Tony Morgan posted the following list recently on his blog. The title alone got my attention, the #1 through #10 made me think... and a couple made me wince.I'm not a fan of masochistic Christians who feel that self-degradation helps purge us of all that ails us (and there's quite a bit that ails us). I sense that Tony (whom I've never met, but have read for several years what he's written) is not encouraging Christians to collectively poke ourselves in the eye... but to take another one of those challenging and honest looks at ourselves.
Read Tony's ten reasons and see if you think he's being mean-spirited, or painfully insightful... or somewhere in between.
1) They consistently seem angry and bitter and worried. I thought Christians were supposed to reflect joy and kindness and peace.
2) They don’t dream big dreams. That seems odd given the fact that we’re supposedly worshiping a God who is “able to accomplish infinitely more than we would ever dare ask or hope."
3) They seem to worship their theology more than Jesus. For whatever reason, this appears to be especially true for folks that come from a reformed theology.
4) They don’t like it when other people or ministries experience success.
5) They use prayer as an excuse for inaction. They’re waiting for God to do his thing, but they aren’t willing to step out in faith and obedience.
6) They’re more concerned with the BMW next door than the lost person who drives it. Christians hate people with money. They’re willing to sacrifice time and money for those without it, but they’re satisfied to let “rich” people go to Hell.
7) They would rather people live life without Jesus than give up their personal preferences. What happens when your preferred teacher doesn’t teach? What happens when your preferred worship leader doesn’t lead? What happens when you don’t like the music?
8) They are fake. They dress up a certain way on Sunday and they live as completely different people the rest of the week.
9) They think they’re better than other people. That’s why they create rules to follow. It helps differentiate why they are holy while others are not.
10) They’re comfortable with mediocrity. Doesn’t matter where. Think Christian music and movies. Think how we invest our time and money. You don’t seriously think God deserves our best do you?
