To most, being a Christian means following the words and teachings of Christ; living your life like Jesus would.  To me, being a Christian means being inclusive, not exclusive.  It means being in the world, but not of the world.  It means sharing the words of Christ any way you possibly can.  It means hanging out with what some might call “the wrong crowd”, because that’s what Jesus did.   Stephen Christian of the band, Anberlin says and I quote, “I know some Christian bands that won’t play anywhere that they serve alcohol.  What is that?  Did Jesus only talk to virgin prostitutes?  He talked to thieves and tax collectors and scum.”

Out of my large group of close friends, only three go to church fairly regularly.  One is Lutheran.  One is Catholic.  One is Greek Orthodox.  The rest of my friends fall into two categories: The Chreasters (people who go to church on Christmas and Easter only) and self-proclaimed Atheists and Agnostics.  In this way, I am certainly hanging out with a variety of people who have many varying beliefs and faiths; something that I believe Christ did and would want people today to do.  If you ask a non-believer what a Christian is to them, what Christianity means to them, you’ll get a variety of answers in return.  One of my friends said and I quote, “When I hear the word Christian, I think of Conservatives.  I think of people who go to church on Sunday, but don’t do much beyond that.”  Another said, “I hate religion.  I think Christians try to force their beliefs on others who could care less.  They set a moral standard which even they can’t follow.”  Yet another said, “I think the church as a whole, a lot of them, are hypocrites.  The ones I have a real problem with though, are the ones in power; being in that position of power requires a lot of politicking.”

Why are we like this?  Why are we, as Christians nonetheless, some of the world’s most distrusted, most hypocritical and most un-inclusive people?  James 1:22-24 says, “Do not merely listen to the word, and so deceive yourselves.  Do what it says.  Anyone who listens to the word but does not do what it says is like a man who looks at his face in a mirror and, after looking at himself, goes away and immediately forgets what he looks like.”   Toby McKeehan, of the band, Dc Talk said and I quote, “The greatest single cause of Atheism in the world today, is Christians; who acknowledge Him with their lips, then walk out the door and deny Him by their lifestyle.  That is what an unbelieving world simply finds unbelievable.” 

 I find it disheartening that I have friends who are Atheists who are kinder and more compassionate than some people I have met through church functions.  I find it sad that I know non-believers that are more including and loving than some who loosely call themselves, Christians.  I find it upsetting that I have a friend, who’s an Atheist, who’s read the entire Bible and could quote more scripture than I or half the other Christians I know, could.  I find it terrible that sometimes, the church is so exclusive and conservative, that they can find miniscule reasons why someone shouldn’t be allowed to worship a God who loves them, too.  I like how Mark Hall of Casting Crowns describes the church in one of their popular songs. 

“Are we happy plastic people, under shiny plastic steeples, with walls around our weakness, and smiles to hide our pain?  But if the invitation’s open, to every heart that has been broken, maybe then we close the curtain, on our stained-glass masquerade.”

I believe, the church likes to hide the fact that Christians are just as broken and messed up as the average person today.  Yes, people today are turned off by the fact that many Christians seem like hypocrites.  They don’t practice what they preach.  They’re totally different people on Sunday mornings than they are at any other given time.  But maybe a large part of the problem is not in what the church does, but rather what they don’t do; what they don’t show the rest of the world.  We are just as broken and sick, and sometimes even more broken and sick, than the rest of the world.  We need to show the world this; maybe then they would be more open to giving church a chance.  We really are just humans and we are all exactly the same, believer or not. 

Lacey Mosley, lead singer for the popular hard-core band, Flyleaf says, “I think the thing that makes people antagonistic toward Christianity is when you act like you’re better than them because they aren’t Christians.”  Don’t think that because you’re a Christian you can save the world.  Don’t shove religion down people’s throats.  This is not what God intended.  In Matthew 28:19 it says, “Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Ghost.”  God didn’t say, “Go save people.  Shove the gospel down their throats and bring them to church until you’re sure they will be going to Heaven when they die.”  You can’t save people; only God can do that.  Sometimes the best you can do is let your non-believing friends listen to some of your Christian music and hope and pray that someday, they’ll get what the musicians are saying.  (It’s worked for me so far.  I’ve gotten a few of my friends to listen to some Christian music…and they like it!  They constantly re-listen to their music.  Isn’t this more beneficial in the long run than me trying to force them to come to church?)  As is said by the band Mainstay, in their song, ‘Well Meaning Fiction’, “you’re afraid to reason, your love is saving no one.”  They’re right.  Your love is saving no one.  God’s love, is saving everyone. 

As I’ve stated before, we, as Christians need to be all-inclusive.  We need to listen to what the Atheists and Agnostics of the world have to say.  We can learn from each other.  Some Christians may say that Atheists are people without faith.  These Christians are seriously mistaken.  As Rob Bell says in his book, Velvet Elvis, “Atheists are people of immense faith.”  They have tremendous faith in the fact that God doesn’t exist; just as much faith as every Christian should have.  As one of the world’s most famous Atheists turned Christian (C.S. Lewis) says in his book, Mere Christianity, “If you are a Christian you do not have to believe that all the other religions are simply wrong all through.  If you are an Atheist you do have to believe that the main point in all the religions of the whole world is simply one huge mistake.  When I was an Atheist I had to try to persuade myself that most of the human race have always been wrong about the question that mattered to them most; when I became a Christian I was able to take a more liberal view.”  Christians, it seems, should be the more inclusive, liberal and understanding type.  So why is it that so often we’re considered the conservative, misunderstanding, exclusive type who won’t listen to what non-believers have to say?  Listening to other people’s beliefs is one giant step towards becoming more open-minded and bringing more people to Christ through our actions.

            All of us, as Christians, should want to be human images of God.  We should have a desire to be “doers of the word”.  We should want to spread the good news of Christ to the world.  Each of us, in turn, have our own unique talents and abilities given to us by God to fulfill these desires and wants.  We should want to give our lives to Christ.  As C.S. Lewis said, “Give up yourself, and you will find your real self.  Lose your life and you will save it.  Submit to death, death of your ambitions and favourite wishes every day and death of your whole body in the end: submit with every fibre of your being, and you will find eternal life.  Keep back nothing.  Look for yourself, and you will find in the long run only hatred, loneliness, despair, rage, ruin, and decay.  But look for Christ and you will find Him, and with Him everything else thrown in.”  This is all I long to do with my life.  No matter where I am ten years from now, this is the role I pray Christ is playing in my life then and until my dying day.  Jon Foreman of the band Switchfoot says and I quote, “I have no stones to throw.  I’m a drop-out from San Diego who writes four-minute pop songs.  I want to be about the business of peace, of tearing down walls.  I am wanting to serve people.  I care about the people who are trying to follow Christ with their lives.  That’s the why now.  That’s the why.  I’m just trying to imitate a hero of mine.”

              Let us all practice what we preach, hiding nothing and knowing we are no better than anyone else.  Let us all listen to one another and be inclusive of each other’s varying beliefs.  Let us all give our lives up to Christ.  Let us all be broken and made new by his never ending love.  Let us all have these longings and desires to fulfill.  Let us all share the good news of Christ in our own unique ways, using our own unique talents and abilities.  Let us all be imitations of the most perfect human being who ever walked and who ever will walk the Earth.

Amen.