CRCF\u201d\u201d5\/1\/11<\/p>\n
Shane Claiborne<\/p>\n
Our goal was to capture people\u201d\u2122s responses to the word Christian, so we took a video camera and hit the streets, from the trendy arts district to the suburbs. We asked people to say the first word that came to mind in response to each word we said: \u201csnow\u201d, \u201cEagles\u201d (it\u201d\u2122s Philly), \u201cteenagers\u201d, and finally \u201cChristian\u201d. When people heard the word Christian, they stopped in their tracks. I will never forget their responses: \u201cfake\u201d, \u201chypocrites\u201d, \u201cchurch\u201d, \u201cboring\u201d. One guy even said, \u201cused-to-be-one\u201d. I will also never forget what they didn\u201d\u2122t say. Not one of the people we asked that day said \u201clove\u201d. No one said \u201cgrace\u201d. No one said \u201ccommunity\u201d.<\/p>\n
[By the way\u201d\u00a6there\u201d\u2122s a great conversation starter: What\u201d\u2122s the first thing that pops into your head when you hear the word \u201cChristian\u201d?]<\/p>\n
Brennan Manning<\/p>\n
The greatest cause of atheism is Christians who acknowledge Jesus with their lips, then walk out of the door and deny Him with their lifestyle. That is what an unbelieving world simply finds unbelievable.<\/p>\n
Shane Claiborne<\/p>\n
We live in an age in which people, when they hear the word Christian, are much more likely to think of people who hate gays than people who love outcasts, and that is a dangerous thing\u201d\u00a6There is something scandalous about grace. It\u201d\u2122s almost embarrassing that God loves losers so much.<\/p>\n
[Loser Sign Slide]<\/p>\n
But He DOES!<\/p>\n
[Loser Hat Slide]<\/p>\n
Beautiful Losers
\nMatthew 9:9-13<\/p>\n
We are a band of \u201cbeautiful losers\u201d who live to humbly invite other unrighteous people to follow Him, not to coddle the self-righteous!
\n[\u201cBeautiful Losers\u201d Slide]<\/p>\n
Matthew 9:9-13 (MSG)
\n9Passing along, Jesus saw a man at his work collecting taxes. His name was Matthew. Jesus said, “Come along with me.” Matthew stood up and followed him.
\nWe HAVE to pause to realize just how shocking this would have been that Jesus would even speak to a tax collector\u201d\u00a6much less call one to be His follower!
\nJewish tax collectors were traitors working for the occupying Roman Empire. If that weren\u201d\u2122t enough, they were usually crooked and greedy, using the authority of the local Roman soldiers to enable them get rich by taking far too much tax from their fellow Jews!
\nJesus calls one of these guys!
\n10-11Later when Jesus was eating supper at Matthew’s house with his close followers, a lot of disreputable characters came and joined them. When the Pharisees saw him keeping this kind of company, they had a fit, and lit into Jesus’ followers. “What kind of example is this from your Teacher, acting cozy with crooks and riffraff?”
\n12-13Jesus, overhearing, shot back, “Who needs a doctor: the healthy or the sick? Go figure out what this Scripture means: ‘I’m after mercy, not religion.’ I’m here to invite outsiders, not coddle insiders.”
\nWe are a band of \u201cbeautiful losers\u201d who live to humbly invite other unrighteous people to follow Him, not to coddle the self-righteous!
\nMatthew 9:9-13 (NLT)<\/p>\n
9 As Jesus was walking along, he saw a man named Matthew sitting at his tax collector\u201d\u2122s booth. \u201cFollow me and be my disciple,\u201d Jesus said to him. So Matthew got up and followed him.
\n10 Later, Matthew invited Jesus and his disciples to his home as dinner guests, along with many tax collectors and other disreputable sinners. 11 But when the Pharisees saw this, they asked his disciples, \u201cWhy does your teacher eat with such scum?\u201d
\n12 When Jesus heard this, he said, \u201cHealthy people don\u201d\u2122t need a doctor\u201d\u201dsick people do.\u201d 13 Then he added, \u201cNow go and learn the meaning of this Scripture: \u201d\u02dcI want you to show mercy, not offer sacrifices.\u201d\u2122 For I have come to call not those who think they are righteous, but those who know they are sinners.\u201d
\nWe are a band of \u201cbeautiful losers\u201d who live to humbly invite other unrighteous people to follow Him, not to coddle the self-righteous!<\/p>\n
\u201cBeautiful Losers\u201d??<\/p>\n
I\u201d\u2122ll use Jesus\u201d\u2122 words to define what I mean: \u201cthose who know they are sinners\u201d!
\nWe are a band of \u201cbeautiful losers\u201d who live to humbly invite other unrighteous people to follow Him, not to coddle the self-righteous!
