I’m sorry if my church has offended you. Really, I truly am. In my opinion, the church of America today is the furthest thing from the church God intended. It’s no wonder so many Americans have rejected Jesus and his “Christian” followers. Quite honestly, I think Jesus is turned off, too.
In case you’re wondering, I do consider myself a Christian. But in no way do I consider myself superior to someone who is not. In fact, I could probably make a list of hundreds, if not thousands, of people who have lived far better lives than I have who are not Christian. I’m just an average teen who realized that life is too messed up to go through alone. So I’ve chosen Jesus to walk the road with me. I’ve come to the conclusion that I am not perfect, nor could I ever be perfect. And the amazing thing is that Jesus loves me in spite of that.
Isn’t that absolutely wonderful? Truly, that is the essence of who Jesus – someone who consistently loves us in spite of us. He sees past all the brokenness and imperfections we may have. He doesn’t care who we are and what we’ve done. He’s not embarrassed to be seen with us.
But, let’s get real, how many Christians do that? I mean, truly love those outside of their comfortable, “clean” little circles. How many modern “Christians” do you meet who are actually willing to leave their safety zone and befriend the all the social “rejects”. You know who I’m talking about. The losers, the outcasts, the geek, the nerds, the sluts, the alcoholics, those “dirty” people. Apparently, we’re afraid of becoming dirty as well so we make it our priority to avoid them and cast our judgments as they walk in our path. And so that’s why millions of Americans have stopped attending church. Instead of a safe, all-inclusive, loving place where people are free to ask questions and search for truth, it has become a place of judgment and ridicule, with a list of mandatory, unwritten rules.
I truly believe that this is not what Jesus would have wanted. In fact, it’s far from the example he provided for us. He didn’t spend his ministry years preaching in the temples and synagogues. He spent his time loving and spending time with the tax collectors, lepers, and adulterers. Sound familiar? Jesus did not care what religious “rules” were being broken. When questioned by those self-righteous, hypocritical Pharisees on why he chose to spend time with these “sinners”, he responded, “It is not the healthy who need a doctor, but the sick… For I have not come to call the righteous, but the sinners.” (Matthew 9:12-13, NIV)
So tell me, Christians, are you willing to step outside your comfort zone and love the unlovable? Or will you be like the Pharisees and stay away to keep yourself “clean”?  The world is parched. Let’s water it.