A few years ago a question swept through youth groups all
around the country: "What Would
Jesus Do?"
I've always thought it was a good question though some
thought it not. It seems to be a
springboard question, a question that awakens us to other questions. How does Jesus see things? What is Jesus' opinion of this or that? I wonder where Jesus might draw a line on
issues that face the church and the world today? How would Jesus integrate Himself into the
lives of people in a post-Christian world?
How pushy would He be? How laid
back, how vocal?
These questions lead to others. How do we rightfully hear what God is saying
to the world today? What matters to Him
today that didn't seem to matter in the past? Or, visa versa, what mattered to
Him in the past but doesn't seem to matter now? How would He Speak truth in kindness? What would that truth be?
I've always believed the Church was to be an alternative
community in the world—God's alternative community. It seems today, however, that the influence
of the culture is re-creating the culture of the church. In many sections of the world's cultures the
church seems not to be an alternative community; it is more of a chameleon
community that blends in with the culture.
How would Jesus do church in the twenty-first century? Would he still call people away from sin? How much would He allow the prevailing culture
to inundate itself into His Church? What
would His teaching on "Your kingdom come.
Your will be done, on earth as it is in heaven" look like? What kind of authority would He have in an
age when every authority of every kind is called into question? How would He teach love? How would He teach forgiveness? Would he still call the adulterous woman away
from her sin? How would He go about
calling people into a holy walk with God without being accused of practicing
intolerance? How committed to tolerance
would He be? Would He judge the world in
light of the standards of His kingdom?
Would His definition of love be in tune with the teachings of I
Corinthians 13 or Matthew 5:43-48? Would
He still call good trees, good trees and bad trees, bad trees? Would He still teach, "Those who exalt
themselves will be humbled, and those who humble themselves will be
exalted" (Matt. 23:12).
Maybe the question before us, however, is not "What
Would Jesus Do?" Maybe the question is "What's the world going to do
with Jesus?" Better yet, the
question might be, "What's the Church going to do with Jesus?"
