Hi Ricky
I read your holiday greeting. Thank you. It was great that you took the time to let us know what is on your mind. No matter what people say, your position takes a certain amount of courage. I respect that.
Before we go any further I need to tell you I'm just another guy. My friends know me as "The Swell Guy", but really I'm just an average Joe. I'm nothing special. Should this letter actually reach you it will be good to know what you are dealing with.
In your letter you cited a quote from Gandhi which was "I like your Christ, I do not like your Christians. Your Christians are so unlike your Christ." I love that quote. I've used it myself a number of times. I'm embarrassed by many things Christians have done in the name of Christ. It sucks. In fact, for the last number of years I have called myself a "Christ-Follower" because I wanted to distance myself from the term "Christian". I've tried to say, "I love Jesus, but I am not with some of those other folks".
To be truthful, I don't even think the word Christian is a good term. Christ invited us to come follow him. That is it. He did not lay down a bunch of the garbage we are led to believe a good Christian does. For the last five hundred years the church has come up with a lot of crap that has nothing to do with following Jesus.
So by now you are catching on that I love Jesus. Yes, I am a Christ-follower. I am not ashamed to say it shapes and defines my life. It makes me a stronger person. You may believe it is a weak crutch, but that is not true. I can assure you of this. My relationship with Christ is very true, and deep, and real.
Your piece was well written. I would expect no less. However, I must say it is not accurate. We Christ-followers no longer live under the Old Covenant which includes the 10 Commandments. In other words, I'm not the hair splitting type, but Jesus was not an Old Testament dude.
We try to live the better way shown by Jesus. It is not based on rules. It is wild, subversive, and free. Really. Just check out the actual words of Christ to the religious scholars of his day.
You accurately point out the flaws that are found in many Christians. You are right. On behalf of many of us who love Jesus, I apologize. Our crowd has made a mess of things. We can be pretty stupid.
Here is the thing, I believe many of your perceptions have be formed based on your encounters with Christians and life experiences. I can assure you there are many of us who follow Christ who are not so legalistic or judgemental. Many of us prefer rock & roll to church music. We watch people like you on the telly instead of "The 10 Commandments". Yes, I threw in that patronizing last line for free, but I am a fan. I think a few days with folks like me and my friends would show you what authentic faith looks like.
We really don't care if you swear or drop the "F Bomb". We will likely laugh. I can tell you we are not homophobic and we are pretty big on things like mercy and social justice. And we simply love to laugh. You may find we are much like you and your friends. Except we live with a larger purpose in life.
Now, I want nothing, absolutely nothing, from you, but if it helps I would welcome a "home and away". In other words I would be completely comfortable living in your life for a few days with the deal that you will participate in the life of me and my friends for a few days. What do you have to lose? If you are right you will have a rich resource of material of throw in the face of the church people or whatever you want to call us. Of course, you do risk being shaken to your core and meeting this man called Jesus for real.
Here is the thing. I love you enough to invite you even though I do not know you personally. In my book, you are not judged. This is not a publicity stunt. No one would know about it unless you decide to say something. How about it? Are you confident? Are you ready? Let me be a little more forceful. Are you just being a jerk or do you want to know for sure?
May your life be filled with peace and love, and yes...humor
K. Allen Ziegler
