Reading the Wineskins blog this morning, this was a comment on one of the articles. I thought it was great and makes a fabulous point. Hope you enjoy it.
Fajita said... here.
Saturday, February 12, 2005
2 comments:
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jettybetty said...
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I think Fajita nailed this one.
JB -
9:27 PM
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Judith said...
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I agree with the fact that many Christians are living in a Christian Ghetto. I also agree with 1-5 of Escaping the Christian Ghetto. However, if we just sit back and wait for the people in our lives to ask about something they don't even know they are missing, we may never have the chance. It is only recently that I've been striving to be more like the Christians in Acts. They preached the truth immediately and boldly into the lives of those around them, even those who were persecuting them. Isn't salvation an urgent issue? I'm not talking about banging people over the head with it, but at least let them know who are, how God made you that way and challenge them to seek God. Read the book of Acts cover to cover it will inspire and challenge you as it has me.
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9:01 AM
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I've heard the term "Christian ghetto," a lot lately and I think this is at least in part what you are talking about.
The Christian ghetto, as I understand it, is that network of relationships that all center on the Christian religion. Furthermore, there are few or no meaningful relationships that extend out of that network of relationships. So, even though everyone in the world is not just like you, you think they are(or should be) because the only people you ever associate with are people of your kind.
We need to get out of the ghetto. And, experience tells me that just sitting around hoping things will be different does not make a difference.
Escaping the Christian Ghetto:
1. Survey your relational (not necessarily geographical) neighborhood.
2. Determine whether or not you associate with people of another kind in any significant way.
3. Assess your level of ghetto-ness. (Low scores for most people being just like you, high scores for associating with a wide variety of people).
4. If your "score" is low (many evangelical Christnas will have lower scores), then label that a problem that needs correction.
5. Intentionally seek ways to develop relationships with people not of your religious kind, eceonomic kind, ethnic kind etc.
6. When you come into contact with those people, absolutely refuse to convert them.
7. GASP! Be good news to them. Give them lots and lots of experience of your goodness. Your faith will come through, and you won't come across as peddling religion. Now, if they start asking you a bunch of spiritual questions, answer them or wonder with them. If they give you permission to ask them questions, go ahead.
8. Never let the relationship hinge on their answers, their questions, or their conclusions. Loving someone for the sake of loving them, even if they do not "come to Jesus," is not evangelsitic failure. It is following Jesus.