Michael Boggs - What Would Jesus Undo

I heard a sermon recently that blew me away .

Yes, I know its hard to believe, but worship leaders and musicians do pay attentionto sermons. Most of the time.

I was leading worship at a youth conference in Pigeon Forge, Tennessee, when a well-knownspeaker named Shane Claiborne stepped onto the platform. I had never heard him before,so I was excited. I knew he had lived an interesting life and had made several sacrificesto walk with Jesus in a manner that wasnt common or expected of a Christian leaderlike himself.

He hit the stage that night wearing really baggy pants and dark-rimmed glasses. Imusually pretty good at getting an accurate read on someone by just spending a fewminutes with them. My first impression of him was that he was gentle and compassionate.He began to speak, and immediately I was engaged by his charisma. At some point duringhis message, I found myself on the edge of my seat as he cited statistics on howunchurched people view Christians. He was quoting a book called Unchristian. He saidthat several hundred non-Christians had been asked a simple question:

What are the first few things that come to your mind as you think about the wordChristian?

Their answers were alarming. The top three responses were antigay, hypocritical,and judgmental. Nothing good or positive made it into the top ten responses, andlove never made the list. I literally said out loud, Are you kidding me? Love nevermade the list? The Scriptures say that the world will know us by our love.

Brennan Manning is heard at the beginning of the dc Talk song What If I Stumblesaying, The greatest single cause of atheism in the world today is Christians whoacknowledge Jesus with their lips, then walk out the door and deny Him by their lifestyle.That is what an unbelieving world simply finds unbelievable.

As I listened to Shane in Pigeon Forge that night, I was sad. I was troubled. I hatedto think that this is how many non-Christians perceive the church. It upset me tothe core of my being to realize how many people might never see Gods love in us.And I recalled my pastors frequent remark that it seems as though we are most knownby what were against rather than what were for.

That night I had to admit that he is right. Realizing this broke my heart. I hadto do something about it. But what could a red-headed musician from Berryhill, Oklahoma,do about a problem so huge, so widespread?

Strange as it may seem, I got my question answered because of grilled chicken anda baked potato. Thats what I was having for lunch at J. Alexanders one day whileI was meeting with a worship leader friend of mine whom I deeply respect. She wascatching me up on the latest series at her church, which they were calling What WouldJesus Undo. As she spoke that short phrase, my eyes lit up. I stopped her and said,Thats a great title!

Several times I had asked myself the simple, popular question What Would Jesus Do?I had at least ten W WJD bracelets in junior high and high school. In assorted colors.(I was trying to be fashionable and spiritually conscious at the same time.) I hadheard that question asked in a jillion sermons, but I had never thought about whatJesus would undo.

Jesus was already undoing something inside me, but I didnt know what yet. I walkedaway from lunch that day thinking about the sermon I had heard from Shane. What wouldJesus undo about the way we Christians treat people, or about the way we act bothinside and outside the church? More importantly, what would he undo in me concerningthe way I represent him to a world that desperately needs him?

As I pursued this line of thinking, I began to research what Jesus sought to undoor change in the hearts and minds of the people he walked with and preached to. Ifound that Jesus tried to break down a lot of walls, and he fought to destroy certainways of thinking. Exactly what did he try to change, and how can I help put thosethings in bold print so people, including myself, can learn to represent Jesus andhis teachings in the best possible way?

If were going to ask the question, What Would Jesus Undo, I believe its best tolook into Scripture and see what he tried to undo during his ministry on earth. Weneed to search for any parallels between his message then and our culture now. Studyand research reveals so many parallels that one book cant possibly hold them all.Jesus would undo a lot. In the following pages we will examine some of the wordsof Jesus and then ask ourselves: What Would Jesus Undo?

(One helpful hint: first ask that question to yourself. I have found that its veryeasy to point to others and preach about what Jesus would undo in them. Do your bestto point that finger back at yourself.)