I have started sleeping with my eyes open since I became a Christian.
I have met some seriously boring Christians. Their whole
life seems to be one long sermon over stewed tea in a china cup and a rich tea
biscuit. They always seem so serious and live in a world of grey suits, brown
shoes and magnolia walls. Their idea of fun is a bored game (note spelling) and
a big night out would be a treasure hunt.
They listen to old fashioned songs, read old fashioned books and talk
about old fashioned things in an old fashioned way. If that’s Christianity then
it is boring. In truth these kinds of people would put me off Christianity for
life.
Thankfully the vast majority are not like that. In truth I
have met some seriously boring people in all walks of life; from football to
family to my previous job as a firefighter. (No I am not going to mention
names)
I suppose boring is a matter of personal opinion and taste.
I find cricket boring while others travel the world to cheer on their team; to
be honest, if the West Indies were playing England in my back garden I would
close the blinds.
Church can be boring,
I don't dispute that, but a few boring services or churches does not give an honest appraisal any more than a bad football
team or a boring match makes the entire sport boring.
One thing is for sure, Jesus never intended his people to
be boring. He challenges us all to be like Him... now here is a guy who
leaves home alone and sets off on a three year trek around Palestine followed
by a bunch of fisher men, tax collectors, call girls and publicans. He heals
the sick, mocks the religious, sleeps rough, bbq's fish on the beach and
parties with sinners.
The early church explodes across Asia and into Europe with
radical disciples. Not a whiff of bored in sight. Take Paul for example. The
last 15 chapters of the book of Acts reads like an Indiana Jones script. Ok so
the Apostle Paul didn't have the hat, chinos and whip but his adventures at
times make Harrison Ford look his age.
Paul sets sail and travels far and wide facing countless
perils. Coming face-to-face with all kinds of bad guys, getting captured, escaping,
taking a beating and then coming back for more. Paul is a hero of the faith, a
swash-buckling, globe-trotting, death-defying action man. Let me give you an overview of those last 15 chapters:
Paul sets sail in chapter 13 to Cyprus where he confronts an
evil magician and out-duels him leaving the poor guy temporary blinded and
vanquished. He sets sail for Pamphylia
and those in power conspire against him and so he flees to Iconium where he is
attacked and again dashes off to Lystra.
In Lystra he is stoned and dragged out of the city and left
for dead; and if you think Harrison Ford can take a punch, read how Paul goes
back into the city to finish the job at hand.
A few cities later and after being called to Macedonia he is thrown into
prison in Phillippi. The future looks
bleak and just when it seems like he had ran out of options suddenly an
earthquake comes , shaking open the prison doors and Paul is free.
In Chapter 16 he races off to Thessalonica where a lynch mob
in the market place seek to finish him off and so he escapes to Athens. In
Chapter 17 he displays more wisdom than Professor Henry Jones as he gives a
lecture to a gathering crowd before dashing off on a boat to Sierra. Then in
Ephesus he starts a riot and in Greece they plot to kill him. It’s one cliff
hanger after another.
Now back in Jerusalem, he is arrested at the temple and
carried away by soldiers. A ferocious crowd of 40 men take a vow not to eat
again until they have killed Paul; a hit squad. Surely there is no way he will
escape.
In chapter 23 the cavalry arrives and 400 Roman soldiers
defend him against the angry mob. He is brought before the King who finds him
innocent, but decrees that he must go to Rome to face another trial. While on
the ship to Rome, they face a terrible storm and are ship wrecked in Malta.
Paul survives only to be attacked by a poisonous snake which he throws off.
His story finishes off in a prison in Rome awaiting trial.
Boring? Far from it.
Now I am no Paul but my own 20 years of following Jesus have been one
awesome adventure that has taken me from the ghettos in New York to the slums
in India. From building pig pens in Eastern Europe to nursing HIV kids in Africa.
Everyday there is a new challenge to face and a new opportunity to be the hands
and feet of Jesus.
Maybe you have been to church in the past and your
experience of Christianity has been marginally more exciting than tidying your
sock drawer. On behalf of all every right thinking Christian I apologise to
you; Jesus never intended it to be that way.
Read the bible and find out for yourself. Visit a local
evangelical Church and don’t be put off by first impressions... but if it is
boring then tell them.
Christianity is not just a pie in the sky when you die; it's
a steak on the plate while you wait.
Onwards!
Mitch
