In October 2012, I was diagnosed with stage four lung cancer and given six months to live.
As I looked into the mirror this morning to shave, I thought to myself, "You may have gained some weight, but you do look pretty good for a corpse."
That was my silly way of thanking God for another day of life He didn't have to give, but one I am eternally grateful to have.
Since that dark day in October 2012, I've endured three major surgeries to remove body parts, lymph nodes and tumors. I have been deceived and betrayed by Christians whom I believed loved me and my family; while at another instance was embraced by another church family who taught me once again what it was like to be loved simply because I was a human being.I have been supported by old friends and forsaken by others.
I stepped out of the pastorate, and then was called back to it.
I became a full-time military Chaplain, then watched as our leadership within the Air Wing changed hands.
It has been quite a ride; sometime hurtful, sometimes joyous but at all times exciting.
Yet, I have noticed that there are things that have become important to me that weren't as important as before.
Today, I have a greater concern as to how Christians represent their faith and their Lord to others; to non-believers - mostly because I don't think we're doing a very good job.
I mean, seriously, if the Gospel is Good News and it is true and trustworthy, why aren't more people to hear it?
Scripture speaks of Christ emitting an aroma; a sweet savor.
Do modern Christians smell like a rose plucked from the Divine gardens, OR do we just go around and stink up the place?
Some non-believers, and rightly so, are disengaged with the Church and with the faith because they don't like what they've seen in the Church or in the followers of Christ.
I can't really blame them because I've seen some fairly unsavory things just in the last year from people who claim to follow Christ.
It turned me off from them as I wondered how many of the outside, lost world was watching and permanently turned off and away from Jesus Christ because of their actions.
Non-believers or the 'un-churched' often view Christians as spiritual-acting robots, holding to a specific agenda.
When they don't agree with us, many times the Christian will just move on and away from them, citing the passage of Scripture that says to 'shake the dust' off of our shoes.
But...
Is a non-believer, a person who doesn't go to church, a man or a woman who has never heard the Gospel; is that person going to agree with a Christian who has been raised in Church?
Are they going to embrace our values?
Are they going to be like the Christian in any way?
Absolutely Not!
Then why in the world would we shake the dust off of our shoes and move on, leaving them in the same condition we found them only with a worse opinion of Christians?
We shouldn't.
The Christian author C. S. Lewis once compared communicating faith in a secular society to a man who wants to court either a divorcee or a virgin.
The man must obviously change his approach and strategy.
In America right now, according to Barna Research, we have 2/3 of youth and young adults who have become divorcees of the faith.
They've heard it all before and won't simply trust and believe without proof and reason.
While the Christian holds the Truth of the Ages, they have been deceived by the world's 'truths' and won't easily trust again.
These are the ones who run away from the Good News.
They aren't pleased to hear it because they've been hurt and deceived by 'another' good news that turned out to be false.
Yet, to many in Third World countries, Jesus' Word is still received as 'good news.'
It is still the Godspell which breaks the Dark spell that has shadowed much of the life on earth and clouded the soul.
Just a few years ago, we began conversations by beginning with God as the foundation; asking then if the individual knew where they would spend eternity and why.
Today, we must start with a much more basic question, 'Do you believe in God?'
If they do, then we must determine what or who is their God.
For Christians today, the question remains as to how we can rightly communicate grace and the Good News of Jesus Christ to a culture that is doing wind sprints away for the Holy.
In truth, I don't blame the unchurched.
Actually, with what I've experienced in the last year and what I have seen from some angry Christians, I think to myself, 'Why would anyone even bother with the Church at all?'
As for the Unchurched, who are on the outside looking in, they've seen fallen evangelists, pastors wrongly fired, churchmen criticize hurting families, power grabs within the pews and hundreds of other things that could turn people away.
All the while, the mission of the Church to feed the hungry, help the poor and care for the homeless and hurting goes by the wayside as grace becomes an unfamiliar word and the Great Commission turns into a worn-out phrase that nobody understands any longer.
Jesus Christ never ranked very high in the opinion polls of Jerusalem; yet, He made remarkable in-roads to the forgotten, the lost and the hurting.
People use a lot of words to describe Christians today, many not very flattering; but Jesus used two - He called us Salt and Light.
Have you ever wondered how we can be seen by the Unchurched as the Salt of the Earth and the Light of the World?
It is simple → It is in how we treat people who are vastly different than we are and do not agree
Humans are odd creatures.
We are half-angel and half-animal; it is hard to honor the angel part when the other half is still acting like an untamed animal.
But that is what grace does; extends itself to those who don't deserve it but need it badly so that our 'animal' part is covered by the righteousness of God.
Like an unexpected thaw in the middle of January, grace happens at unexpected moments.
But only if Christ works through us to touch the untouchables and love and unloveable.
Until next time, win one for the good guys.
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