The Gospel to John

After the we moved into the new townhome, I needed to take care of a lot of things I wasn't prepared for. So, I took a week off in order to get things organized, ordered, hooked-up, turned-on, activated, and connected. Now that all those minor details have be taken care of, I can return to a regular schedule of daily postings.

I just got home from work. I have a co-worker that I have been blessed with the opportunity to grow closer to. He is a good man, but has many misconceptions regarding Christianity and "organized religion." I'll call him John in order to protect his innocence. John grew up with many religious influences; Catholicism, Mormanism, Southern Baptist, and finally Atheism. John married a woman who practiced a form of nature worship similar to Druidism. Unlike the Wiccans, John's belief system does not utilize spells and curses. It is a peaceful, Unitarian, worship of the gift of life. John somehow retains "roots" of his ecclesiastic upbringing, stating that he believes in a Creator God, and that this God has a Son, Jesus Christ. John holds to the idea that God sent many "Sons" to inform us of His plan for our lives. John holds to the idea that many men and women have been sent by God as generational and cultural "messiahs." Buddha, Confucius, Mohammed, Gandhi, Joseph Smith, John Lennon, Mother Theresa, and so are believed to have been sent by God in order to help people learn about and draw nearer to God.
For someone who minimalizes his beliefs to: nature worship, John has a deeply philosophic heart and an eager desire to learn about other religious systems. We began discussing religion one day, out of the blue. We talked a little here and there. Exchanging thoughts, philosophies and theology. He explained that he felt that Christ was a good man, a great moral teacher, and a great example; but that NONE of his present day followers have ever exhibited the kind of love and compassion, understanding and acceptance, tolerance and patience that was exemplified in Christ. I had to agree. He went on to say that it isn't the teachings of Christ that turned him away from Christianity: it was the Christians. He did not want to be associated with a church organization because of their greediness, pride, arrogance, ignorance, and bigotry. He saw Christianity as a method of justifying elitist, sexist, and racist behavior. He saw Christianity as a 1-2 hour a week farce.
Over the past few weeks, I have been reading a book by Dan Kimball entitled, "The Emerging Church." Every day, I purposefully take it to work, put it on my desk, and refuse the urge to mention it. He finally asked about it. He asked if he could look at the back. I said, "sure, you might like that book. It discusses how Christianity has taken a turn for the worse over the past 3-4 decades and how 1950's ideology isn't necessarily the most productive or effective way to reach people in post-modern 2003."
He responded by saying, "hmm. I never thought of that. I just figured that most Church people were happy with the way things were."
I will continue to reach out to John. He is a seeker, even if he isn't ready to admit it. He has a heart for God, but he hasn't realized it.
I've never really had a heart to reach the "unchurched" people. I have always tried to reach those that have been "churched," "over-churched," and "burned-by-church." The way I see it, so many people are trying to reach the "unchurched" that someone should try to reach those that are "churched" or have been and left.
Give me some feedback, I want to know what you are thinking out there.

-Mike

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