unChristian, Part Six: Judgmental

Luke have several friends who are, well, colorful. Luke has met these people at various places: work, college, high school. They may have multi-colored hair, tattoos, facial piercings, or other "different" physical features. They may be a bit rough around the edges, with some less desirable habits and less desirable language. They may not be interested in "cool" things or dress how "everyone else" does. Yet, they are his friends. He cares about them. They talk, hang out, whatever. Yet, Luke is not super stoked about inviting them to a church with him, be it his own or another one.

This lack of interest isn't that Luke thinks they would turn him down; they might, but that isn't holding him back. Instead, it is the attitude of people in churches that scares him. If he were to bring his friend with blue, streaky hair or his friend with a nose ring or that plays computer games eighteen hours a day or his friend with tats all over their arms, would the church members accept them? Would the church welcome them with open arms, or be appalled at their miserable fashion sense? Would the mohawked kid be a new friend, or a freak to gossip about? Sadly, this is a legitimate set of questions. Church, we have a problem.

Luke is not real, as in I am not sharing a direct story. Instead, Luke represents many young Christians in the United States, and around the world, who are concerned about the attitudes of the Church. Not that young people are perfect; in fact, youth groups can be the most intense shark tanks of vicious judgmentalism in the churches. Churches in general, though, are seen as places full of judgmental people, and I can't say that I disagree.


Think about it: if a person different from you came to your church, would you welcome them? What about all of Luke's friends I listed earlier? What about a person who is wealthier than you? Poorer? A different race than you? An individual with different political views? What about the girl that is pregnant out of wedlock, or the gangsta drug dealer? Are these people going to be met from you at the door, or will you turn your back?

These are hard questions. We do not naturally gravitate to people who are vastly different than us. There's a reason we have the friends that we have; we have things in common with them. Yet, we have a lot more in common with those different than us than we may think. We are all sinners. We all live in a fallen world full of temptations. We all have regrets. We all have no ability to save ourselves. We all need the grace and love of Christ to survive the punishment we deserve for our rebellion against the Father.

"23 For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God." -Romans 3:23, HCSB


Observe: Paul said "all." He did not say anything about "only some" have fallen short. We all did.

"19 Go out and train everyone you meet, far and near, in this way of life, marking them by baptism in the threefold name: Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. 20 Then instruct them in the practice of all I have commanded you. I'll be with you as you do this, day after day after day, right up to the end of the age." -Matthew 28:19-20, The Message Bible

Observe: Jesus said "everyone you meet." Other versions say "all nations." He doesn't say anything about "the people you meet who have things in common with you" or "the nations that are like you." He said to tell everyone about Jesus.

"6 God opposes arrogant people, but he is kind to humble people.” -James 4:6, God's Word Translation

Observe: you ain't too cool to befriend anyone. James is quoting a passage from Proverbs, saying that God doesn't like arrogant people. Fact is, you aren't too cool for anything.


This is the final unChristian post, and it is really a wrap-up of sorts. We are supposed to love everyone, and not judge them. It's God's job to judge the world, not ours. The fact is that Christ came to Earth in order to save us from our screw-ups. We are rebellious people. We go against God, but out of His love we have been offered the chance to fulfill our purpose in life: to worship and praise God through everything we do. One of the best ways we can do that is by loving the people He made, and welcoming them into His Church. This love of others, if done to it's full potential, will allow us to overcome all of these unChristian attitudes.

Hypocritical? No more. Conversion-obsessed? Gone. Antihomosexual? Not here. Sheltered? No way Jose. Too political? Nah. Judgmental? Least of all.

Who are we, Christians, to be any of these things? It's by grace that we got to come to Christ; who are we to act like we're special because of it?! I say let's open the doors to all those people that no one else accepts. Let's be the refuge for the weak, the poor, the outcast. Let's be the ones that, when all else fails, will love anyone. Will you join me in this passion to love every human on earth?

We often get caught up in correcting their sins, and not loving them. Yes, we need to tell them where they are headed the wrong way, but that should be done out of our love, not out of our superiority. There's a way to help people with their sins and still not be unChristian. It's called love.

I leave you with the last verse of Todd Agnew's song, My Jesus. If this doesn't make you think, nothing will.

