Are you a Christian Atheist?

Christian Atheists exist, even though the term seems to be an oxymoron. A Christian Atheist, Craig Groeschel defines in his book by the same title, is someone that believes in God but lives as if He doesn't exist. Does that sound like you? Over the next several posts, I am going to explore this concept and present information from that book along with my personal observations and conclusions.

To start things off, let's look closer at exactly what Craig means by a Christian Atheist. How many times have you felt God leading you to do something and you decided not to do it because... (fill in the blank). I have heard it said many times that whatever you put before God becomes a god to you and takes priority in your life. Money, power, and position have all been used as examples of those gods, but I believe that self should be considered as one of the main things that take us away from the Lord being our main focus. Whenever we have a notion that "if doing this my way fails, then I will try it God's way", we are putting our self ahead of God and thereby negating our belief that God is superior to us.

That is in reality how a Christian Atheist thinks. "I believe in God, but His existence is not vital to my day-to-day life. So why bother taking so much time and effort to include Him when I can do well without Him?" As Craig notes in the pre-introduction 'Letter to the Reader': "Sadly, Christian Atheism is everywhere. There has to be a better way to live." With that said, he then challenges the reader to address the hypocrisy of saying you believe in God, but live like He doesn't exist.

In his introduction, Craig starts off by acknowledging he is a Christian Atheist. He then goes on and gives a brief outline of his life and his spiritual walk. Since this is not a book review, but a series of articles about the phenomenon that I feel is permeating churches across this country today, I am only going to draw examples from this to explore how we can identify such behavior in ourselves. By his own admission, Craig says, "At the age of 25, I was a full-time pastor and a part-time follower of Christ." How does this sort of thing happen? We all have our own scenarios that bring us to realize that we are failing to maintain the same level of passion that we once had for serving Jesus.

So how do we get that spiritual fire back? What areas do we need to gain a realization of our deception? Over the next several weeks, I am going to use Craig's chapter topics to present a mix of his thoughts and mine as I explore this topic. Please join me as we journey through how we can recognize where we are, readdress our priorities, and return to our first love and avoid getting entangled in Christian Atheism.

Impossible Orders

Bron and I attended a Wednesday evening service at a church in Granbury, TX where she had gone to when she was much younger. It was good to see her meet a few people she hadn't seen in many years (not telling how many).

The preacher for the evening taught about how Jesus empowers us to do whatever He asks to do. He already knows how He is going to bring things about, but He wants us to obey what may seem to be impossible orders.

"With God all things are possible" the Bible says, but do YOU believe it? I admit, it took a lot of years for me to come to the point that I trust God enough to believe that not only is anything possible with God, but that He was willing to do anything for ME! As we progress through our day-to-day lives, following God's directions as written in His Word, God has ALREADY given us the power to accomplish what he would have us to do. That is very encouraging in the difficult times we face every day.

How to be a true Follower

I want to wrap up this series of posts on following with some more suggestions on how we can be more of a follower of Jesus. Once again, I will be drawing on notes I made from comments that Rick Atchley, of The Hills church in Fort Worth, TX, made in his "Opening Day" series of messages. The whole series is available at The Hills Church.

As Rick said in the fourth message, there is a drift today away from being like Jesus to just liking Him. Have you ever been on the 'inactive member' list at your church? What exactly is an 'inactive member'? If we did our job at work the way we do our service at church, we would be fired right quick! A fan of Jesus shows up when the weather is good, they are feeling well, and they are not busy elsewhere. A follower is there unless something serious stops them from going, just like a good employee. After all, we are doing the work of the kingdom, aren't we?

Even followers have trouble keeping full focus on Jesus, and fail to be Christ-like at all times. The difference is that followers push on in the hard times and continue to look to Jesus for direction. Followers return to servant status much more quickly. For as Rick pointed out in his message, we need to have a shift in our attitudes in four aspects: from saved by to saved for; from consumer to contributor; from bad-stopping to do-gooding; and from called out to sent in.