\nBono
\nThe fact that the Scriptures are brim full of hustlers, murderers, cowards, adulterers and mercenaries used to shock me. Now it is a source of great comfort.
\nWe are a band of \u201cbeautiful losers\u201d who live to humbly invite other unrighteous people to follow Him, not to coddle the self-righteous!
\nLuke 18:9-14 (NLT)
\n9 Then Jesus told this story to some who had great confidence in their own righteousness and scorned everyone else: 10 \u201cTwo men went to the Temple to pray. One was a Pharisee, and the other was a despised tax collector. 11 The Pharisee stood by himself and prayed this prayer: \u201d\u02dcI thank you, God, that I am not a sinner like everyone else. For I don\u201d\u2122t cheat, I don\u201d\u2122t sin, and I don\u201d\u2122t commit adultery. I\u201d\u2122m certainly not like that tax collector! 12 I fast twice a week, and I give you a tenth of my income.\u201d\u2122
\n13 \u201cBut the tax collector stood at a distance and dared not even lift his eyes to heaven as he prayed. Instead, he beat his chest in sorrow, saying, \u201d\u02dcO God, be merciful to me, for I am a sinner.\u201d\u2122 14 I tell you, this sinner, not the Pharisee, returned home justified before God. For those who exalt themselves will be humbled, and those who humble themselves will be exalted.\u201d<\/p>\n
Here\u201d\u2122s a shocking and frightening thought\u201d\u00a6
\nUnless you are a \u201cbeautiful loser\u201d, Jesus has nothing to say to you!
\nShane Claiborne<\/p>\n
We are all murderers and adulterers and terrorists. And we are all precious. When we look through the eyes of Jesus, we see new things in people. In the murderers, we see our own hatred. In the addicts, we see our own addictions. In the saints, we catch glimpses of our own holiness. We can see our own brokenness, our own violence, our own ability to destroy, and we can see our own sacredness, or own capacity to love and forgive. When we realize that we are both wretched and beautiful, we are freed up to see others the same way.<\/p>\n
We are a band of \u201cbeautiful losers\u201d who live to humbly invite other unrighteous people to follow Him, not to coddle the self-righteous!
\nRonnie McBrayer
\nWho is it that you look down upon? Who do you compare yourself to in your quiet moments? The liberal? The fundamentalist? The Bible-thumper preaching on the street? The addict? Religion can convince its adherents that they are right, that they are better than others, especially these others who look and behave so different. But in reality, we all come to God with the same prayer: Lord, have mercy.
\nWe are a band of \u201cbeautiful losers\u201d who live to humbly invite other unrighteous people to follow Him, not to coddle the self-righteous!<\/p>\n
Conclusion
\nShane Claiborne
\n\u201d\u00a6community can be built around a common self-righteousness or around a common brokenness. Both are magnetic. People are drawn toward folks who have it all together, or who look like they do. People are also drawn toward folks who know they don\u201d\u2122t have it all together and are not willing to fake it. Christianity can be built around isolating ourselves from evildoers and sinners, creating a community of religious piety and moral purity\u201d\u00a6Christianity can also be built around joining with the broken sinners and evildoers of our world crying out to God, groaning for grace.
\nWe are a band of \u201cbeautiful losers\u201d who live to humbly invite other unrighteous people to follow Him, not to coddle the self-righteous!<\/p>\n
Here are a couple of questions that will help us figure out where we stand, how we live in relation to all of this:<\/p>\n
1)\tWhat am I good at?
\n2)\tWhat angers me? What do I despise?<\/p>\n
The answers to those two questions will help us see how self-righteousness comes out in our lives.
\nWe are a band of \u201cbeautiful losers\u201d who live to humbly invite other unrighteous people to follow Him, not to coddle the self-righteous!<\/p>\n
One more question to help us evaluate how we\u201d\u2122re doing inviting other unrighteous folks to follow Him:<\/p>\n
Who are the people you regularly hang out with?<\/p>\n
We are a band of \u201cbeautiful losers\u201d who live to humbly invite other unrighteous people to follow Him, not to coddle the self-righteous!<\/p>\n
Prayer<\/p>\n
Communion<\/p>\n
This table is for \u201cbeautiful losers\u201d\u201d\u201dfor those who know they are sinners who have been given beauty the only way they can get it\u201d\u00a6as a gift from Jesus, our Savior! As you come today, come reminding yourself of that truth\u201d\u00a6and come refocusing your life on inviting other unrighteous folks to follow Him!<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
CRCF\u201d\u201d5\/1\/11 Shane Claiborne Our goal was to capture people\u201d\u2122s responses to the word Christian, so we took a video camera and hit the streets, from the trendy arts district to the suburbs. We asked people to say the first word … Continue reading