Everyone Belongs
by Craig Gross
Time Tangles. It does. Over the course of the week, it seems that the people I hang out with are not a typical crowd, at least not for an ordained pastor. To most Christians, my social circle looks like a tangled cobweb of contradiction. But I have discovered that through contradiction and confusion can come greater clarity.
I have chosen a life of the clergy. I mean I am a pastor. Not a priest. Not a bishop, a pastor. I am married with two kids and I have one goal; to see that the Jesus that changed my life is spoken about so that others will have the same chance. It sounds cliché but I have given my life to spiritually lead other people to a life worth living. This is a life where the principles of Christ are at work.
That last principle is where most people get hung up. The Jesus part. Over time, from my little corner of the world, I have watched as many have discovered His values and vision for a reunited world; God to man. I've seen thousands more deny Him. At least deny on the basis of what they have been told.
The problem is Jesus' vision and values have been hijacked, tweaked, relabeled and distorted over the last 2000 years. Those that follow Jesus began to redefine His plan to fit their motive, their agenda...their world. The concept of living a sacrificial life that was attractive to the broken was replaced with power and religious exclusivity that made people broken. Those within the church became the very thing they hated. From derailed evangelicals to deceptive evangelists, Jesus' message was hijacked.
Most recently, I was driving in Florida. A car in front of me pulled out. Its bumper was plastered with stickers. On the right bumper it said, "Follow me to my Baptist church!" On the other side of the bumper it said, ‘Nuke Iran."
Again, hijacked.
Instead of a Savior who came to salvage a wayward people by becoming the bridge to put God and man back together. Rather, the image of Jesus is that of a religionist who rules through micro managing the events of day to day living. The incorrect snapshot is that of rules and regulations unrolling a scroll of "don't". His only desire is to take away freedoms and fun, to major on minors and exclude all people who don't always say and do the right things.
Today there are over 92 countries engaged in some level of war. Extreme poverty affects 1/3 of the world's population. Nearly a billion people do not have access to clean water. For the most part, Christian TV continues to have "praise o thons." Instead of a pastor or a church leading a revolution, a rock star leads the reforms to address these issues.
The chasm between those who live like Jesus and those that are still asking what He would do is increasing. On a third side are those that don't know what or who to believe.
On a recent trip, I saw the true width of this divide. I was in Nashville, Tennessee at Opryland doing a talk on the affects of porn. Across the stage was Ron Jeremy, one of the most popular porn stars in America. He and I often speak on college campuses to debate our distinctly different views. Ron and I have gotten to know each other. He comes from a Jewish background and really has no certain belief. Backstage watching the presentation was my friend Jason Harper and two other friends who book Ron and I on college campuses.
The whole group was diverse. Jason is an outreach pastor and partners with xxxchurch on numerous projects. As a pastor he loves speaking and engaging conversation centered on people's perceptions of belief. The two other guys were Greg and John.
Together, we ended up at restaurant. Before dinner hit the table, Greg leaned in and fired away:
"Craig, can I ask you a question?"
"Sure."
"Who is God? Or more specifically, who wrote the Bible and how do we know that it is real."
I paused for a moment and swallowed the rest of my fried tomato. In my most clear and concise fashion I started with the first question, who is God. I thought my answer was right on. Jason nodded in affirmation and Greg and John just paused. I continued. Knowing now that this was a genuine quest in Greg's heart I wanted to be clear. I asked Jason for some of his input.
Together he and I walked through each element that makes the Bible different from any other document. We talked about the Dead Sea Scrolls, the fulfilled prophecies of Isaiah, and the fundamental historical evidence from the writings of Josephus.
Within thirty minutes, our Biblical conversation hit on the historical, mathematical, even the scientific value and authenticity of scripture.
Then it ramped up. Greg kept digging. His persistence and resilience was genuine. In no way did I feel like he was wanting to debate. Instead I felt like he wanted to dig. He wanted to dig through all the preconceived notions that he had acquired by watching and listening to people who were self proclaimed promoters of Jesus. The problem with their promotion: they were pedaling an imitation of Jesus; an imposter belief system that had abandoned all forms of Biblical truth. I could feel that I was getting angry and side tracked. Not at the conversation...but at how people from the "Christian" bubble had done so much damage with their hypocrisy and hijacking of Jesus.
Greg's words snapped me back into focus.
"Why do you claim there is only one way to God...this Jesus story?"
I pondered, looked at Jason and then took a deep breathe. I paused and then spoke.
"All of our future really hangs on that answer!" We had honed in on the defining factor of Jesus. At this moment, I could tell Jason wanted-in on the two-way conversation.
"Jay, you wanna jump in here." I said it with a tad bit of hesitancy. Not for a fear that Jason was not capable of communicating with Greg. After all, this is what Jason does. He tells people about Jesus. My hesitance came from knowing Jason is a passionate talker who goes full speed.
Jason began to scratch out the difference between Jesus and the other world religious leaders. I scratched out the difference between the Jesus of scripture and the Jesus that somewhere Greg and John had seen sold on TV.
Those two definitions were worlds apart.
As we wrapped up the three hour dinner the restaurant was nearly empty. And so was my heart. I had this empty place that was dug up with how Greg and John had never been given a clear explanation of the Jesus I live for.
They spoke of how other Christians had told them many times they were headed to Hell, never heaven. They spoke of times where they could look back and see moments that were Spiritual, but never could attach that feeling to Jesus. They spoke of a hunger to go deeper, but had never been invited into an inclusive conversation that would allow them to belong, even though they had yet to believe.
Most Christians have been taught a three stepped approach to God. It starts with belief. Essentially if you believe right things it will lead to a change in behavior. When you have a change in behavior, you will be accepted by the church. Played out, here is what it looks like; Believe, Behave, Belong.
If you believe this way, you will behave this way, and if you behave this way then you can belong here. This is preached, modeled, and affirmed in thousands of churches across America.
The model that Jesus put out was to reach out and love people regardless of where they are. It is essential to show people that they can belong in your world even if they don't act, think, behave, or believe like you.
Imagine a church or more specifically, a community where Jesus was communicated in such a way that everyone belonged. They were included. From that feeling of belonging, over time, the message of Jesus made an impact on their belief. From that new found fullness of a God destiny, their behavior changed.
Instead of believe, behave, belong it would be the opposite; belong, believe, behave. If this type of truth prevailed over the religious dogma rooted in rules and regulations, more people would find hope in the authentic Christ.
That's what Greg and Jon needed. That is what Greg and John wanted.
We parted ways for the evening. Jason was quiet the rest of the night. I was too. Before we all went our ways I got to tie up some lose ends with John and Greg. Both thanked me for the dinner and dialogue, once on the phone, once by email. I won't forget Greg's words.
"Craig, the time you and Jason spent with us last night was awesome. I told my girlfriend that if I met more Christians like you guys maybe my beliefs would be different."
Greg's words are not meant as a pat on the back. Not even close. They are meant to bring a perspective to the discussion. Greg and John had been sold a fabricated counterfeit picture of Jesus. Sure it looked the part, but under examination the value was not there. They had only seen a plastic version of a priceless Christ.
For too long, he has been misquoted and misrepresented by misguided people.
Craig Gross is the leader of XXXchurch.com and Fireproof Ministries. He lives in Las Vegas, Nevada with his wife and their two children. He speaks all across the United States and has written 5 books. His next book is called "Jesus Loves You...this I know" and will be released in 2009.
www.craiggross.com
