Frank Viola writes:

In recent years, the evangelical Christian culture has picked itself up off the floor after being stunned to discover that many of its beloved preachers and music artists have renounced Jesus Christ.

Not long ago, one such leader explained that stepping off the Jesus train was a long process for him. He gave a peek into his heart along with his wife’s saying:

“We didn’t enjoy going to church. We didn’t enjoy reading the Bible. We didn’t enjoy praying. We didn’t enjoy worship. It all felt like obligation, and our lack of enthusiasm about those things always made us feel like there was something wrong with us.”

He went on to say that they realized they simply didn’t believe anymore. And after admitting it, they felt relieved.

He also offered the Old Testament as a reason for denying Jesus Christ (as is virtually always the case). You know, those blood-drenched stories about a “violent God” who loses his cookies whenever someone looks at Him the wrong way.

The leader explained that he “searched for answers,” asking the pastors he knew hard questions, but their answers didn’t satisfy him.

Here’s the thing. I can identify with ALL of this person’s sentiments. But it didn’t cause me to renounce Christ.

It caused me to FIND HIM.

Let me whip out an epic bullet point list to explain what I mean:

• I stopped enjoying “going to church” in 1988 when I left the organized church. But then I discovered organic body life — which is what we find in the New Testament. And although it’s extremely rare at the moment, nothing compares to it.
• I stopped enjoying “reading the Bible” until I learned how to discover Christ in its pages, and find “the story.” Ever since then, the Bible has been an exciting adventure and profoundly beneficial.
• Praying is unenjoyable for most mortals. If by “prayer” you mean the way most Christians pray. Fellowship with the Lord, however, can be powerful, exciting, and life-changing. Unfortunately, most believers today are unaware of the many different ways to commune with God.
• I stopped enjoying “worship” years ago, if by “worship” you mean standing with your hands in the air following the lyrics to an overplayed “contemporary” praise song as the “worship team” performs on stage. That’s all fine and well, but it’s an extremely limited view of worship. Worshipping Jesus Christ in reality runs far deeper, and it’s much more varied.
• I stopped doing ANYTHING out of religious duty long ago. In fact, I gave up trying to live the Christian life. In turn, I discovered the secret of serving God out of joy and out of life rather than obligation, which can be crushing.
• And to this erstwhile Christian leader (if any of you shares this post with him), nothing is wrong with you, dude. The problem is that you kept your “search” limited to the other celebrity speakers and pop writers. I don’t read them myself for the reasons you stated. I’ve heard it all before, and there’s little to no LIFE in it.
• Most of the pastors I have known throughout my life couldn’t answer most of the “hard questions” I pelted them with. But I didn’t stop there. I looked beyond them.
• As for the Old Testament and the reliability of Scripture, I wrestled with all of that, but found answers that were completely satisfying. But they are largely unknown in the mainstream Christian world where paying for Facebook ads and YouTube views is what dominates. Everything else gets lost. It’s a bit like US Presidential elections. The smartest, brightest, most capable, most gifted leaders in the country couldn’t run if they wanted because they lack the big bucks. So they’re largely unknown to the world.
• He didn’t mention this one, but I have money hidden in my socks that says he’d agree. But I’ve always found “the Christian side hug” to be rather silly.
• The leader I’ve been referring to deserves a taco. (Forget that. I just wanted to make sure you’re still paying attention.)

Indeed, if you keep pulling at the threads of a sweater, it will unravel until the sweater disappears.

But in the case of Jesus Christ, if this is your experience, you’re pulling on the wrong sweater.

The genuine sweater is available if you look hard enough. And it can’t be unraveled.

So it was for me and millions of others.

My point is that this leader and others like him never went to any of us who could identify with everything he wrote, even publishing books and podcasts on it, offering solutions out of real-life experience.

Thankfully, God is raising up a new generation of hot hearts for Jesus Christ who have the fire of the gospel of the kingdom burning inside them. And I’m honored to know many of you.

When the day comes when this tribe takes to the streets, the fire burning in their bellies won’t be for a cause – no matter how good that cause may be.

It will be for JESUS CHRIST AND HIS EVERLASTING KINGDOM!

The Insurgence has begun … don’t miss it!

The bottom line: Unless you have genuinely encountered the Lord Jesus Christ, you’ll always be in danger of falling away from “the faith.”

But if Jesus Christ gets into your pores, it’s impossible to scrub Him out.

Until next Thursday,

Grace, peace, and frontal bear hugs,

fv

Psalm 115:1