Thursday, October 12, 2006

Disappointment

"One of Mahatma Gandhi's more famous quotes was supposedly spoken to a group of British journalists as they rode on a train through English-held India. He was asked, "Why is it that you speak so highly of Jesus yet you are not a Christian?" He quickly responded, "I would become a Christian... if I could just find one..." Since reading those words a couple of decades ago, I have been haunted by the cutting truth behind the observant eye of this Hindu world changer. There are many billions through the ages who have dared to glibly call themselves Christians - as there are many today who take on that descriptor. That term means literally "little Christ." If you stop to think about it, it's a pretty audacious thing to call oneself a "Christian" in light of the literal meaning of the term. As I write this I wonder if I have ever met a bona fide Christian in all of my thirty-plus years of seeking to follow Jesus. To say that this is disappointing doesn't begin to capture my feelings about this generation of the Church."

Steve Sjogren-
Launching Pastor Vineyard Community Church in Cincinnati, OH and Author of Conspiracy of Kindness