You know what seems to suck about being a Christian (and I think if we were all more authentic we would admit this)? What sucks is that nothing ever seems to be enough. It seems like we “sell” Christianity on the simplicity of the gospel. Then when someone becomes a Christian, we complicate it by adding things to do. Then when those things are done, we tell people that God expects them to in turn be responsible for all the people who have yet to come to this realization as well. While not a Christian, Chuck Klosterman experiences this in an Arkansas hotel room – admittedly while high – while watching a show on “Christian TV” that goes something like this:

“The protagonist [Steven] is a teen…who is torn apart by temptation. But what’s interesting are the things Steven is tempted to do; he is not tempted to try drugs…nor is he tempted to have sex…Our hero is never involved in any of that sh#*. Steven’s gut-wrenching crisis…is the temptation to not save his adolescent peers from doing all of those terrible things. In other words, he is not frayed by a desire to go down on his girlfriend or the desire to get drunk and feel cool…His problem is that he wants to merely ignore all the kids in school who are going to hell."
-Killing Yourself to Live (Page 99)

What fascinates me about this is that I was Steven in high school (although admittedly, unlike Steven, I was also tempted to go down on my girlfriend). But what people like Chuck will never understand until they too are “tempted like Steven,” is that it is precisely the charge to “make disciples” in an unfriendly world that makes faith in Jesus for an intriguing life.

Five years out of high school (and 3 years out of my teens) I find myself working at a church (which as I have stated before, I don’t usually like telling people I meet). What I miss the most now that I work in a church is how few people I run into that aren’t Christian. It drives me nuts. But I find that all people are pretty much like this – Christian or not. If you work in NYC and are 30, you are somewhat of pretentious individual surrounded by other pretentious individuals. If you are white, wealthy and in your 50s, most of the people you play golf with are also white, wealthy and in their 50s. But a faith in Jesus is about bringing all of humanity into community centered around the Cross (which is totally different than a plain, vanilla, “we-are-all-the-same” community).

Jesus wants all of his followers to spread the “good news” to people we come in contact with. However, unlike most “evangelism” movies, this doesn’t usually take place with the random guy on the plane, or by preaching on the street corner. After all, Jesus doesn’t just want followers, he wants relationships. These relationships are between Him and his followers, as well as His followers and other followers, as well as His followers and those yet to be His followers. While nothing may ever seem to be enough in the Christian life, I think we should all admit that it is this drive to surround ourselves with people different than us that makes life intriguing enough to be worth living.