Cause my Jesus would never be accepted in my church
The blood and dirt on His feet might stain the carpet
But He reaches for the hurting and despises the proud
I think He'd prefer Beale St. to the stained glass crowd
And I know that He can hear me if I cry out loud

unChristian, Part Five: Too Political

Hello, my name is Bryan Watts. I am a follower of Christ, and I get my news from CNN and NPR. Consider the minds of the far right blown.

Now, I also get my news from Fox News at times, but to be honest, that particular channel irritates me. Why is that? They are so unbelievably biased, I have come to the conclusion that they quit trying to seem "fair and balanced." Is CNN fair? No. Is NPR balanced? No. However, I feel that CNN does the most even job of reporting, if one must pick a favorite.

Why have I gone into this? I began discussing news channels because today's topic is all about politics, particularly Christians and their supposed right-wing extremism. Now, I'm not going to go into detail of my political opinions, although I am well-informed on the issues and I try to research each candidate that is running for a major office. This, I believe, is the duty of all men and women that vote. If you don't know what the candidate stands for, how can you expect them to represent you? I will say now that, if I had a label, they would probably call me "independent" or "moderately conservative." I, however, do not campaign for any one party or politician (with the exception of when my close friend from high school ran for city council. That was cool.).

The fact is that churches, if one can call them churches, like Westboro Baptist Church (yes, this is two mentions of them in this series) and other extremists have given Christians a bad name in the arena of politics. Also, the presence of professing Christians like George W. Bush, Mike Hucabee, and others have given the GOP a strong "Christian vote."

Christians are viewed as a people obsessed with getting their chosen leaders into the office, in order to "save the country." While I will not say whether or not the US needs saving, I will say that it is good for Christians to have a healthy involvement in politics. Yes, Christians should vote for someone who has Bibical principles. Yes, Christians should be well informed on the candidates. Yes, Christians should vote. Some big differences loom, however:

- Politically reliant v Spiritually reliant: I cannot tell you how many people have told me how doomed the United States is now that Barack Obama is president. Many people, lots being professing Christians, have told me that the country will be a socialist nation, and soon. The entire world may collapse now that Dub-yah isn't president, and a Democrat is holding down the Oval Office. Here's the thing: the world doesn't revolve around the Oval Office; it revolves around our Lord.

"21 Haven’t you heard? Don’t you understand? Are you deaf to the words of God— the words He gave before the world began? Are you so ignorant? 22 God sits above the circle of the earth. The people below seem like grasshoppers to him! He spreads out the heavens like a curtain and makes his tent from them." -Isaiah 40:21-22, NLT

To God, Barack Obama is a grasshopper. George Bush is a grasshopper. You, me: we're all grasshoppers. God sits above the Earth, and spreads the heavens out like a curtain. And we are worried because a certain party controls the White House... who cares?! God is in control. He runs this show, and the world is doomed when He lets it happen, not because of a man's election to office.

- Poor loser v Great lover: For some reason, when a person one disagrees with takes office, one gets downright hateful. I have heard some terrible things said about George Bush and Barack Obama. No one from "the other side" seems to have any respect for the winner from "the enemy." This runs completely against what we are told by Christ, to love our neighbor as ourself. Also:

"The first thing I want you to do is pray. Pray every way you know how, for everyone you know. Pray especially for 2 rulers and their governments to rule well so we can be quietly about our business of living simply, in humble contemplation. 3 This is the way our Savior God wants us to live." -1 Timothy 2:1-3, MSG

Clearly, Paul wants us to pray for our governement. I don't see any place in this chapter, or in the Bible, where Paul says, "Pray for those people you agree with them on abortion and the Iraq War; curse the other one and hope for their bitter end." Negative, homie. Instead, we are urged, encouraged, and all but commanded to pray for our leaders. This was written to Timothy while Timothy was in Ephesus. Do you think the church in Ephesus agreed with the leaders of the local government? No! Christians across the globe were being persecuted for their faith! Dying, jail, you name it. These government leaders probably treated the church like second-class citizens, and yet Paul says to pray for them. It's insane, but that's exactly what Christian love is supposed to be. Insane. Crazy. Out there, unrated, off-the-charts love. Even for political opponents.

