Life from Death

I think that it's important to note, first of all, that I am not an Emergent, nor Emerging. I don't live in the Village, or anything like that. In a sense, I just want to join the Conversation without the theological framework laid by some of the more prominent thinkers in the Emergent movement, such as Brian McLaren.

I say this because I am in 100% agreement with the questions that this movement asks, but I disagree almost as completely on the way which they have begun to answer them. I get the sense that if there is a portion of Christian doctrine which is troubling, the natural response is to get rid of it.

My goal, however, is not to trash the Emergent movement. They're already taking a hard it from other directions and I don't feel the need. Frankly, I'm also not that well-read yet. There's also the added challenge that understanding the nature of Emergent theology is like trying to nail jello to a tree.

I think that a good portion of the reason why they are taking such heavy criticism is that they are asking questions that many would prefer remain unasked, and challenging ideas that some feel are best left unchallenged.

The truth is, I am beginning to despise the label of "Christian". That's not to say I hate Christians, since I fall very easily into that category. It is the label, and the way that it is understood, that rubs me the wrong way.

The label of Christian, at one time was synonymous with a death sentence.

The label of Christian was a label for a radical- a man or woman who was marked by their allegiance to Jesus Christ in defiance of the culture at large, no matter what the cost.

I don't know when the word "Christian" was first used as an adjective, but it is certainly not used biblically. It seems the early church was far to busy being Christian (and dying for it) to come up with an exhaustive market campaign.

Love was the marketing campaign, love enabled and fueled by the Holy Spirit of the Resurrected Christ- killed and raised again to life as Sacrifice and High Priest. United and bound by one Spirit, one purpose, and one love, they were to be the aroma of Christ- the scent of death to the dying and of life to the living.

While that purpose remains, I fear that we, as a Christian community, have given in to culture more than we have witnessed to and redeemed it. We have watered down the message of the gospel so that it is neat, pretty, and appealing. A dear, former co-worker of mine once commented that he actually saw the motto "We preach a convenient gospel" on a plaque on the wall of a church.

The label of Christian has become a designer label, as evidenced by the great number of Christian products floating around out there. As I have thought about our Christian books, music, and culture, I have come to realize that the label "Christian" in the modern era has come to mean that whatever you are about to read or listen to is, above all, inoffensive. It is safe and soft. Some writers and speakers even go so far as to treat Jesus as a cosmic Dr. Phil, who has died and risen again so that we can be free from depression, low self-esteem, bad habits, and financial strain.

Yet the Bible is seditious, and those who ingest it become seditious people. For the past 2,000 years, the call of Jesus and the Word of God has called the people of God to do irreverent, dangerous, and irrational things. Men and women of all ages have gone to gruesome and horrifying deaths rather than deny Christ (I believe upwards of 70,000,000 in the past 2,000 years). People have given up fortunes or promising careers, because they felt that they could serve Jesus better somewhere else- just look at the apostle Matthew or Zacchaeus.

In short, what I'm talking about is the life of Christ in us making a difference- as much of a difference as the dead dry bones in Ezekiel 37 coming back to life. We were once dead in our trespasses and sins, and Christ has breathed new life and freedom into us.

Freedom from the wrath of God.

Freedom from sin and its guilt.

Freedom from the chains that this world has placed on us through its labels- we are no longer "pervert", "murderer", "thief", "adulterer", "homosexual", "drunkard", "addict", but we are now "in Christ", if indeed we are born again by the Holy Spirit.

Paul says in Romans that we are no longer slaves to sin, but slaves of righteousness. Our lives and our service will bear out the allegiance of our hearts.

The difference, my friends, is the difference between life and death.