Here-a-tic, there-a-tic, everywhere a heretic!

What would you think if you weren't taught what to think?

I hate that question. A friend of mine threw this little book of questions in my lap one day, and flipped me to that unnerving question. I nodded my approval, than wondered, Was he pointing that attack at me? Perhaps I hate the question because I'm in the business of teaching people what to think. Or, perhaps -and more likely - I hate the question because no one has yet taught me how to answer it.
I speak english because I was born in America. I wear blue jeans because that's part of my culture. I fear immigrants, homosexuals, and evolutionists because that's what those around me did. And let's own up to some pretty basic truths: I'm a Christian today primarily because my folks are too. And not just Christian, but Mennonite, which narrows the playing field quite a bit all on its own. And as I'm learning in the land of Oz, Mennonites are different here than the conservative Ohio bunch I hung up with growing up. All this to say, have I ever had an original thought in my entire life? Probably not, but I'm not sure it really matters.
But it does matter to me that I don't just slurp up the party line and allow myself to get washed away in the sea of apathy currently known as Western Christianty. I want to actually be a follower of Jesus. Maybe its time I stop being a Christian, suck it up, and start following the only person I have pledged my everything to. No, I'm not talking about Hannah either. Though wedding vows are about as cool as it gets. Of course I mean Jesus. That guy that's been so domesticated by "testamints" and WWJD bracelets its laughable for me as a pastor to even say his name.

So what's a heretic anyway?

But Jesus was crazy! I mean, that guy wasn't the cute fluffy white guy with a bathrobe that we all grew up watching dance around the flannel graph. No, he was accused of all kinds of stuff. He broke the law, he laughed in his pastors face, he drank so much wine they called him a lush. But his main act was the way he treated people. Geeks, outcasts, loners, winners, leaders, prostitutes, left-behinds were all totally able to connect with this guy. And they hated him for it! They hated the way he connected with everyone, and didn't allow some to have more than others. He was a heretic.
What's a heretic you ask?
Someone who comes along with a new set of eyes and sees things differently. Someone who's able to see through all the bs in our lives and churches. He was the kind of guy who made it rain frogs, and people would come running to him. A heretic is someone who comes along and flips our world upside down, so we can finally see God. Jesus helps me to see God in our completely screwed up world. But here's the catch. If people would have really embraced Jesus, he wouldn't be a heretic, he would have been a hero. But they killed him. They couldn't see. They couldn't accept that the New Thing he was about was a good thing. They thought he was crazy, and worse- demon possessed. Thing is, they were crazy! or worse. And if Jesus was a heretic, I'm left wondering if I should be too. Especially when some other guys who had unlimited faith were seen to be heretics too, maybe that's not so bad. Martin Luther King Jr. was considered to be a heretic, and so they shot him. Michael Sattler and the Anabaptists were called heretics, before they were burned at the stake. The Original 12 were all crazy heretics from their religions perspective, and so many of them died violently.
But most of us just go to church: stand, sit, sing, when we are told. Nothing radical about that! Is it Christian? Sure. But that's not what it means to follow Jesus.

What would we all be doing right now if we didn't have 200 years of Western Christianity to tell us what to do? I have no idea, but perhaps somewhere in there we'd be following Jesus. That's my hope. That's my life goal. Not a weekend home, or an SUV, not my name in lights or an early retirement. I want Jesus, plan, simple, and in his completeness. And that folks, is a revolution! It's dangerous, and it means I'm going to get my ass kicked (mostly by God). But my passion is with Christ, and not upholding the status quo anymore. I want more humor in my life, and more joy. And the only way that's going to happen is by joining the ranks of the heretics. I've tried it the other way, and it just doesn't work. It sounds ridiculous to me too, but right now, for whatever reason, that feels good.

Welcome to 20First Century Heretic!