It's not bad to know about politics. In fact, it's good that Christians are involved; how else will the maximum amount of Godly influence reach the world, if the leaders aren't God-loving and God-fearing men? Politics become an issue when we allow them to outshine God in our lives. Are you more known for your passion towards Christ and His glory, or the GOP and its glory?

I mirror Paul in his plea: pray for our leaders. Pray for the president. Pray for the vice president. Pray for the Senate, the House, the Supreme Court, the military, the president's Cabinet, the mayor of your town, and even the local school superintendant. Our world's leaders cannot do their jobs to the best possible way if they don't have God's guidance. Let us as a group not be known as hardcore politicans, and instead for a group known for being on our knees, praying that God guides our leaders.

unChristian, Part Four: Sheltered

"Christians enjoy being in their own community. The more they seclude themselves, the less they can function in the real world. So many Christians are caught in the Christian 'bubble.'" -Jonathan, age 22 (from unChristian)

I normally open an unChristian post with a life experience or something, but to be honest, Jonathan summed this viewpoint up perfectly. Christians seem to be stuck in this concept that "huddling up" is the correct way to live the Christian life. They go to church a few times a week, listen to Christian music, go to lunch with their Christian friends, go to Christian schools, and all around do anything to "avoid temptation." This viewpoint is dangerous, and quite common.

The fact is that we are not called to huddle. The disciples, after Jesus ascended in the first part of Acts 1, they spent a time where they were huddled. They stayed together, not sure what to do from there. So they just stayed up together. Then, in Acts 2, the Holy Spirit paid the guys a visit, and perceived craziness ensued. The disciples all of a sudden were able to speak all kinds of different languages, Peter (the guy who denied Christ, remember?) preaches a sermon, and:

"41 So those who accepted his message were baptized, and that day about 3,000 people were added to them." -Acts 2:41, HCSB

WHAT?! THREE THOUSAND?! Can I point out that a group of twelve huddlers, within a day, became a mission-minded mega church? Does anyone else find this to be incredibly amazing?

Now, the response some may have is: "Bryan, the disciples were overcome with the Holy Spirit, and they started speaking different languages." Guess what? If you are a Christian, the Spirit is within you already!

"11 And if the Spirit of Him who raised Jesus from the dead lives in you, then He who raised Christ from the dead will also bring your mortal bodies to life through His Spirit who lives in you." -Romans 8:11, HCSB

But does the bringing of our mortal bodies to life through the Spirit make us speak languages? No. However, we are not without our own gifts. The Spirit equips us with ways to do amazing things for Christ.

"7 To each person the manifestation of the Spirit is given for the benefit of all. 8 For one person is given through the Spirit the message of wisdom, and another the message of knowledge according to the same Spirit, 9 to another faith by the same Spirit, and to another gifts of healing by the one Spirit, 10 to another performance of miracles, to another prophecy, and to another discernment of spirits, to another different kinds of tongues, and to another the interpretation of tongues. 11 It is one and the same Spirit, distributing as he decides to each person, who produces all these things." -1 Corinthians 12:7-11, NET

We each get our own set of gifts, made custom to accompany our personality to make us most affective to reach people with the Truth of Christ. As we are told by Christ to go to everyone with the good news (Matthew 28:18b-20), we must stop being huddled. But the disciples aren't the best example of not being huddled.

"9 For you know the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ: although He was rich, for your sake He became poor, so that by His poverty you might become rich." -2 Corinthians 8:9, HCSB

I was told that verse yesterday, and it couldn't fit better. Jesus could have stayed huddled in Heaven. He was without any temptation there, hanging out with the Father and the Spirit. Yet, instead of remaining there, He came to Earth. Why? The same reason we must refuse to huddle up and go; He came to spread the news of how to come to a saving relationship with God, and that is the message we are commissioned to take to the masses.

