Bearing Our Baggage
Nobody likes baggage. It's heavy, inconvenient and with most airlines now, quite costly. It seems traveling light is the name of the game. But for a lot of Christians today, the name is the game.
According to Newsweek's latest Belief Watch, a growing number of Christians want a name change. Their preference? Followers of Jesus. Their reason? The term Christian carries too much offense among other religions and too much baggage from America's ever-divisive culture wars. With a new name these Christians believe they can transcend the petty labels and history of American Christianity and once again be relevant to our culture.
I agree a lot with that argument, but what worries me is the idea that being offense and baggage-free is the road to cultural relevance. What it really sounds like is this: "Hey, we're not like those crazy Christians you've heard about and can't stand. We don't have all their problems and we can be cool. We even have a new name. Just give us a chance."
It's true that a lot of Christians have turned people off. But is a baggage-free name really going to find the on switch?
As long as our hearts remained unchanged, I doubt it. What we need is not less baggage, but more. More of the cross followers of Jesus are called to bear. Until we are more humbled, surprised, and awed at that cross, nobody is going to be impressed no matter what we call ourselves.
According to Newsweek's latest Belief Watch, a growing number of Christians want a name change. Their preference? Followers of Jesus. Their reason? The term Christian carries too much offense among other religions and too much baggage from America's ever-divisive culture wars. With a new name these Christians believe they can transcend the petty labels and history of American Christianity and once again be relevant to our culture.
I agree a lot with that argument, but what worries me is the idea that being offense and baggage-free is the road to cultural relevance. What it really sounds like is this: "Hey, we're not like those crazy Christians you've heard about and can't stand. We don't have all their problems and we can be cool. We even have a new name. Just give us a chance."
It's true that a lot of Christians have turned people off. But is a baggage-free name really going to find the on switch?
As long as our hearts remained unchanged, I doubt it. What we need is not less baggage, but more. More of the cross followers of Jesus are called to bear. Until we are more humbled, surprised, and awed at that cross, nobody is going to be impressed no matter what we call ourselves.
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