Abandoning the Name

“Then Barnabas went to Tarsus to look for Saul, and when he found him, he brought him to Antioch. So for a whole year Barnabas and Saul met with the church and taught great numbers of people. The disciples were called Christians first at Antioch.” (Acts 11:25-26 NIV)

The name really doesn’t mean much anymore.  It originally was a demeaning label given to those in Antioch claiming to follow Jesus.  It literally meant “follower of the Christ.”  Those who followed Jesus proudly embraced it. However, since Constantine made Christianity the official religion of the Roman Empire in the 4th Century, the name has become increasingly tainted.  As a 2007 study noted, those who refer to themselves as “Christians” fall into five broad categories, with only one (19%) group truly following Jesus and two groups (45%) only acknowledging a belief in God but not in Jesus.  

The name was once a simple description—one who follows the Christ, but no more.  Now, the vast majority of Americans identify themselves with the name, but not with its essence.  There is nothing about them or their lives that indicates they are followers of Jesus.  It is just a meaningless label.  Politicians calling themselves Christians are often corrupt and involved in sexual affairs.  Business owners calling themselves Christians can be greedy and treat their employees with contempt.  Students calling themselves Christians can join the crowds on the weekends for nights of heavy drinking.  Dating couples calling themselves Christians can be sleeping together on a regular basis.  In general, people calling themselves Christians can be leading wholly self-absorbed lives without any real desire to follow the Christ.

While the name, “Christian,” used to have a powerful meaning, it is literally meaningless now, given that people on such a broad scale attach to it such different meanings.  For those of us who take the name for its very essence, it probably is time to abandon it.  Telling people you are a Christian no longer conveys what you really want them to know—that you are a follower of Jesus and live for Him.

Today, if you truly are a follower of Jesus, then say so directly.  “I’m a follower of Jesus.” Or, “I’m a Jesus-follower.”  I believe that will get peoples’ attention and convey what you really mean.  

© Jim Musser 2013