Are You a Good Christ? By Francis Chan

I think it's time we stop asking ourselves the question: "Am I a good Christian?" We live in a time when the term "Christian" has been so diluted that millions of immoral but nice people genuinely consider themselves "good Christians." We have reduced the idea of a good Christian to someone who believes in Jesus, loves his or her family, and attends church regularly. Others will label you a good Christian even though your life has no semblance to the way Christ spent His days on earth. Perhaps we should start asking the question: "Am I a good Christ?" In other words, do I look anything like Jesus? This question never even entered my mind until a friend of mine made a passing comment to me one day.

Dan is a long time friend of mine. In fact, he's the pastor who performed my wedding. He was talking to me about a pastor named Von. Von has been working with youth in the San Diego area for decades. Many of his students have gone on to become amazing missionaries and powerful servants of God. Dan described a trip to Tijuana, Mexico with Pastor Von. (Von has been ministering to the poor in the dumps of Tijuana for years). Dan didn't speak of the awful living conditions of those who made their homes amidst the rubbish. What impacted Dan the most was the relationship he saw between Von and the people of this community. He spoke of the compassion, sacrifice, and love that he witnessed in Von's words and actions as he held these malnourished and un-bathed children. Then he made the statement that sent me reeling:

"The day I spent with Von was the closest thing I've ever experienced to walking with Jesus."

Dan explained that the whole experience was so eerie because he kept thinking to himself: "If Jesus were still walking on earth in the flesh, this is what it would feel like to walk alongside of Him!" After that discussion, I kept wondering if anyone had ever said that about me-"The day I spent with Francis was the closest thing I've ever experienced to walking with Jesus." The answer was an obvious "no." Would any honest person say that about you?

What bothered me was not that I hadn't "arrived," but that I wasn't even heading in the right direction. I hadn't made it my goal to resemble Christ. I wasn't striving to become the kind of person who could be mistaken for Jesus Christ. Isn't it ironic that a man can be known as a successful pastor, speaker, and CHRISTian even if his life doesn't resemble Christ's?

1 John 2:6 "Whoever claims to live in him must walk as Jesus did."

When John made that statement, he wasn't speaking about how to be a church leader or even how to be a "good" Christian. He merely stated that anyone who calls himself Christian must live like Jesus did. So how did Jesus live? You could make a list of character traits to compare yourself to, but it would be far more beneficial to simply read through one of the Gospels. After you get a bird's-eye view of the life of Christ, do the same with your own. Are you comfortable with the similarities and differences?

It's easy to get caught up in the pursuit of "success" as American church-goers define it. The thought of being well-known and respected is alluring. There have been times when I've been caught up in the fun of popularity. I've even mistaken it for success. Biblically, however, success is when our lives parallel Christ's. Truth is, there are many good Christs that you'll never read about in a magazine. They are walking as Jesus walked, but they are too focused and humble to pursue their own recognition.

May we make it our goal to someday have someone say of us: "The day/hour/15 minutes I spent with ______ was the closest thing I've ever experienced to walking with Jesus."

As Christians in America, we often complain about how antagonistic people are toward Christ. Personally, I'm not sure that Americans are really rejecting Christ. Maybe they just haven't seen Him.

Try to be COMPLETELY honest with yourself right now. Is the following true of you?

You passionately love Jesus, but you don't really want to be like Him. You admire His humility, but you don't want to be THAT humble. You think it's beautiful that He washed the feet of the disciples, but that's not exactly the direction your life is headed. You're thankful He was spit upon and abused, but you would never let that happen to you. You praise Him for loving you enough to suffer during His whole time on earth, but you're going to do everything within your power to make sure you enjoy your time down here.

In short: You think He's a great Savior, but not a great role model.

The American church has abandoned the most simple and obvious truth of what it means to follow Jesus: You actually follow His pattern of life. I pray for those who read this article- that we don't become cynical or negative toward the church. Instead, let's make a personal decision to stop talking so much and begin living like Jesus. Then we can say as the apostle Paul, "Follow my example, as I follow the example of Christ" (1 Corinthians 11:1). My guess is that you've never had someone say that to you, and you've never said it to anyone else. Why Not?

