Jesus in the Pulpit

This week's [Subversive Underground] will be about something that's been on my mind since our Non-Con last month.

Another blog post today by a fellow Kingdom-minded writer sparked my desire to respond to this in a more definite way.

Basically, it pains me to hear Christians say that they've never heard about the Gospel of the Kingdom that Jesus preached, or to quote Jesus to someone and have them look at me as if they've never heard that before in their life.

What are our Pastor's preaching every Sunday? How can we be a generation, and a nation, of Christians who are unfamiliar with the teachings and the message of Jesus?

My friend whose blog inspired me this morning commented that he has experienced this same lack of understanding regarding Jesus and His message. He noted that most Christians seem to know a whole lot about Paul and the teachings found in the Epistles, but not so much about the Gospels and the Gospel of the Kingdom that Jesus proclaimed.

Imagine meeting a Muslim who had no real concept of what Muhammed taught? Or meeting a Jew who had no understanding of what Moses said or did? In what way would that person be a Muslim, or a Jew?

How can we call ourselves "Christians" if we have no concept of who Jesus was and what he taught?

We've made being a Christian about knowing stuff and believing information, not about what Jesus made it all about which was following him.

Maybe that's why I have a hard time calling myself a "Christian"? Because more and more I am being convinced that a Christian and a Follower of Jesus are not the same thing.

More in this week's [Subversive Underground], coming soon...

kg