We need to remember that although we are saved by grace (Eph 2:8), we are also created for good works (Eph 2:10). So many today believe that accepting Jesus as Savior is the end of their search for God, where in reality it is only the first step. Just trying not to do bad things does not truly show love as doing good things, especially for those who make life difficult. Are you just sitting in the pew on Sunday, consuming the spiritual food being served by the preacher? or are you making a solid contribution to furthering the Gospel of Jesus Christ? The Church has been called out of the world so we can be sent back in to help others get out. Jesus calls us out so we can get a different perspective on the way the world truly is, then equips us to go back in to save others.

The final point Rick made was that whenever hope is given, a lift is given to everyone involved. Both the giver and receiver are encouraged and strengthened when good deeds are done. A foretaste of Heaven, which is so wonderful I can hardly wait to get there, is shown here on earth when we share the love of Jesus with others. Sharing that love can be as easy as opening a door or as complicated as dealing with a severe handicap or sickness. "Keeping our eyes on Jesus" was a motto from a pastor at a previous church I attended, but sadly too few took up that mantle.

I, myself, have been less of a follower than I know I can be, and God challenges me daily (hourly?) in my walk. I have recently finished reading "The Christian Atheist" by Craig Groeschel, and with my next post begin to share from that book, chapter by chapter. I appreciate any feedback to my thoughts (even though it is gonna hurt) so I can continue to get better in reflecting God's love in my life.

Jim

How to find a true follower

Continuing my series on following, I again am going to reference the "Opening Day" message series being presented by Rick Atchley of The Hills Church of Christ in Fort Worth, TX.

I have long been concerned that most of the people that regularly attend worship services at churches across America are not truly 'following' Jesus. I have read a few books by radically sold-out Christians. Francis Chan ("Crazy Love") went so far as to give up a large house and live in a smaller one and have strangers stay in their home. How far are WE willing to go to show the world we are followers?

Jesus said in John 13:35: "By this shall all men know that ye are my disciples, if ye have love one to another." Love is what distinguishes a true follower from someone who is just a fan. And as Christians, showing love for others requires that we apply 'intentionality' to our life. We need to be proactive in showing love in our every action, regardless of who we interact with, but especially to other Christians. All who call Jesus "Lord" should be actively looking for ways to show the love that Jesus showed us by His sacrifice on the cross.

As Rick said in his message, a real community of believers can be identified by 3 characteristics. Real community: requires intentionality, values authenticity, and practices generosity. Measure yourself and your friends by those standards and note how often you show these in your life. A true follower shows love by helping people, sharing others' troubles, and by being transparent about the struggles in their life.

Let our lives show that we are true followers by loving others as we love ourselves and really thinking how we can help everyone we meet in even some small way.

When following gets hard

Interestingly enough, my last post on "Fans or Followers" is along the lines of the sermon series called "Opening Day" Rick Atchley of The Hills Church of Christ is presenting. You can get caught up to date by visiting www.thehills.org and finding the videos and/or podcasts of these messages.

I am a firm believer that God coordinates all events that happen in our lives, and so it is not too big a surprise for me to have the phrase "Fans or Followers" show up from two independent sources in my life. I am sure that there are an awful lot of people out there that have experienced the same thing. I take it as a verification that I am following what God is telling me to do.

The problem is that even with that verification, continuing to follow gets harder. Our enemy knows that once we start down a path given to us by God, we usually expect that the hard times are behind us. Wrong! The initial decision to follow that path might be the easiest part of the journey. Anyone who has made a decision to truly follow Jesus finds more struggles and trials than they expected. After all, if we are not challenging "strongholds" and "principalities", we are not a threat to the enemy's plan! Too many times a believer in Christ is lulled into a false sense of security by the notion that "I have taken Jesus as my Savior, and therefore have done all I need to get to Heaven."

The enemy cannot take us away from Jesus forcibly, but he can distract us from doing the good things that we should be doing. When we attend a worship service, we need to be aware of those around us in a proactive way. Newcomers and guests usually feel left out without a very visible outreach towards them. It is upon the members, ALL the members, of a local congregation to make sure that no one gets "left behind". It is not just the job of the elders, ministers, or staff to do these things, but every "follower" has the duty to do this. If you just go, sit in the pew (even if you stand, sing, and raise your arms), and go home after talking to friends, you are a fan, not a follower.

