I am a Christian, but...

January 1st. 2006. A new year. A new opportunity. Will I seize it? Will you? I'm not much of a New Year's Eve kind of guy, so we didn't do too much last night. I'd like to say once more, in reference to the last entry, that I am glad I'm a Christian. God is faithful and just and merciful. He has been our provision in numerous ways, especially in the past few months. It's just that I'd rather be known as a regular guy who has a great friend named Jesus to those who don't know Him. I want to be able to relate. I want to be a relevant Christian.
While I'm on the topic, I'm going to share something that is like a pet peeve of mine. I love my church. I love the people, the sense of love that is there and the conversations we have about life and God. I love my pastor and he is an intelligent and wise man. Here comes the but...But I have this problem of sorts. We have something we call Ignite and Invite. It isn't anything new to me. It is a reminder that we are to ignite relationships with the unchurched and then invite them to the services at our church. I know the heart of my church family. If someone comes to know Jesus, they'd' love to have that person grow and worship and serve alongside them. But if they chose another place to go to church and were faithful, they'd still rejoice. I feel that way, myself. So to me, Ignite and Invite means igniting relationships with those who don't know Jesus and inviting them to know Him. This is done by being Jesus to that person. Even in that I have doubts though. We should never ignite relationships with people with some agenda of converting them or getting them to come to church. It seems like a lie. You can show someone you love them by being a great friend and praying for them. Even let them know you pray for them. But to come with ulterior motives of getting them to know Jesus, as good a thing as that is, it's lying.
So what do we do? Well, as I said in the last entry, we are given a command and a commission. Love God and men more than yourself and make disciples. To me, they are the same thing. Loving people will create disciples. More later as it is time for me to get to church.