{"id":824,"date":"2013-01-20T18:39:01","date_gmt":"2013-01-20T18:39:01","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.crossroadchristianfellowship.org\/?p=824"},"modified":"2013-01-20T18:39:01","modified_gmt":"2013-01-20T18:39:01","slug":"beautiful-losers","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/www.crossroadchristianfellowship.org\/?p=824","title":{"rendered":"Beautiful Losers"},"content":{"rendered":"

Message by Chad Kelly<\/strong><\/p>\n

rec0120-113304<\/a><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Shane Claiborne<\/strong><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Our goal was to capture people\u201d\u2122s responses to the word Christian<\/em>, so we took a video camera and hit the streets, from the trendy arts district to the suburbs.\u00a0 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.\u00a0 When people heard the word Christian, they stopped in their tracks.\u00a0 I will never forget their responses:\u00a0 \u201cfake\u201d, \u201chypocrites\u201d, \u201cchurch\u201d, \u201cboring\u201d.\u00a0 One guy even said, \u201cused-to-be-one\u201d.\u00a0 I will also never forget what they didn\u201d\u2122t say.\u00a0 Not one of\u00a0 the people we asked that day said \u201clove\u201d.\u00a0 No one said \u201cgrace\u201d.\u00a0 No one said \u201ccommunity\u201d.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

By the way\u201d\u00a6there\u201d\u2122s a great conversation starter:<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

What\u201d\u2122s the first thing that pops into your head when you hear the word \u201cChristian\u201d?<\/em><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Brennan Manning<\/strong><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/strong><\/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.\u00a0 That is what an unbelieving world simply finds unbelievable.<\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n

Shane Claiborne<\/strong><\/p>\n

 <\/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.\u00a0 It\u201d\u2122s almost embarrassing that God loves losers<\/strong> so much.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

[Loser Sign Slide]<\/strong><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n

But He DOES!<\/em><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n

[Loser Hat Slide]<\/strong><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n

Beautiful Losers<\/span><\/em><\/strong><\/h4>\n

Matthew 9:9-13<\/p>\n

\n

We are a band of \u201cbeautiful losers\u201d who live to humbly invite other<\/span> unrighteous people to follow Jesus!<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

Matthew 9:9-13 (MSG)<\/strong><\/strong><\/p>\n

9<\/sup><\/strong>Passing 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.<\/p>\n

We 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!<\/p>\n

Jewish tax collectors were traitors working for the occupyingRoman Empire.\u00a0 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!<\/p>\n

Jesus calls one of these<\/em> guys!<\/p>\n

10-11<\/sup><\/strong>Later 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?”<\/p>\n

12-13<\/sup><\/strong>Jesus, 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<\/span><\/strong> outsiders, not coddle<\/span><\/strong> insiders.”<\/p>\n

We are a band of \u201cbeautiful losers\u201d who live to humbly invite other<\/span> unrighteous people to follow Jesus!<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

Matthew 9:9-13 (NLT)<\/strong><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/sup><\/strong><\/p>\n

9<\/sup><\/strong> 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.<\/p>\n

10<\/sup><\/strong> Later, Matthew invited Jesus and his disciples to his home as dinner guests, along with many tax collectors and other disreputable sinners. 11<\/sup><\/strong> But when the Pharisees saw this, they asked his disciples, \u201cWhy does your teacher eat with such scum?\u201d<\/p>\n

12<\/sup><\/strong> When Jesus heard this, he said, \u201cHealthy people don\u201d\u2122t need a doctor\u201d\u201dsick people do.\u201d 13<\/sup><\/strong> 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<\/span> <\/strong>they are righteous, but those who know<\/span><\/strong> they are sinners.\u201d<\/p>\n

We are a band of \u201cbeautiful losers\u201d who live to humbly invite other<\/span> unrighteous people to follow Jesus!<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n

\u201cBeautiful Losers\u201d??<\/strong><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n

I\u201d\u2122ll use Jesus\u201d\u2122 words to define what I mean:<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\u201cthose who know they are sinners\u201d and have run to Jesus for grace!<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Our sin makes us losers but His grace makes us beautiful<\/span>!<\/p>\n

We are a band of \u201cbeautiful losers\u201d who live to humbly invite other<\/span> unrighteous people to follow Jesus!<\/em><\/strong><\/strong><\/p>\n

Bono<\/strong><\/p>\n

The fact that the Scriptures are brim full of hustlers, murderers, cowards, adulterers and mercenaries used to shock me.\u00a0 Now it is a source of great comfort.<\/p>\n

We are a band of \u201cbeautiful losers\u201d who live to humbly invite other<\/span> unrighteous people to follow Jesus!<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

