Whenever people use the word Christian in a conversation, I don’t assume they are using the term correctly (i.e., something that the founder of Christianity, Jesus of Nazareth, would recognize). Again, I’m not being critical here; we just live in a postChristian culture today. There’s simply too much misinformation out there. Moreover, people tend to repeat commonly used slogans or embrace a vision of Christianity that sounds curiously like twenty-first-century American values. In light of that, I have found that when I share what the New Testament actually teaches, people are genuinely surprised. In fact, many Christians I encounter also are surprised (and even resist) what I am about to share. So what do we do?
Well, lots of things! But in this post I will highlight just one. It’s a simple move, but has the desired effect. I don’t refer to Jesus Christ in conversations much anymore…I talk about Jesus of Nazareth. Why? Because Jesus was a real historical person who lived in the 1st century and is not as easily dismissed. Don’t get me wrong, I believe that Jesus is the Christ and defend that view with passion and confidence. But my goal is to get people thinking about Jesus in a way perhaps they haven’t in a long time (or even ever done). Jesus is real. He is not in the category of the Easter bunny.
Question: What is one way today you can disrupt the predictable flow of a conversation with Jesus of Nazareth?
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