WHAT WOULD JESUS DO?

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?"