I’ve been thinking lately about the number of well-known Christians who are publicly questioning, deconstructing, or even abandoning their faith. Some have been pastors, worship leaders, and influential Christian authors.
In 2019, Marty Sampson, a well-known Hillsong worship songwriter, publicly shared his struggles with Christianity. Among his frustrations, he asked, “How many preachers fall? Many. No one talks about it.” He also raised questions about the Bible, miracles, and the judgmental attitudes of Christians. ( see Crosswalk’s coverage of Marty Sampson’s statement.)
His concerns went beyond the behavior of Christians, but something about his frustration caught my attention.
I understand some of it.
I’ve been a pastor for many years. I’ve witnessed wonderful examples of Christian love, generosity, and sacrifice. But I’ve also seen hypocrisy, pride, division, and behavior that looks nothing like Jesus.
In fact, some of my deepest hurts have come from people I considered mature Christians. I’ve had Christian leaders lie to me and lie about me. I’ve been disappointed and wounded more by people who appeared to be spiritually mature than by almost any other group.
And I’m sure I’ve disappointed people along the way, too.
So when someone talks about being hurt by Christians, I don’t automatically dismiss their experience. I understand more than they might realize.
But here’s where I come to a different conclusion: I’m not leaving Jesus because of the failures of His followers.
Jesus never promised that Christians would be perfect. In fact, some of His strongest words were directed toward religious people whose lives contradicted what they professed to believe.
Peter denied Him. Judas betrayed Him. Thomas doubted Him. His disciples argued about who was the greatest. Yet none of their failures changed who Jesus was.
Why would I reject Jesus because someone else failed to follow Him?
But there’s another group of people I’ve been thinking about. Those who have never seriously investigated Jesus because of what they’ve seen in Christianity.
They’ve watched Christians argue, witnessed scandals, experienced judgmental attitudes, or been hurt by a church. And they’ve concluded, “If that’s Christianity, I don’t want anything to do with it.”
That breaks my heart.
Imagine rejecting Jesus without ever really getting to know Him.
It’s like refusing to read a wonderful book because someone who recommended it treated you poorly.
To those people, I’d offer a simple invitation: Before you make your final decision about Jesus, read one of the Gospels. Discover how He treated people. Listen to His words. Watch how He confronted hypocrisy, welcomed sinners, loved the broken, and ultimately gave His life for us.
Don’t let someone who poorly represents Jesus keep you from discovering who Jesus really is.
And to my fellow Christians, we need to ask ourselves a difficult question: Are we making people more curious about Jesus or giving them reasons to avoid Him?
When many followers turned away from Jesus in John 6, He asked His disciples, “Will ye also go away?”
Peter answered, “Lord, to whom shall we go? thou hast the words of eternal life.” (John 6:68)
That’s where I find myself.
I’m not defending everything done in the name of Christianity. Some things need to be confronted, corrected, and changed. Those who have been wounded deserve compassion, honesty, and accountability.
But my faith isn’t built on a pastor, a church, a denomination, a movement, or a Christian celebrity.
My faith is in Jesus Christ.
I’ve seen enough failures in Christianity to understand why some people want to leave. But I’ve seen enough of Jesus to know why I’m staying.
I may be disappointed in Christians. But I’m not disappointed in Christ.
And I want to spend whatever years God gives me helping people see the difference. Will you join me?
Because the answer to Christians who don’t look enough like Jesus isn’t less Jesus.
It’s more of Jesus.
Have the actions of Christians ever influenced the way you view Jesus—either positively or negatively? I’d love to hear your thoughts.