I am beginning to realize I am not called to conform to the existing Christian Publishing standards. I believe I am called to go a different direction, and I am seeing other Christ Followers who are looking for a more authentic voice in Christian Publishing.
I say this because authenticity isn’t needed just in the voices of those writing and publishing Christian books. The lack of authenticity in modern Westernized Christianity is killing us. We are unrelatable, unapproachable, and generally like to present ourselves as somehow separate from anything that might appear to be sin.
In the process, we’ve adopted a Jonah spirit. God is calling us – No. He has commanded us. – to go into all the world, make disciples, and baptize them. But we go the other way. Why? I believe it is because we know the same thing Jonah did.
We know that if we go to them with the message of the gospel (John 3:16), and clearly communicate that there is a God who loves them, who has done everything necessary to provide a way for them to be in a relationship with Him. If we tell them that all they need to do is understand and agree that God is right and they are wrong, verbally affirm that Jesus is the Son of God who died and rose again, and then agree to do what the Bible says going forward, they will be saved.
They willbe saved. Just like us.
And that, I think is where the idea falls apart. We want them to know about Jesus and about the holiness of God, but the idea that they will be as welcome in the church and in the kingdom of God as we are? Nope. They shouldn’t get off that easy after what they’ve done! (Insert whatever notable sin annoys you the most.)
Meanwhile, we grumble, complain, and cause division among His body over dumb stuff. You know, all the things that got the Children of Israel killed in the wilderness…
Look. Jesus ate with notable, well known sinners, many of whom followed Him. He spent so much time with these notable, well known sinners that he was accused of BEING one of them.
Can you imagine if your pastor was accused of the same thing? Now days, there would be a serious scandal in most churches if cell phone video and pictures of him (or her) going into a bar to meet with a drunk or happily entering the home of a gay married couple to join them and their other LGBTQ friends for dinner were to surface.
Jesus never defended Himself against such accusations. Instead, He publically called one of the biggest criminals and traitors down from a tree and asked to have dinner at his house. Which, incidentally, was filled with other crooks and traitors just like him.
During that dinner, there is no record of Jesus telling him that he was a crook or a traitor who needed to change his ways and repent. Yet, the man called himself out for being those things, and voluntarily offered full restitution and then some to anyone he had stolen from!
He touched lepers and allowed prostitutes to kiss his feet and dry them with their unbound hair. He sat for hours at a time at a dinner table with sinners. He spoke to Samaritans – A Samaritan WOMAN to be specific…And the church hated Him for it. He didn’t care what the church thought of Him, because He was too busy spending time with, getting to know, and showing love to the ones who needed Him most.