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Being ridiculed for our beliefs is a burden Christians must bear. This is not easy but it should not be a surprise. If Jesus was mocked and the early church was called a sect, why should we expect the world to understand us?
It is natural to feel frustrated at times. Christians are misrepresented constantly on television and there is little we can do. We have the truth, but it seems the other side always has a bigger voice. We feel cheated and long for someone to sit behind a microphone or stand in front of a camera and set the record straight about the Bible. Even if that is not possible we would be glad at least to see a few Christians in the public spotlight who are not regarded as idiots by their peers.
Have you gotten excited when you learned that some famous person was a Christian? Has anyone ever mentioned a well-known athlete, entertainer, politician, or television personality and asked you, “Did you know he is a member of the church of Christ?” This is rare but when it is true we are pleasantly surprised. If a member of the church will be true to Christian principles, he can use the recognition he gets to throw some light into a dark world.
There is room for caution, however. We don’t need a famous person to validate the Truth for us. The Truth stands on its own. It is good when anyone stands up for it whether he is well-known or obscure, but the Truth is not any more true because a man says it.
A newspaper among churches of Christ frequently highlights some powerful or famous person who has some connection to churches of Christ. The reason for the attention is not that the individual has outstanding Christian character or exceptional Bible knowledge. It is simply that he is before the public, and therein lies the problem.
Members of the church become excited and get in too big of a hurry about such personalities. Some years back a lawyer and professor who was a member of the church appeared on national television to speak out against a book written by a famous actress. When brethren found out he was a member of the church, they started inviting him to lectureships. Later they discovered that he denies the eternality of hell and suggests that some may be saved without being baptized. A family of church members landed their own television series a few years ago. Colleges quickly invited them to speak and church members repeated the ill-suited expression “They’re church of Christ!” Now we know they produce their own label of wine and thereby promote a drug that has caused more harm to this world than words can describe. When will brethren learn? Are we so desperate for a notable person to legitimize our beliefs that we will settle for such compromises?
The early Christians didn’t look to a Roman senator or a famous philosopher to vindicate their beliefs. They weren’t interested in being mainstream. Whether a Christian was in Caesar’s household (Phil. 4:22) or in prison (Philemon 10), he was in Christ and that’s what matters.
Kerry Duke
West End Church of Christ
Livingston, TN