Are you willing to follow Christ and the disciples and take the good news of Christ to the world, or are you afraid to act? Will you be challenged to move, or remain huddled up like a coward? I know that is a really blunt way to ask that, but I really want you to think: are you scared, or will you go?

unChristian, Part Three: Antihomosexual

When I first read the title of this chapter, I was a bit confused. The page clearly stated that being "antihomosexual" was a wrong perception for Christians to give off, much like the "hypocritical" and "conversion-obsessed" labels I discussed last. I really thought I was supposed to be antihomosexual, but I was reading it incorrectly. Yes, the act of homosexuality is a sin, but that doesn't make the person committing the sin any worse than anyone else. Christians are supposed to be antihomosexuality, not antihomosexual. This is a subtle difference in wording that makes a huge difference in reality.

First, allow me to prove that homosexuality is a sin. This is a debated topic, and it really shouldn't be. In Genesis, we see that Sodom was annihilated, partially because most of the men in town were engaged in homosexual acts. Throughout Paul's letters in the New Testament, we see him mention that homosexuality is a sin. It is beyond clear that God intended sex to be between a man and woman.

This, however, does not give those of us that are heterosexual a right to feel "more righteous" or "more like God designed me." Oh, no. You are so wrong.

"Don't you realize that those who do wrong will not inherit the Kingdom of God? Don't fool yourselves. Those who indulge in sexual sin, or who worship idols, or commit adultery, or are male prostitutes, or practice homosexuality or are thieves, or greedy people, or drunkards, or are abusive, or cheat people--none of these will inherit the Kingdom of God." -1 Corinthians 6:9-10, New Living Translation

BOOM. 1 Corinthians 6 just leveled the playing field. Yes, homosexuality is listed. So is theft. Maybe you haven't ever stolen anything. Ever been greedy? Drunk? Abusive? Ever cheated someone? If you said yes to any one of those things, which I would wager that we all will say yes to at least one, then you are on the same level of sinfulness as a person committing homosexuality. You are no more righteous or God-like than a male prostitute. Is your mind blown? Do you feel less holy? Good. Get off the high horse. All who call themselves Christians, myself included, must get off of our self-constructed pedestal and accept people. It is only through God's grace that we breathe each breath, much less get offered an eternity praising Him.

Am I saying to ignore their sin? No. All sin must be addressed, but you should do so in a Godly, loving manner. Don't be Westboro Baptist Church, yelling and protesting. Jesus didn't host protests; He loved on people that the religious people were "too holy" to love. Samaritans, sexually active women, thieves, traitors, liars; Christ loved them all. He showed them love and respect, and in turn, told them how to correct their lives.

You know the old saying, "Hate the sin, love the sinner?" How often do you practice that? Are you on a pedestal of holiness, or are you loving on the people that need love, regardless of the sins they commit?

unChristian, Part Two: Conversion-Obsessed

My mom is the children and preschool minister at our church. Because of this, I have spent massive amounts of time volunteering, or being volunteered, to work with kids. One of the many lessons that I have learned is that when a kid gets something on their mind, they rarely let it go until a resolution is met. If the child wants, say, a piece of gum, they will ask for it. If they do not succeed, they will ask again and again and again and again, until they either get a piece of gum or are told (in an extremely blunt fashion) by the person they were pestering to "get lost!" This little child, irritating to try to achieve a goal until the goal is met or the child is hurt, is how the world views Christians.

Christians give off this vibe that they are on a "mission for God" to convert every human being. That is the perceived Christian goal in every friendship they have with a non-Christian, and that it's all just a game to get more followers for Jesus. As Shawn said in unChristian, "Christians are too concerned with converting people. They are insincere. All I ever hear is 'Get saved!' I tried that whole 'Jesus thing' already. It didn't work for me before, and I am not interested now." It's almost like we are seen as Veruca Salt-like: we want you saved, and we want it now!

Yes, Christians are called to spread the Word to all people, in hopes that some will accept the words of Scripture and receive Jesus as their Savior and Lord. While I am not here to dispute that, I am here to dispute how people tend to go about this. Some of the most common ideas churches have for evangelism are:

-Reaching the masses, all at once
-Having the best responses for spiritual debates
-We cannot worry about offending someone when spreading the Word

While these have some truth value, they are far from complete. In fact, they can sometimes run against the example Jesus set forth for us. Jesus didn't shoot for a mass media method of teaching; he invested in twelve guys, and then taught them how to invest and nurture their own disciples. Jesus didn't get into debates about the truth He was spreading; Jesus merely ended debates with one truth, story or teaching that showed the message He was trying to convey. And while Jesus did step on a few toes, it wasn't because He was unkind or lacking compassion; He was kind and loving to all, even those He was correcting their wrongs.