Francis Chan is the pastor of Cornerstone Church and the president of Eternity Bible College in Simi Valley. In addition to being a pastor, Francis speaks to thousands of youth throughout the U.S., challenging them to deeper commitment. He can be heard on his radio program "Truth Be Known." Francis has a great sense of humor, a genuine love for Christ, and a commitment to teach straight from the Word of God. Francis and his wife Lisa have been married for twelve years and have three daughters and one son: Rachel, mercy, Eliana, and Ezekiel. He is a graduate of the Master's College and Seminary.

Hold the Ropes, Sept 09 [Becker newsletter]

Greetings from Moscow!

-- and welcome to all our new friends and prayer partners receiving this newsletter for the first time. It was so good to be in your churches and homes, getting to know each other and forging our partnership in this work of spreading the Gospel. You may have noticed that our family e-mail update is called "Holding the Ropes." It recalls to our mind a dear friend of ours who went to be with the Lord. Kathi, dedicated herself to pray for us in 1994, when we were preparing for the mission field. I had preached a sermon, using as an illustration a missionary who told his congregation, "I feel as if we are descending into a pit. We are willing to take the risk and go, if you will promise to hold the ropes." From that day, in every bit of correspondence, Kathi would remind us that she was "still holding the ropes." We cherish that memory and the assurance that many of you faithfully lift us up in prayer, holding us steady in times of blessing and challenge.

We've been here for two months now and are thanking the Lord for His grace in getting us off to a good start. We have settled into the office apartment, quickly transitioned into the field director responsibilities, and the children have started school well. Looking back on the calendar we see meetings with national church leaders, trips to visit with our missionaries in various cities and guests in our own home. In all these interactions, God has been faithful to provide wisdom, direction, ability and trust in Him. We have been growing in our dependence on the Lord and in the joy of serving Him.

We are particularly grateful for our many families that have recently returned from home assignment, visas in hand, to get back to ministry here in Russia! Thank you for your tireless intercession regarding the visa situation! It continues to be an issue fraught with hoops and red tape and some of our folks currently have only 3 month visas, so KEEP ON PRAYIN'! Still, we are thankful for each one that is able to be here at all and blessed that in some cities the visa situation has improved greatly. For example, in Moscow we have been granted the right to request visas for 15 families nest year!.

Looking ahead in the calendar we see Field Leadership Team (FLT) meetings beginning Monday and more travels for Tom. We would particularly like to ask you to pray for these FLT meetings. The focus for the September meetings is discussing overall field strategy and the continuing visa struggles we have in some of our cities, and what implications those struggles have for the direction we take as a field. Please pray for wisdom in that.

You can also join us in praying for an office helper. The right person could really take a load off of Tom and free him up for things that don't get done. So we're asking God to bring us a bi-lingual, mission-minded, team-playing, initiative-taking, competent person to work beside us in the office. Someone who would count that kind of work a ministry.

Some of you may be wondering about Tom's health. He continues to feel quite healthy. He is still on surveillance after the tumor was removed but is now on a once every 6 month schedule instead of every 3 months. In conjunction with some of his upcoming travels, he will be checking in with his doctor at the end of this month. We're trusting the Lord for another "all clear".

The children seem to be doing well in school. Ross and Anna are at Black Forest Academy in Germany (Anna for the first time) and Carrie is here with us attending Hinkson Christian Academy. If you would like to join us in praying for them, we're asking the Lord for guidance for Ross (at 17, he's looking for direction in decisions about his future), faith and strength for Anna (she works hard in school and is feeling a bit overwhelmed by the load) and unexpected blessings for Carrie (suddenly an intermittent only child, a great opportunity to get closer to her parents and grow).

Once again, we're so grateful for your partnership with us through prayer. Its a sobering responsibility to lead our team here in Russia and we so want to be sensitive to the Lord's guidance.

In Christ's love,

Tom and Miriam Becker