Rick made the application of a young baseball fan this morning, and it really made a point with me. When I was young, I lived, ate, and breathed baseball from 5 yrs old until I turned 16. I went through every level of organized ball available to me during those years. I hated to miss a game, and played hurt sometimes because I loved it so much. Although I didn't like sitting on the bench, I was there screaming encouragement to my teammates when I wasn't playing.

We need to live our Christian lives like we are serious about it. Fans choose to change teams for many reasons, like the team isn't doing well, but a follower sticks with their team through anything. I became an Oakland Raiders fan in 1971, developed into a follower for many years (though I was never able to see them in person) and today, still consider them my favorite football team. I have not kept up with them over the past few years, so my "following" leaves something to be desired. Let us not allow anything to distract us from following the path Jesus has set for us.

Fan or Follower?

I just read a book review in Christianity Today for a book by Kyle Idleman called "Not A Fan". The reviewer, Kevin Wax, states that this book is "a restatement of Dietrich Bonhoeffer's emphasis on dying to oneself in order to live for God."

While I have not read this book, the focal point of whether we are just fans of Jesus (content to sit comfortably and accept salvation) or followers of Jesus (actively pursuing a life dedicated to doing all for Him) has been an issue for me for many years. When we connect our names with Christ, we give up the rights to an easy life. Even before Jesus came down to earth to be born, die on the cross for our sins, and come back to life to conquer death, He suffered for every poor decision made by anyone. His heart was set on saving us from ourselves and there are many occasions where He took action by appearing to guide and direct people.

It has been said that in order to be a good leader, you must first learn how to follow. In knowing how a follower feels, your leading can clarify their path, because you know what they are looking for. We are not asked to follow blindly, for there is more than enough evidence in the Bible to prove the Truth of God's existence. But by actively doing those things prompted by the Holy Spirit, we can also begin to feel what Jesus feels when he does something to help someone. WWJD is a good place to start, but once you have experienced the joy and satisfaction of actually doing a good deed for someone, you get hooked.

Last Sunday, Bron and I visited the grand opening for the West Fort Worth campus for The Hills church in Fort Worth, TX. From the moment we entered, we were made to feel like we were cared for. Since Bron is in a wheelchair, there is more that the usual involved in even getting through a door, but we had people opening the doors, explaining where we could have parked, and assistance in finding the auditorium Sunday morning. These people were actively serving, not waiting for someone to ask for help.

Now skeptics might say, "It was a special occasion" or "That was just the first visit, just wait", but what happened that evening when we returned for the party was what impressed me (and Bron) the most. We arrived early, and since we were new, we knew very few people. (We had talked with a very nice couple after the morning service, as well as the campus minister, but that was the only people we really met.) As we were both contemplating whether we should stay because it seemed like we were out of place, a man came up and introduced himself. He pulled up a chair, and took time getting to know us. It was wonderful to see a total stranger reach out like he did, but what he did next really blew us away. He asked to pray for us, and did not just do a 'general' prayer, but asked for specific things that were needed. During that prayer, he not only asked for the help, he also encouraged us with comments about how he viewed our hearts. He really made us feel like we had been transported in the very throne room of God.

There have been many, many things over the past few months that have occurred to Bron and I that have shown us that Jesus is still there, working on our behalf. But I must say, having this man come to us and pray and say the things he did is what a true follower does. I (we) were already strongly led to go to this church as well as moving to Fort Worth, but this sort of confirmation is a wonderful shot in the arm.

I thank the Lord for His provision in all things we need, and thank all who have been praying for us. May you feel His presence as you follow him.

Acts of Worship

I heard a wonderful message this morning about worship. We all have heard that we are to do"all things for the Lord", but the application of that concept has not always been connected to worship. Jim Hackney, from the Heritage church of Christ, presented a very good approach to how this works.

This is my summary of his message, although I cannot hope to capture the whole experience here. He used Romans 12: 1-2 to show that Christians should offer their bodies as a living sacrifice in everything we do in order to truly worship God. That includes any action that we do, every day of the week, that shows God's love for others, regardless of whether we mention God while doing so. I have been saying for many years that we worship God when we do good deeds for others, but Jim brought it all together behind one of my favorite scriptures. This is an excellent application of the Truth in action.

Jim

First post via mobile here, and just wanted to make a short comment. When we apologize for standing up for Jesus, we remove the incentive for others to follow.