Vanilla Faith

The church is experiencing theological anemia. Tired and weak, we have moved away from our original purpose. Jesus did not follow a “vanilla” path of Judaism. He was a rebel, never fitting into religious circles, and instead focusing on the disenfranchised (Mark 2:15-17). So, how have we, the church, become so selective, exclusive and monochromatic?

Lisa stood on the corner by a liquor store near our church. A prostitute with a broken jaw from being beaten, she walked up the hill and begged for food. Although she was afraid of being turned away, Lisa had heard about Jesus as a child, and when she was at her lowest—hungry and hurting—she remembered Him.

Have we become afraid that the Lisas in our communities will show up at church and attempt to mingle in our Sunday morning services? How have we moved away from theological truth in search of our own comfort?

Friends, let’s not be weak in our theology. Let’s seek out the ones whom Jesus sought: the gay, the straight, the addicted, the prostitute, the church lady, the broken, the hungry—you and me. Everyone deserves to hear the Truth. Let’s take the risk and move away from the vanilla path of pursuit, as Jesus did. 

Take the step, He’ll lead.

Mark 2:15–17 (CEB)

Jesus sat down to eat at Levi’s house. Many tax collectors and sinners were eating with Jesus and his disciples. Indeed, many of them had become his followers. When some of the legal experts from among the Pharisees saw that he was eating with sinners and tax collectors, they asked his disciples, “Why is he eating with sinners and tax collectors?”When Jesus heard it, he said to them, “Healthy people don’t need a doctor, but sick people do. I didn’t come to call righteous people, but sinners.”