What Makes Something "Christian?"
I did something the other day that one should rarely do. I visited a Christian bookstore. I was amazed at the things I saw. There was a picture of George Bush surrounded by the ghosts of Abe Lincoln and George Washington, who happened to be praying for him, as well as T-shirts that said things like, “Body Piercing Saved My Life” and “The Devil is A Nerd.” In addition, there was all the Christian music you could ever want, Christian calendars, Christian posters, Christian pens and pencils, Christian key chains, Christian video games, even Christian mints--which, by the way, cost more than secular mints and aren't nearly as good. I promise, I'm not kidding about any of this. It made me wonder if I should market a Christian coffee and call it "Yaweh's House." The slogan on the bag could say, “A little bit of heaven in every bean.”
I am honestly not sure what designates any of those items I just listed as Christian, other than the fact they have some contrived Bible verse tattooed on them. Think about this, what makes anything Christian? And does being labeled Christian increase the item's value? Is a song suddenly better because it mentions Jesus? Isn’t all music just music? Doesn't it all need to be surrendered to God? Shouldn’t we filter Dave Matthews and Michael W. Smith through the same lens?
Listen, I am not saying that Christian bookstores are inherently bad. What I am saying is that promoting an isolated Christian subculture could be dangerous to those who call themselves followers of Jesus. I am not sure that Christ followers can insulate themselves from the culture and think that we are somehow carrying the banner of piety. It just isn’t that simple.
Jesus walked this earth and interacted deeply with the culture around him. He lived in the communities and was very much a part of the popular culture of his day. In fact, it was this very issue that got him into the most trouble with those who claimed to be religious. Remember some of those dinner parties Jesus went to? Boy did he get people whispering about him.
Following Jesus today may mean we spend as much or more time at the local Barnes and Noble than the local Christian bookstore. It may mean we walk the line of being a part of culture without being enslaved to it. If you really think about it, there are only a couple of things that really let others know we follow Jesus. I think there is even a song about it. It says something like, “they will know we are Christians by our love, by our love." Of course, it's possible that the song meant, “they will know we are Christians by our bumper stickers.”
The things that set the Jesus community apart will not be the clothes we wear, the pictures we place in our homes, the key chains we carry, or the music we listen to. It will be a life defined by love and grace. Let’s let our lives speak more about our relationship with God than our T-Shirts.
Okay, that’s enough for now, so I’ll stop writing. Plus, my favorite song just came on the local Christian radio station.
Jason Mitchell is a teaching pastor at LCBC, a community of people whose lives are being changed by Christ. He lives in Manheim, PA with his wife Jenny and daughter Sienna.
© 2005 Jason Mitchell. Used by permission of the author. All rights reserved.
Life Articles
- Recognizing the Signs of Addiction
- House Hunting
- Building Character in the Home
- One Last Wish
- The Story of You
Faith Articles
Random Reflections
- God In Prison
- What Makes Something "Christian?"
- Most Christians Are Thieves
- Jesus for President?
- Questions and more questions
Order Now!