Luke 18:9-14 (NLT)<\/strong><\/strong><\/p>\n

9<\/sup><\/strong> Then Jesus told this story to some who had great confidence in their own righteousness and scorned everyone else<\/em>: 10<\/sup><\/strong> \u201cTwo men went to the Temple to pray. One was a Pharisee, and the other was a despised tax collector. 11<\/sup><\/strong> 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<\/sup><\/strong> I fast twice a week, and I give you a tenth of my income.\u201d\u2122<\/p>\n

13<\/sup><\/strong> \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<\/sup><\/strong> 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<\/p>\n

Unless you are a \u201cbeautiful loser\u201d, Jesus has nothing to say to you!<\/em><\/p>\n

Unless I readily admit my desperate sinfulness and need for God\u201d\u2122s mercy and grace, Jesus can\u201d\u2122t help me\u201d\u00a6because I\u201d\u2122m denying my need for His grace in my own self-righteousness!<\/p>\n

Shane Claiborne<\/strong><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n

We are all murderers and adulterers and terrorists.\u00a0 And we are all precious.\u00a0 When we look through the eyes of Jesus, we see new things in people.\u00a0 In the murderers, we see our own hatred.\u00a0 In the addicts, we see our own addictions.\u00a0 In the saints, we catch glimpses of our own holiness.\u00a0 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.\u00a0 When we realize that we are both wretched and beautiful, we are freed up to see others the same way.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Should the sin that we sometimes observe in others grieve us<\/em>?\u00a0 Absolutely<\/span>!<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

We should be grieved by the words and behaviors that grieve God!<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

But<\/strong> there is a fine line between being truly grieved by what grieves the heart of God and being offended by behavior that we think we\u201d\u2122re above and not capable of because we believe ourselves more righteous than the really bad people in the world!<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

If I haven\u201d\u2122t (and never do) sin as big as someone else, it is by the grace of God alone!\u00a0 <\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

It is NOT<\/span> because I am innately better than another person.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Do you truly believe that?<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Preacher\u201d\u00a6this is getting a little uncomfortable!<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Well\u201d\u00a6I think that was Jesus\u201d\u2122 intention in the stories He told!<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

The moment we begin to believe that we are innately better than someone else because we\u201d\u2122ve never done THAT, that we could never do the things they\u201d\u2122ve done, it is in that instant that we have put grace on the shelf and are living to show the world who WE are\u201d\u00a6NOT who Jesus is!<\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

We are a band of \u201cbeautiful losers\u201d who live to humbly invite other<\/span> unrighteous people to follow Jesus!<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

Ronnie McBrayer<\/strong><\/p>\n

Who 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.<\/p>\n

We are a band of \u201cbeautiful losers\u201d who live to humbly invite other<\/span> unrighteous people to follow Jesus!<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/em><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/em><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/em><\/p>\n

Conclusion<\/em><\/p>\n

Shane Claiborne<\/strong><\/p>\n

\u201d\u00a6community can be built around a common self-righteousness or around a common brokenness<\/em>.\u00a0 Both are magnetic.\u00a0 People are drawn toward folks who have it all together, or who look like they do.\u00a0 People are also drawn toward folks who know they don\u201d\u2122t have it all together and are not willing to fake it.\u00a0 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.<\/p>\n

We are a band of \u201cbeautiful losers\u201d who live to humbly invite other<\/span> unrighteous people to follow Jesus!<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

 <\/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

 <\/p>\n

1)\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 <\/em>What am I good at?<\/em> <\/em><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/em><\/p>\n

(How I think about my own abilities will affect how I relate to others)<\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/em><\/p>\n

2)\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 <\/em>What angers me?\u00a0 What do I despise?<\/em><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/em><\/p>\n

(How I deal with my own hot-button issues will affect how I relate to other)<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

The answers to those two questions will help me see how self-righteousness gets in my way and hinders me from reaching out to those who need Jesus almost as much as I do<\/span>.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

We are a band of \u201cbeautiful losers\u201d who live to humbly invite other<\/span> unrighteous people to follow Jesus!<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Prayer<\/strong><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n

Communion<\/strong><\/p>\n

\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 <\/strong><\/p>\n

\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 <\/strong>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!\u00a0 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":"

Message by Chad Kelly rec0120-113304     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.\u00a0 We … Continue reading →<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":5,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_exactmetrics_skip_tracking":false,"_exactmetrics_sitenote_active":false,"_exactmetrics_sitenote_note":"","_exactmetrics_sitenote_category":0,"_themeisle_gutenberg_block_has_review":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[6],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-824","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-messages"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.crossroadchristianfellowship.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/824"}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.crossroadchristianfellowship.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.crossroadchristianfellowship.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.crossroadchristianfellowship.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/5"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.crossroadchristianfellowship.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=824"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"http:\/\/www.crossroadchristianfellowship.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/824\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":826,"href":"http:\/\/www.crossroadchristianfellowship.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/824\/revisions\/826"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.crossroadchristianfellowship.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=824"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.crossroadchristianfellowship.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=824"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.crossroadchristianfellowship.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=824"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}