People don't want to be the pieces of our game, being tools of conversion to score us points. That isn't our goal, and that isn't attractive to people. Jesus told us to love our neighbor. He didn't say, "love your neighbor as yourself, at least until they are saved." No, Jesus instead told us just to love them. Friendships with non-Christians do not need to exist solely for their conversion; that isn't a genuine friendship. A real friend just accepts their friend, encourages them, and, in time, is able to show the truth of Jesus Christ. After sharing, it is our job as "real friends" to stay friends with the person, whether they become Christians or not. We must never become so impersonal as to see people as targets, but instead as people needing the love of a God and of a friend.

I challenge you to invest in people's lives. Really caring for someone, being involved in their life, and simply loving them unconditionally is our job; let's leave the "saving" to God. We weren't even capable of saving ourselves, much less someone else. Sharing the Gospel is one thing; harping on it is quite another.

unChristian, Part One: Hypocritical

I will never forget the time I learned this perspective on Christians, because it broke my heart. I don't remember how it got brought up, I just remember the response. Something was said about Christians, and my co-worker responded with "they are hypocrites." When I asked him to expand, he did. If it hadn't been a good thing to know his feelings truly, I may have wished I didn't ask. And of course, he had a valid point.

Christians are hypocrites, as no one can perfectly "practice what they preach." Some people use this as an excuse to dismiss a non-Christian's or outsider to the faith's opinion about our hypocrisy. However, unChristian reveals something: their opinions matter, largely because they aren't all wrong.

Victoria, a 24-year-old single mom, was one of the literally thousands of people that were interviewed or surveyed to write unChristian. She told them of her story, about how she went to the people at her former church for help. She says,

"Everyone in my church gave me advice about how to raise my son, but a lot of the time they seemed to be reminding me that I have no husband- and besides, most of them were not following their on advice. I made it hard to care what they said." Ouch.

This kind of thing happens all the time. Maybe not on the level of Victoria's, but think about it: how often has someone that is "living in sin" been a visitor at your church or appeared in some other part of your life, and you or someone you know gave them advice? I've done it before. When we are asked to advise people, it's human nature to jump at the opportunity. We enjoy the feeling that we are helping, and we love to share our opinion at any opportunity. I know I do. Unfortunately, we don't always live up the high moral pedestal that we put ourselves on by being Christian advice-givers (I prefer advice-giver to advisor, FYI).

Think about the people Christ had the most issue with when He was here: the religious leaders of the day. His biggest beef with them? They were hypocritical. They liked to make themselves look like big hot-shots, all religious and what not. Yet when it came to their attitudes and actions, they were no different from the rest of the world's population. Christ has called all of His followers to a higher standard. We are to be different from the world (not "better"; We will cover that in Part Six: Judgmental).

"1b Be on your guard against the yeast of the Pharisees [religious leaders], which is hypocrisy. 2 There is nothing covered that won't be uncovered, nothing hidden that won't be made known. 3 Therefore whatever you have said in the dark will be heard in the light, and what you have whispered in an ear in private rooms will be proclaimed on the housetops." -Luke 12:1b-3, HCSB

As unChristian's research showed, though, that the root of our hypocrisy isn't how we go about life, however. It's coming from how we portray what being a Christian is all about. The general perception is that Christianity is a religion of rules and regulations, and that we do not live up to our "holy" rule set. Looking at Christianity like that, it's no surprise that we give off a hypocritical vibe! Anyone who ends up seeming as a "holy" person, be it intentional or not, will inevitably fail at some point.

The challenge is for Christians to shed this "holy" and "rule-bound" perception we give off, and there is only one way to really do that: be real with people. We, of course, must try to live our lives with integrity and purity. Those things are of much importance, and I do not mean to belittle them. The fact is, though, that we will screw up at them sometimes. But when we do, a new opportunity will arise. We may be given the opportunity to show one of the biggest beauties of the Christian faith: forgiveness of sin.

