If you believe the Bible, they are.  So why do we have to act self-righteous?  Why do we try to pretend that we have it all together all the time?  Non-Christians are always skeptical of Christians who act one way but then eventually slip up and act another way.  And if you wait long enough, everyone slips up.  Instead of claiming we’re perfect and life is perfect and then proving ourselves liars, why don’t we share the Truth.  We’re not better than anyone else.  We’re sinners who have been saved by Grace.  Forgiven but not because we deserved it and not even because we had the foresight to choose Christ; but because He loved us first. 1 John 4:19

Maybe if we approached our non-Christian friends more humble about our own sin.  More willing to seek their forgiveness and their mercy.  Willing to listen to them as much as we’d like them to listen to us.  Maybe then, they would see something different in our lives that would reflect Christ.

It’s very difficult to explain what the experience of Jesus is like in our own lives.  We can try but our reflection is still distorted and tainted by our own sin.  However, we can try to be honest, love others unconditionally, and be what we say we believe.  We can try…

2012 Reach Your World Poster

We’re only a few months away from conference time!  I hope you’re actively sharing with your friends (ages 11-19) about the weekend and encouraging them to attend!  This is a powerful weekend for Christians who want to experience God and grow deeper in their faith; but also for non-Christians who have questions and are looking for answers.

To assist you in promoting this in your church and around your school, we have free promotional materials you can download on our site.  Click HERE for a video, poster, or bulletin insert to print off.  And if you need help or have any questions, please contact Heather@ReachYourWorld.net.

We’ll see you soon!

This was not a t-shirt but a bumper sticker I saw a few years ago.  At first glance, it was offensive.  Does this person despise Christians so much that they want nothing to do with us?  But after thinking about it, I began to realize it was an indictment on modern-day, western culture Christianity.  We’re not like Jesus like we want to be.  We’re unauthentic, unloving, uneducated, wannabes.

Okay, that’s a little harsh.  I’m not saying that all Christians are like that.  Maybe its just me.  But it can seem that way.  I have a friend who is a hard core atheist.  She’s an awesome person who is funny, entertaining, and one of the best people to hang out with, but she voices her opinions boldly.  One day I was talking to her and she shared with me that in her experience, Christians were the most unloving of anyone she had ever met.  I asked what she meant and she explained it this way.  You see, when a Christian comes around her, they like to share about Jesus and talk to her about changing her life around.  And she’ll put up with it for awhile.  But as soon as she lets them know how stupid she believes God is and how she’ll never turn to that belief system, she tells me that her Christian “friends” go away.  She said they can handle loving me up until the point that I disagree with their opinion. She finds this ironic since she has friends that differ with her on politics, morality, and even other religions.  But no Christian friends.  Not one.

When are we going to take seriously the idea of loving someone unconditionally?  My friend nailed it.  Christians today are so consumer-driven that we don’t want to love someone who is different (the way Christ loves us).  We just want to be right.  And hang out with other people who also believe we’re right.  And live a nice life with a nice car and a nice house in a nice church surrounded by nice people who can all love us too.  Suffer for our faith?  We’ll do that once a year on a mission trip. After all, loving people you don’t have to hang around the rest of your life is easy. But spending time with a cursing, atheist, pro-choice, democrat and love her unconditionally?  Most of us just do not want to try.

God, if you’re there, why are things so messed up in my life? Why is my family falling apart? Why is the world so corrupt? Why do I hear about your love but I can’t seem to feel it? Why am I so messed up?

These are the questions we welcome to the 2012 Reach Your World Conference. This is not a place that you need to come and fake it. This is a weekend to be real. If you’re doubting, then we’ll deal with it. If you’re alone, then let’s talk about it. If you’re scared, let’s be bold together. If you’re angry, we want to hear it. If you’re confused, we want to know about it.

Believe it or not, we believe that church is a place for sinners, not for perfect people. That’s what Jesus said in Mark 2:17. “It is not the healthy who need a doctor, but the sick. I have not come to call the righteous, but sinners.” And it’s true. Jesus loved sinners like you and me. He ate dinner with the sinners. He hung out with them. And He ministered to them.

We realize its a dilemma that our churches today seem to attract the self-righteous and repel sinners, but that is not the way it “should” be. We all need to first be honest with ourselves as we approach this weekend to go deep with God. You’re not alone in this. We are all struggling. We are all searching for answers. And we’d love for you to come along and experience God with us. See you soon.

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