral standards should be.  Let me get this straight: We're going to profess faith and trust in the person, way, and life of Jesus Christ in a world that largely rejects Him.  But at the same time, we expect others who do NOT profess this way of life to follow OUR rules of engagement?  Really? 

The last time I checked, the commandments of God were for the people of God who were in relationship with God!  They weren't for the pagan peoples who worshiped false deities.  They were specifically appointed for Yahweh's people.  But once others came into this God-walk profession of faith, the rules of engagement then applied to them...but not until then.

Are we really to think that right behavior makes one right with God?  Christians are really good at claiming salvation is by grace alone through faith alone in Jesus Christ alone, and that we are saved not BY our good works, but FOR good works.  I'll venture a guess that many of us say it not only becuase we believe it is true, but because we very recently got done sinning and lightly whisk it away as though God winks at our sin.  Yet, out of the other side of our mouths, we tell Target, and Walmart, and McDonalds THEY have to behave appropriately in order to be on par with OUR moral sensibilities.  That is preposterous!!!

A very close friend of mine (who is an atheist) made an astute point: Christians actually don't boycott far enough.  His point is this (I think):  We boycott McDonalds when it suits us, but we fail to boycott organizations or products in similar positions when doing so would be detrimental to our personal tastes.  For example, boycott McD's, but, "man, do I love triple whoppers, so I think I'll just brush that other issue aside as insignificant and just eat here instead."

C'mon, people!  Really?  Is that what the gospel of Jesus Christ is about?  Did Jesus organize a boycott against King Herod for having John the Baptist -- Jesus's own cousin -- beheaded?  Did He boycott the Emperor, or even "Ibn Shabat's Kosher Fish and Chips" when they served a meal to a local prostitute?  Never!

Instead, we see a Jesus in the gospels as One who invited people into His life.  And as He walked with them, and they with Him, He inspired them to change and grow.  Gradually.  He never demanded anyone change first and then come to Him for eternal life.  It always was and always will be the other way around.

So why on earth do we expect unbelievers to live and behave as though they are believers?  I think it would be a great idea for us instead to model right behavior and demonstrate to a dark, lost, broken, and hurting world that Jesus Christ is the way, the truth, and the life.  I wonder if we should start boycotting ourselves for a change.

Once again, the disclaimer: I know and recognize not ALL Christians behave this way or participate in these activities.  It is, however, a general rule that far too many of my brothers and sisters in Christ do. 

#10 - THE BANDWAGON:

This rant is the first in my week-long "anti-religion" series.  Beginning with #10: We rally amateurishly around the latest "Christian" fad -- from cheesy movies to public figures...

A few months ago, a Christian friend and co-worker asked me if I had seen the movie "Courageous" yet. This is the movie produced by the same church who produced "Fireproof" a few years ago. When I told him I hadn't, he said, "Awww, Mikey, you need to go see it."  A month passed and the same guy asked me the same question again. When I replied no -- again -- his reply contained a little more angst: " What! Dude, you have to watch it. Why haven't you yet?" as though I was obligated as a Christian to ride the bandwagon.

I told him I wasn't that interested in watching the movie because I had seen Fireproof and wasn't all that impressed. Don't get me wrong, the movie contained some great truth and lessons, but it was just kind of, well, mediocre as far as movies go.  It wasn't a smash in my opinion.  And if that's the case, why would I pay top dollar to watch a sequel that I suspected would be just as mediocre?

In defense of the church, I also watched the muppets movie a couple weeks ago and thought it, too, was lame. I won't go rushing out to watch the sequel if it ever comes out, since I wasn't impressed by the first one.  So I'm not just being extra harsh on Christian producers.

But Courageous was a "Christian" movie (if there really is such a thing), and I owed it to the industry to give them my money for their effort. We needed to unite to send the message that Hollywood needs more Christian movie producers, right?  No.  And as a matter of fact, I felt just the opposite.

I have watched several secular movies that were well written and produced that contained excellent messages of courage, bravery, integrity, etc. A few that come to mind are "Bucket List", where the character played by Morgan Freeman displayed great integrity in his marriage; "300", where men fought valiantly in the face of death for the sake of their children; and "Braveheart", where life isn't worth living if it's not a life of freedom. The list of good secular movies doesn't end there.  My point is that I will support good movies that have good messages, regardless who produces them.
It is my opinion that supporting good themes in movies sends the same message to Hollywood that the Christian community hopes to send (but only much louder) because it sends the message to Christian producers that if they want the world to watch their movies, they better not be cheap about it. Do I need to mention the movie, "Left Behind"? Ugh.

That brings me to another issue I will call the "Tebow Effect".

The Christian community places young performers and athletes on pedestals on which they probably shouldn't be placed, all for the sake of appearing more relevant in today's culture. I admire Tim Tebow and I will never ever tell him to tone it down. I'm happy and thankful Tebow is publicly living out his convictions.  I think the media is partially to blame for giving so much attention to a man who publicly displays his conviction of faith, and it is my guess that I think they secretly want him to fail. But I pray that he remains faithful and true to his convictions and is a true success story in a ruthlessly demanding profession.

On to my point, though: I've never met so many Broncos fans in all of my adult life as I have this season, and most are Christians! Who in Michigan, or anywhere else outside the mountain time zone, ever thought of cheering for the Broncos last season? I want Tebow to succeed, just like I want Matthew Stafford to succeed.  But when the Lions play the Broncos, I will be cheering the Lions to victory.

Another performer who was recently born-again and thrust into the Christian spotlight is Brian "Head" Welch, one of the founding members of "Korn".  Within a year or two of his conversion, Christian churches are already parading him in front of the world as an example. He's speaking at a church in Battle Creek next weekend, telling his conversion story.  The Bible warns of placing young believers in positions of leadership due to a lack of spiritual maturity.  While the spotlight is not a "leadership" position, it is an awfully dangerous place for a new believer.  It sets people like Welch up for a hard crash because there are likely still many of his temptations lurking around dark corners. I hope he survives the craze, but Christians seem so in need of heroes and role models that we latch onto anything that looks promising to advance our story.

And that is my schtip. I will conclude this -- and each -- rant with this disclaimer: this gripe does not apply to ALL Christians across the board. I know some who disagree are not on the bandwagon to which I refer here.  But it applies to a great many of my brothers and sisters, if not most.