Christian Jerks

My latest column came out yesterday in the BGCM E-Message, the free monthly email newsletter of the Baptist General Convention of Missouri. The piece is entitled "Christian Jerks." It deals with recent examples of Christians acting rudely and why we need to avoid such types of behavior. Here are a couple of excerpts:

Last month there were several reports about Christians acting rudely and mean-spiritedly. It seemed that the summer heat must have wilted the spiritual fruits of love, joy, peace, and kindness.

... In each case the Christians involved seemed to be genuine and concerned Christians. However, the way in which they delivered their messages actually drove people away. What the world really needs from Christians is not just to hear about Jesus but to hear and see his love in us. We all encounter enough jerks in our lives (especially, it seems, while driving). It is tragic that Christians would be part of the problem and not the antidote.

I hope that as Christians we will work harder to think about the potential consequences of our messages and the way we deliver them so that we can show people the love of Jesus instead of driving them away.