Was Jesus a Failure?

By today’s church standards Jesus Christ would be a failure. He didn’t have a mega church in fact His followers were but a handful until long after He died.

He didn’t own a lot of “Church” property. He never talked about a growth plan heck He didn’t even have a regular meeting place. A lot of His church was done with just 12 people and often times it was just a few at a time walking along a dirt road.

So if this is what Jesus looks like then why does the American Church looks so different. We wear (I don’t) these little bracelets that say WWJD and yet we do the exact opposite.

Jesus asked questions and we are discouraged from doing so. He lived His faith and we are taught to copy what others do.

We think reading the Bible everyday is living our faith. Reading the Bible everyday is great but that’s not church.

I wonder if people in His day said stupid things like “Jesus seems so real?” I bet they didn’t because Jesus was real. We expect our religious leaders to be fake and then get all excited when we discover they are just people. (Yes pastor puts his/her pants on just like you do)

Jesus didn’t get paid to preach He taught and questioned because He loved people so much.

The church in Jesus’ day was not a business, didn’t sell taped series or even have a bookstore. (He didn’t really like moneychangers in His church)

Jesus wasn’t trying to build an organization or a ministry He was building up people and introducing them to God.

Jesus didn’t complicate church with legalism in fact He came to set us free from additions to the law.

Jesus continued to follow the law but the church today ignores it. We don’t celebrate the same holiday’s He did but have traded those for holidays steeped in pagan roots.

If Jesus were to walk into the American Church today would He ask questions? If so, what would those questions be? If He interrupted a sermon with a question would He be ushered to a “quiet room” and told to leave or just shunned into submission?

I have a feeling Jesus would ask a lot of questions. I think He would be asking the same things He asked more than 2000 years ago.

Why are you making this so difficult?

PS. I don’t think Jesus would mind at all that I ask these questions. He would not feel threatened and would understand that the reason I ask them is because I do love His church.

1 Comment

• 
  Greg Ewert January 22, 2012 at 9:49 am

  A friend had invited me to see a special speaker at one of our larger churches. I got there a little late and I walked into a nearly empty foyer. There was this little guy standing in the middle of the foyer looking around. There was a table where someone was selling something, a book store, a place to get coffee, and an ATM machine.

  Our eyes met, and he said, What would Jesus Do?

  It just popped out… I said, Jesus tied a knot in the end of a rope and had a tizzy fit. He busted up the place and beat on people.

  The man smiled and said, Things have changed haven’t they… a guy could go to jail for that now.

  I said… Well, Jesus was eventually beaten to a pulp and hung on a cross.

  Tears came to his eyes and he exited to a side room. Turns out, he was the special speaker.