When we mess up, we can use that as a time to show that while we still mess up, w can be forgiven of our mistakes. Jesus died on the cross to save us from our sins, not to make us sinless. We are still going to sin, and when are transparent and honest about that fact, people will look at us in a much better light. Think about it: don't you prefer when someone is open and honest with you instead of when someone is fake and two-sided? It's logical, and its easy. No longer do we worry about a facade that we must maintain; instead, just admit to your mistakes. I guarantee that you will receive more respect.

Of course, there's times to use caution. If your transparency causes someone to stumble or be tempted, that's not good. Too much transparency can also lead to glorifying sin, too, which is completely opposite to what our goal should be. Glorifying in Jesus's conquer of sin is far better. Finally, one must remember to try to live their life as closely to Christ's as we can; our mission is to be like Christ, and he was perfectly pure and sinless. We must aspire to be the same, but be willing to admit when we fall short.

This week, I challenge you to give this a try. Take your "holy mask" off. Just be straight and honest with people, and see if they take you in a separate light. When they are discussing a problem in their life, don't be afraid to admit that you mess up, too. It's a tragic human flaw, and it is one that we all have. Don't be fake and try to hide it.

As always, I am dying to read your comments and emails- so hit me up. Comment below or email me at thefreedbug@aol.com. Thanks for reading, and remember: love God, love people. Not a whole lot else matters.

Fish are Friends, Not Food

I recently watched the movie The Fisher King. The movie is about a radio talk show host named Jack, played by Jeff Bridges. Jack is a jerk, as he makes fun of people that call in to his show and looks down on people with less money than him. After a series of unfortunate events, Jack finds himself living with his girlfriend, helping her run her dinky movie store and off the radio. Jack eventually ends up meeting a homeless man named Perry (Robin Williams), and finds that he is part of the reason that Perry is homeless.

At first, Jack helps Perry in order to help his guilty feelings. After a few half-hearted attempts, Jack winds up helping Perry for real. He doesn't help Perry to make himself feel better; he helps Perry because he truly cares about Perry. This is precisely how Christians are supposed to help people- because we care about the person we are helping.

Yet, we often come across differently. In the past week or two, I have had two completely unrelated people have messaged me simply with the phrase "fish are friends, not food." This quote from Finding Nemo has been told to me randomly and in jest, yet I cannot help but compare it to reading I have been doing lately.

My latest book is unChristian by David Kinnaman and Gabe Lyons. It is, unlike some other books that I have read recently, more a research project's results than an in-depth analysis of one topic (such as love in Francis Chan's Crazy Love). Yet, this book has held some amazing insight into the minds of people my age, particularly those outside of the church. The book's focus is on young adults (ages 18-35) feel about Christianity, and what some common, negative, viewpoints are. Trust me: the kids do not feel good about Christianity.

You see, we are seen as the sharks to their fish. We hunt around for non-Christians, helping them only to trap them and lead them into our religion. We have little concern for their problems or viewpoints or political stance; ours is the only one that matters. Instead of being helpful because we care, we are helpful to help ourselves. We forget that sharks are fish, too.

I will be looking into each of the top six negative views of Christianity that a non-Christian feels toward the religion, and discussing how we can help turn this around. I will share my shortcomings, and any stories that I may have to add to the topic. Here's the schedule of when each post will be released by (some my arrive sooner, but never later):

March 04: Hypocritical
March 11: Conversion-Obsessed
March 15: Antihomosexual
March 18: Sheltered
March 25: Too Political
April 01: Judgmental

My hope for covering these topics in-depth, diving into what both the world and the Bible says about Christianity, will open eyes. I hope Christians will read these six posts and think about whether they are being perceived as one of these things, and if there is something in their life that needs to change. I hope someone who isn't connected to the Christian faith reads these posts and finds out that the negative thoughts in their head do not necessarily reflect the truth of God's good news. All in all, I just hope these posts get people thinking and talking about a real Christian faith, not a fake, unChristian one.

Feel free to tell everyone about these, and if you have any comments about the series or anything else you want to discuss with me, my contact info is on the sidebar. :)