from Brant Hansen of Letters from Kamp Krusty:
After working in both mainstream and Christian radio, I think I’m ready to write my own book about the many I encounter: They Like Church But Not Jesus.I mean it. I wrote before: Based on my observation, Jesus is simply not the most influential guy around. I’ve seen it over, and over, and over. In fact, I’d say it’s a theme at my job: People just aren’t that into Jesus. He ticks people off.——————-I’ve been corrected many times by Christians—after reading something Jesus actually said. They don’t like it. I’m serious. “You know, all the commandments can be summed up with love the Lord your God with all your heart, and mind, and soul, and strength, and love your neighbor as yourself. Jesus said that, and . . .”Ringing phones. “Hello?””You forgot one: Evangelize.”Jesus stands corrected.Ring.”Well, it’s not quite that simple, you see, because . . .”No, no. It can’t be that simple. Not here. . . .No big deal, but—so you know—it happens again and again. This is where my “If Jesus Had a Blog” stuff comes from, by the way. Real conversations with learned Christians, and real objections to stuff Jesus said.People do love the Bible. But not the Gospels. They quote Biblical stuff to me all the time, but it’s not ever stuff Jesus said.
Now, to some extent, my own experience doesn’t exactly fit with that; at least, I haven’t seen that degree of Jesus-avoidance. What I see is more of a pick-and-choose Jesus—people love Jesus (just look at the songs that dominate “contemporary” worship, to say nothing of our Jesus-ish commercialism), but the Jesus of their own imagination and reconstruction. Brant’s right that the real Jesus continues to tick people off now the same way he did 2000 years ago; the difference is that when he’s not physically right in our face about it, we can find tamer, safer, more “spiritual” ways to deal with him than killing him. We find ways to reduce him to fit our own agenda—including, as Brant notes, using other Scripture to defend ourselves against the radically challenging things he says, which is of course a radical misuse of Scripture. As Luther reminds us, the Scripture is first and foremost the word which contains the Word, the cradle that holds the Christ; Jesus is the center on which the Scriptures pivot.I appreciate what Bill Roberts had to say about this over at The Thinklings:
I think there are two paths we can take in response: the first and easiest one is separation: separating between us and them, “Christians” versus “Christ-followers”, those who believe they “get” Jesus and those who don’t (though all of us Christians think we do). Some have decided to chunk the church and be Christians all on their own. That’s tempting, because there are plenty of churches that don’t teach the Gospel, that are disobediently pursuing a success that is contrary to success as God defines it, and who avoid talk of Jesus because he offends people.The other path is the far better one, and far more difficult. It’s what I believe Brant’s saying here, and it’s being said by many others these days, and I’m so thankful for that. The other path is the path of reformation: to preach Jesus, to speak of Jesus, to speak of and live the Gospel 24×7. To face up to Jesus’ words, his glorious, terrifying words, and become people who live that Word out every day.