So What's So Hot About Christianity?

Let’s say you are having lunch with a friend, or with a long-lost cousin, or maybe your grandchildren. You’re talking about things going on in your life, what you’ve been doing lately, and the subject of church comes up. Let’s say that the person you are talking with is not a church-goer, and, in fact, isn’t even a believer. At some point in the conversation they look you straight in the eye and ask, “So what’s so hot about Christianity, anyway?”

What do you say?

Poll after poll has revealed that fewer and fewer people under the age of 30 are interested in attending church. The reason? Because of the attitudes and behavior of the people who are attending now.  And yet, those same polls reveal that these young people are craving after a spiritual center and sense of purpose in their life. The majority of young people want to make a difference in the world, and they want to help make the world a better place to live. They just find that the attitudes of people in the churches already don’t always jibe with making the world better.

Sounds a lot like Jesus.

So what is so hot about Christianity? It is a fair question to ask. It is a question that we in the church, who take our faith seriously, need to ask, and need to remind ourselves about.  It might be helpful to look at the world through the eyes of someone who is 18-30 years old. What is the world they stand to inherit? What mark will they make upon it? What problems will they address, what obstacles will they overcome? Will the next great struggle be on the battlefield, or in the hearts of humans? What will guide them as they step into the centers of power, media, business and service?

Cyprian, a third-century martyr, had this to say to his friend Donatus about how the way of Jesus contrasted with the way of Rome:
”This is a cheerful world as I see it from my garden under the shadows of my vines. But If I were to ascend some high mountain and look over the wide lands, you know very well what I would see: brigands on the highways, pirates on the sea, armies fighting, cities burning; in the amphitheaters men murdered to please the applauding crowds; selfishness and cruelty and misery and despair under all roofs. It is a bad world, Donatus, an incredibly bad world. But I have discovered in the midst of it a quiet and holy people who have learned a great secret. They are despised and persecuted, but they care not. They are masters of their souls. They have overcome the world. These people, Donatus, are the Christians--and I am one of them.”

Masters of their souls.

Definitely sounds like people who have been around Jesus, or those dedicated to his Way.

During August, I plan to look at this question, “What’s so hot about Christianity?” in a series of five sermons (five Sundays=five sermons). The series will look like this:

·   August 1 – “We’ve Got Vision!” Woven throughout the Bible is a vision of a better world. This vision is grounded in the nature of God, and God shares that vision with humankind through the words of prophets and singers and Jesus and his followers. It is a vision that has ignited the fires of reform all across the world for centuries. It can still grab out attention and propel our actions.

·   August 8 – “We Know How to Make the World Better!” Very little in the Bible has to do with getting to heaven. Most of it has to do with how to live together. Living rightly has to do with how we structure our social relationships as well as our personal relationships. Paul the Apostle called it “having the mind of Christ,” and “putting on the righteousness of Christ.” It’s a different way of doing things, and it has changed the world in the past – turned it upside down, in fact. It can do it again.

·   August 15 – “We can Heal Our Past.” So where does one begin on this Way of Jesus? We begin by healing out past. We all carry around the detritus and the blessings of our past. This helps and hinders. Jesus taught that a change of direction, a change of heart and mind were necessary to begin this process. A spiritual rebirth needed to happen within. A clean slate! Now what would you do with that?

·   August 22 – “We can Change Our Present.” A change of direction and heart requires new ways of acting, new ways of thinking and behaving. How we treat members of our families matters. How we treat ourselves matters. How we treat others in our workplaces and on the streets matters. It also makes a difference.

·   August 29 – “We Have a Map for Our Future.” Just like a ball thrown in the air, how we live now develops a trajectory for the rest of our lives, and for the life that continues after this life. The life we share with others is built as a uniting of all our individual trajectories.

So what’s so hot about Christianity? Come and find out. And bring that friend, cousin or grandchild.  It will make a difference.

(Images from: http://subversiveinfluence.com/images/blogposts/coffee-conversation.jpg; http://www.jamiehulleyartsfund.org/gallery/coffee_conversation_large.jpg; http://i.ytimg.com/vi/o88bcdvuM2g/0.jpg