I have been reading my way through Perspectives for the last few months.  If you have never done this, I’d highly recommend it.  I came accross this statement from Stephen Hawthorne this morning, “no people should reject Christ because of the impression that He is calling them to commit cultural suicide.”   My own paraphrase of Acts 15:19 would go something like this.  “we should stop making it difficult for people who are not like us to follow Jesus.”

Rather than start a rant, which my fingers are so itching to do, I’ll play coach and ask questions:

• What cultural barriers are you creating or  maintaining that would keep someone from wanting to follow “your Jesus?”
• In what ways is your expression of church more centered in your own cultural experience than what is essential to know Jesus?
• How would your language change if you were serious about communicating with people not like you?
• Who is different from you that you know well enough to ask these questions?