plodblog

Years ago I was in Monterey California at a little diner on Cannery Row having breakfast with a good friend. We sat at a table next to the big front window and had a great view up and down the street. Our omelets were being delivered to the table when a van pulled up in front of our window and began to disgorge all manner of young people that looked to be between 18 to 26 years old. At first, sharp dressed and well kept beautiful people mingled on the sidewalk, they had been sitting in the front of the van. They were attractive and athletic young men and women.

Then, a different sort of person began to emerge from the van. They were either skinny or overweight and way beyond being nerdy and geeky. Some might call them weirdos. Their behavior showed that they were socially and personally inept. By dress and mannerism you could tell they did not belong in the front of the van, or even in the same van, with the beautiful people. One guy had the worst bed-head I had ever seen, to which I said to my friend, “Couldn’t that guy at least have stuck his head under a faucet this morning?”

After about ten people had spilled out onto the sidewalk I remarked, “Well, this is either a field trip of inmates from the asylum with their handlers, or a van load of Christians.” Just then a buck-toothed mouth-breather with coke-bottle glasses stepped out of the van with an “I Love Jesus” shirt on.

The church also has its share of arrogant, imperious, self-centered jerks. I had the misfortune to have dealt with one such wretch who was the founder and president-for-life of the ‘Future Cult Leaders of America’. Many have aspired to his position, their name is legion. This teenager had the audacity to command me to submit to his direction concerning what I should preach about on Sundays! I have not always behaved with good Christian charity toward these kinds of people.

Though we avoid people like this, it is not so hard to be friends with other sinners who are like us, who we naturally would gravitate to in any situation. But, we stay away from weirdos and jerks, even in Church. There are people you don’t want to be seen with on Sunday morning. People who you can say ‘Hi’ to and greet briefly, but you sure don’t want to be seen talking to them for five or ten minutes. You know, the people in church you don’t want first time visitors to meet. This is true of people in all kinds of churches, from traditional to cutting edge emergent and beyond.

I don’t like this. It is wearying. It is particularly loathsome and sinful in church leadership. This is cruel pride, unloving, fear of man posturing and posing.

Much is said about how “cool” Jesus was and about His counter cultural message and life. Jesus may have been all that and certainly He and His message still are counter cultural – even to our church cultures.

Jesus spent time with people who gave him a bad reputation. He spent time with people others did not want to be seen with, and they loved Him for it, and some came to love His message too.

It is not so hard to be a friend of people who are like us, both Christians and unbelievers. But, an over emphasis on culture and relating to the world has marginalized the personally and socially inept in our churches. I think it is harder than ever for some people to find friends in church. The pressure to be relevant and cool has made it hard to be a friend to those in church that we are embarrassed to be seen with.

Jesus – friend of sinners, weirdos and jerks.