Grassroots Disciples

“Ye seek me… because ye did eat… and were filled,” (John 6:26). Can the same be said of us? Do we seek Jesus just so he can fill our tummies? Don’t get me wrong, it’s better to seek him for this reason alone than not at all. Yet I can’t help but wonder how many discontinue their seeking when most primal needs are met. In keeping the last tract’s mention of Teddy Newman’s Heaven, the novel goes out of it’s way to make the point that for many, religion is little more than the perfunctory obligation of tradition. People engage in it to not let down the expectation of their families. Some may genuinely enjoy it as well, of this I am clear. However, I argue, Christ can be sought and found outside religion.

In the above verses, I see those who adhere to orthodox Christianity as they that seek Christ to fill their bellies, and not for his miracles. Why do I say this? Because if we’re honest, there’s a pretty penny to be made by “following the rules and falling in line with the crowd.” How so? If I were an ordained minister, I could pastor a church and derive an income from my evangelism. I could publish books that would get the seal of approval from traditional Christian publication houses, because I’m toeing the company line and not rocking the boat. If I worked on my preaching to emulate popular megachurch pastors, I could make quite the splash gaining both fame and money in abundance for myself. Then Jesus would be filling my belly indeed.

Yet I refuse this path. Why? Because I maintain that Christ is not exclusively found inside modern church buildings or via safe, sound, run-of-the-mill “Christian programming.” To quote directly from my novel on page 125,

I feel religious organizations literally build walls, doors and locks around God, when true Evangelism goes out into the streets, where people are, where sinners go about their day to day lives, and meets with them at eye level in their own surroundings. Jesus went out into the streets to look for people, He didn’t build grandiose, gothic cathedrals and demand that people come to him, paying high tuition fees in money, time, and sacrificial saintliness. The very idea of sainthood, on this side of eternity, is laughable. Jesus Himself said, “They that are whole have no need of the physician, but they that are sick: I came not to call the righteous, but sinners to repentance.”

And so to me, being a follower of Christ is about searching for His miracles out in the street, so to speak. I get nothing from gathering on a weekly basis with “the righteous,” tucked safely behind the walls and beneath the roof of million-dollar church buildings. Where’s the evangelism there? Instead I write what I write, without the backing of an established sponsor or stamp of approval of a mainstream denomination. I am an outcast for Christ. To quote Cyril Connolly, “Better to write for yourself and have no public, than to write for the public and have no self.”

This is the harder road to take. It is rebellious. I disdain religious authority. Does this mean there’s a problem with me, personally? There may be. However I don’t have time to question myself and over analyze the situation. I am now a forty year old man who is forging his way in the world as an author, novelist and independent thinker.

I have chosen what I have chosen, have written what I have written, and will write what I will write.

And the funny thing is that now whenever I listen to preachers or read their sermons, I am aware of the thinly-veiled manipulation in their speeches and writings. I do not doubt that many are genuinely doing it for the right reasons, with all the best intentions. However they’ve been conditioned to believe that they are the sole possessors of truth, and that is a lie. I don’t know if my mission is to work against them. At the end of the day I’m in favor of anyone who evangelises on behalf of Christ. But nothing will change my anti-establishment stance.

People resist preaching. No one wants to be sermonized. Now less than ever. So my challenge is, how do I preach without preaching? How do I sermonize without sermons? I have come to the conclusion that I can best and most effectively preach via my example: my day-to-day life evangelises better than words ever will. And my life example is not that of your average churchgoer. I drink with friends on occasion. I love loud, live music preferably among large, rowdy crowds. I enjoy dancing. I’m not a prude. But none of that overrides my passion for evangelism and propagating the gospel of Jesus Christ. Is this an oxymoron or worse, hypocritical? No, it is not. Why? Because again, I’m not Christian nor do I pretend to be. I like to find people and meet with them where they already are, instead of forcing them to change and come around to my turf to follow my (or more accurately, my pastor’s) laws and decrees.

I think Jesus needs more of us grassroots followers. Unpretentious, non-religious disciples.

Let’s win souls for Christ by our example, our speech, our actions (even the wild ones). Let our love set the example. Let our acceptance preach louder than bible verses. Two-thousand years of pastoral preaching has barely made a dent in the scheme of things. It is no longer enough, if we hope to make it to that next level, if we hope to reach the unreachable. We have to stop demanding that people stop being themselves and start drinking the kool aid of our local congregations. This philosophy may not help put “butts in the seats” of your church and it will not increase your preacher’s salary. But it may just bring previously unconverted souls to our God. And at the end of the day, what’s more important than that?