Which Jesus?

Now and then I will write about how the concept of Jesus, especially a "different" Jesus, has been a constant throughout history since Jesus died and was resurrected. Today, we have many different Jesuses both in and outside of the church. Many evangelicals today have the "good guy-help the poor" Jesus, but the "crucified-bore our sins Jesus" seems to be vanishing in many quarters. Here are some examples:

In many emergent churches we hear about being "Jesus Followers" (or "Christ Followers"), but the cross is somehow missing. We find out that being a Jesus Follower means to follow what he said and did for the poor. His healing miracles are either ignored or explained away as an analogy of "healing" society.

Here is another example. Recently, I found out the Bible is being translated for Hindus in India. It is called New Community Bible. This sounds nice until you find out what's in it. The parents of Jesus are portrayed as poor Indians in an Indian village. I wonder if that might be too much leeway. There is a reason to portray Mary and Joseph as Jews so one can gain the understanding of how the Jewish law and rituals and Jewish leaders played a part in the whole Jesus story. But what wll really throw many of you for a loop (it did me) is this particular Bible, put out by the Catholic Church, brings into the reference commentary, Hindu texts from the Bhagavad Gita and other references to Hindu gurus' writings. This is meant to "explain" what Jesus said. But at times there are references that seem to equalize the words of Jesus to the words of certain Hindus.

Jesus was the Son of God and putting in Hindu texts and writings, even as commentary to explain, deosn't really explain this. And this brings me to the point of what is happening in missions in the evangelical world. I am getting more and more concerned about this. The sense today is that we need to make Christianity and Jesus so compatible with the thinking and religion of the ones being evangelized that Christianity loses it's essence. This is a reaction, I believe, to the centuries of arrogant western Christians trying to force their culture and thinking systems upon the ones to whom they were evangelizing. But as usual with human beings, including Christians, we tend to go to the opposite extreme to fix the other extreme. Again, I do hope we'll find the perfect middle--that middle that Aristotle called The Golden Mean. It's the postmodern trend of Hegelian synthesis trying to mesh two opposites (the thesis and antithesis) together to make a new truth (the synthesis).

Here is another example of how many churches are marginalizing Jesus and the cross, especially in their youth groups. Remember, the youth are going to be the next generation of chruch leaders. We have already had decades of clown youth group, but sadly, instead of things getting better, I believe they are getting worse in most youth church groups. Here is a typical focus. I took it from a well-known, large, and basically good church that supposedly is dedicated to bringing folks to the Lord. Here is what they say at their website in the youth section:

"Come and take a look at what's going on in the teenage world, where students are connecting to God and each other! There is nothing more exciting than a bunch of teenagers who are having fun and you're not quite sure what will happen next! Numerous chances to hang out and have fun take place before and after (groups name) on Wednesdays, to going out to eat with a group on Sundays and everything in between! Come see just how much fun you can have with us!"

Look at another well-known large church in its area and it's youth section:

"High School Ministry provides students with a time and a place to honor God through worship. Our students understand that true worship is doing everything to the glory of God, whether that takes place on the court, in the classroom, or at their jobs.
High School Ministry provides students with the opportunity to hear preaching which is focused on their age group. Because we believe that sanctification is a direct result of the washing of the water by the Word, we are committed to faithfully and accurately preaching the Word of God. Our messages focus on what the Bible says about issues that are unique to teens, a luxury which other ministries can’t afford because of the diversity of ages within their groups. And because the people in our ministry are often wrestling with whether their “faith” is based on learned behavior or genuine belief. The gospel is presented clearly and regularly.
High School Ministry encourages our teens to exercise their spiritual gifts in ministry opportunities. For example, our students make several trips each year to minister to patients at the (name of) Medical Center. These outings give our students the opportunity to proclaim the gospel and pray as Jesus would with people who are hurting physically and spiritually.
High School Ministry offers opportunities for our students to spend time with mature spiritual leaders who can establish personal relationships with them.
High School Ministry is committed to equipping our students for godliness. We do this by teaching our students how to study the Bible for themselves.
High School Ministry provides our teens with “small-group” accountability. Groups of four or five meet bi-monthly with staff members to discuss their relationship with the Lord. These groups give students the opportunity to confess their sins, share their burdens, and pray for one another as they pursue personal holiness.
Finally, High School Ministry provides teens with fun in the context of Christian fellowship. Our ministry provides excursions to the beach, ski trips, and many other events."

Which Jesus do you want your children to know? And, which Bible to you want your children to read? And which Jesus do you think will save your children?

We can do better than this and we must for the sake of the next generations. Jesus went to the cross for a reason. It wasn't to bring justice to society through the church and government. It wasn't so youth can have "fun, fun, fun until Daddy takes their T-Bird away...." (Beach Boys song). It was to bear our sins and sicknesses upon Himself in our place (Matt. 8:17) so we can become sanctified (means to make holy) and go to heaven. In the meantime, of course we want to live out our life to help others. That is a given. But there is more to Christianity and the real Jesus than feeding the poor (and then going back to your nice suburban home at night). We must have the right foundation BEFORE we do the works.