I think I'm a bit too legalistic at times, because I don't understand why people don't want to drop "J-bombs" in their music, on their website, or anywhere else.
I don't think a song has to have a certain JPM (Jesus-es per minute) to be good, but I can't help but think that Jesus has a prominent place in everything we do. If I build websites, but never talk with my clients about Jesus, what's the point?
If I record songs, write books, fix cars, etc. etc. etc. but don't take the channels God has given me to witness, then what good is it in the long run?
I am guilty of this myself, so I hope I'm not coming across self-righteous, but I just wanted to know if I'm legalistic just because I think God belongs in every part of my life, including my work, my passions, and my hobbies.
What do you think?
Agreed, but...
I agree that God belongs in all that we do. Completely. But....
But, what about the Holy Spirit and God the Father? We can't forget about them either.
But, we have to be sure to not scare people off we are outreaching to.
But, there is no reward or challenge to drop the J bomb as much as possible. I agree that it's not about how many times per minute but just saying the name gets us nothing.
But, a huge part of outreach to others happens without us saying anything about Jesus or his message. We need to be careful that we don't just walk into an outreach situation and try to use the J bomb and then claim it to be outreach.
But, the Hebrew people respected Gods name to the point where they didn't even say it. We aren't even sure how to pronounce YHWH (the name of God) anymore because no one would speak it. It was a matter of honor and respect. Do we respect the name today when we say and use it? Or do we just throw it around?
Just some food for thought. I know that I need to not push God out of more things in my life. Or, at least stop ignoring Him in those things. He's there whether we realize it or not.
Matt Farina
Geeks and God Co-Host
www.mattfarina.com
Understanding Outreach
Good topic...here's my thoughts:
To me, this is all about understanding outreach. Jesus' name isn't magic pixie dust that we put out there and it converts people. These days, it's actually more like kryptonite. Because of the way that Jesus' name has been dragged thru the mud by televangelists, child molesting catholic priests, and, heck, everyday christians, the name of Jesus holds a certain connotation to people that we need to be aware of. Ignoring this and just dropping the J-bomb constantly is not effective outreach. We shouldn't HIDE His name either, but we should use it naturally when appropriate...He's a person, not a secret decoder ring.
MF also points out an EXCELLENT point when he refers to the Holy Spirit. Jesus is not the part of God that handles growing faith (or conversion, if you will) in people's hearts. That's the job of the Spirit. Jesus' actions are what saves us, but let's not forget 1 Corinthians:
...but we preach Christ crucified: a stumbling block to Jews and foolishness to Gentiles...
Man alone cannot overcome this stumbling block, or foolishness...it's the Spirit who must do it.
From my standpoint, I agree fully that Jesus needs to be my living, breathing helper in every day of my life. However, it's all about people. The God I follow cares about people so much that he sacrificed Himself because we were stupid and stubborn...he didn't just throw out a magic word and expect people to believe. (as a matter of fact, he often told his disciples "tell no one I am the christ" and encouraged them to just live as an example) He took action and sacrificed himself because He loved them. If we care about people, we can't ignore their barriers, throw the name of Jesus around and expect to magically convert thousands. To me, that's a misunderstanding of who God is....
a little postscript...I think it's easy for the ideas I lay out here to sound like "don't talk about Jesus because he scares people off". If you think I said that, please re-read. I am saying simply that God is a person, not magic. God also expects us to use the brains that he gave us in fulfilling his Great Commission. In my view, 'using Jesus' name' and ignoring people's current outlook on God is extremely damaging and, to put it bluntly, not loving them how God asks us to. (and of course, I mean nothing personal about the person who posted this topic...it's a fantastic discussion!)
post post script I think my outlook on this has alot to do with "the talk vs. the walk". People, today, ignore "the talk" about Jesus that comes out of our mouths...they are drawn to "the walk" (ie. living it). This is exactly what Jesus modeled for us...I'd go far as to say the proper way to live is to "shut up and be a Christian"...and I suck at this, but it doesn't mean I'll stop trying.
-Rob Feature
Geeks and God Co-Host
www.mustardseedmedia.com
My Angle
I know that not everybody lives in a neighborhood where there are more people practicing paganism that Christianity, but, there are an abundance of people in our world today who have serious issues the J-bombing Christians. For these folks, the J-bomb isn't a witness, but a reason to block out everything you say. So, how do you share Jesus here?
My approach has been to seek to live faithfully in every aspect of my life. I don't hide the fact that I'm a Christian or a pastor, but I don't flaunt it either. While it takes time, eventually, these anti-church folks notice something different about my life and come to me asking what it is that makes me tick. Then, when they've asked, I have an opportunity to talk about my faith.
Biblically, you can see this modeled in the book of 1 Peter.
My pastor just talked about this subject
At church this last week, my pastor was doing a sermon on 2 Timothy 4:9-10 and brought up the very topic you just wrote about. I edited the clip down to the spot where he began to bring it up. You might want to give it a listen
Download the Clip (2 min 27 seconds)
Great Clip
Thanks for sharing! That's a great clip.
It's a great feeling
Your welcome. I recall awhile back when a elderly lady was watching me while I was dealing with some issues with work. This lady did not know me at all. She approached me afterwards and said to me there was something about me that was different that she couldn't put her finger on. She tried to describe it as peaceful or calm for a lack of words. She asked what it was that attributed to that. That opened the door to talk about Christ. Its a great feeling knowing that despite of all the faults that are in our sinful flesh that Christ does reveal himself through us to others. When it happens without even a word from our mouth or advertising it through means of a bumper sticker or clothing that makes it soo much sweeter knowing that is was all Him.