Dan Merchant - Lord, Save Us from Your Followers: Why Is the Gospel of Love Dividing America?

2008 by Dan Merchant

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Published in Nashville, Tennessee, by Thomas Nelson. Thomas Nelson is a registered trademark of Thomas Nelson, Inc.

Lord, Save Us... movie stills by permission of Zacchaeus Film Group

Come Home Sweet Child lyrics 2006 Sam Martin Music

Quotes from The Pythons 2003 John Cleese, Terry Gilliam, Michael Palin, Terry Jones, Eric Idle and the Estate of Graham Chapman

The Gospel For Well Intended Idiots... comic illustrations by Kyle Holvek

Rogers Story illustrations by Joel Mandish

Graphics, interview stills and additional art by James E. Standridge

Interior design and typesetting by Kay Meadows

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Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data

Merchant, Dan.

Lord, save us from your followers : why is the gospel of love dividing America? / by Dan Merchant.

p. cm.

ISBN 978-0-8499-1993-0 (HC)

ISBN 978-0-8499-2082-0 (IE)

ISBN 978-0-8499-6485-5 (SC)

1. Christianity and culture--United States. 2. United States--Church history. I. Title.

BR517.M47 2008

306.6'773--dc22

2008003179

Printed in the United States of America

This book is dedicated to all the people I met along this journey who were willing to share a little of themselves with me. Thank you for sharing, listening, provoking, challenging, forgiving, and loving.

I also dedicate this book to my wife, Kara, and my boys, Nick and Nate, who have supported, encouraged, and participated in this journey. I am so grateful to be on this long road of life with you.

Table of Contents

I think America has become a bumper-sticker culturewere way too comfortable with one-way communication. We like to tell people what we think, but we dont like to listen, and I fear weve lost the fine art of conversationwhich explains why I was standing in Times Square on a late Tuesday night in December dressed like a human bumper sticker. Call this a creative attempt to resurrect dialogue and understandingor as my wife affectionately put it, I cant believe youre going to go out in public in that stupid suit just to have a conversation with a stranger. Yes friends, desperate times demand desperate measures.

I should let you know that I was taping my adventures in conversation if I could actually engage people in genuine conversation, whose beliefs might vary from mine, then I wanted some proof for the skeptics.

Crossing Broadway I strode confidently in my Bumper-Sticker Man Suit toward Jimmy the cinematographer, who kept pulling his headphones off and making that I cant hear anything face.

The wireless wont work with all this interference. He shrugged. I followed his hand as he gestured at the plethora of glowing video screens, neon signs, and electronic billboards that define Times Square. I noticed the ABC television studios across the intersection and the MTV studios above me. I was probably not the only guy on the block with a wireless microphone.

Could be the radios in the taxi cabs, Jimmy thought aloud.

The interference could be caused by small bursts of evil emanating from MTV, I said with a straight face.

After twenty years of friendship and labor together, Jimmy merely cracked a smile and kept working, Youll have to go handheld. He pitched me the stick microphone.

I noticed a couple strolling down the wide New York City sidewalk toward us, Were on, I whispered. My eyes got wide as I gestured at the pair with my eyebrows. It might have looked like a nervous condition to the untrained eye, but Jimmy understood my subtle signal and in a flash he had the camera on his shoulder. Young Jim Bob from Wichita, Kansas, spun his finger in the air to indicate were rolling.

As the couple approached they couldnt help but be drawn in by the mesmerizing power of the bumper-sticker suit. Their momentary bemusement was all the opening I needed.

Hi, can I ask you five quick questions for a documentary film were making? The tall handsome man with gray hair and beard, glasses, and a gray jacketwho reminded me a little of Harrison Fordexchanged a quick glance with his cute, bespectacled companion. Okay, sure, he answered and introduced himself as Lou.

DAN: How do you think the universe began?

LOU: With a big bang.

DAN: Where do you think youll go when you die?

LOU: Nowhere.

DAN: Just in the dirt someplace?

LOU: From whence I came.

DAN: Anytime you can work poetry into an answer youre in good shape. All right, third question: Name something Jesus Christ is known for.

LOU: [thoughtful pause] Raising the dead and caring for the poor.

DAN: Those are two pretty excellent feats. Okay, name something the Christian people are known for.

LOU: Today? Selective hatred and intolerance.

DAN: The ball kinda got dropped somewhere along the way?

LOU: Between Jesus and the Christians I think it was dropped a long time ago.

DAN: Okay, last question: Ive heard the phrase culture wars. Do you know what this phrase means?

LOU: The culture wars? Sure, its secular culture thats based on reason opposed by religious culture based on superstition.

DAN: So following Jesus is a superstition or are you saying religion, in a broad sense, is superstitious?

LOU: Believing in Jesus... [Lou breaks up laughing] I dont believe Im doing this... yes, following Jesus as He is followed today, as a religious icon, is superstition. Following Jesus, the man, who is probably, in some way, a Son of God, is not.

DAN: I appreciate the distinction; I see where youre going with that. In conclusion, Id appreciate it if youd take a moment to gaze upon my suit. I am Bumper-Sticker Man. Is there a particular emblem or bumper sticker that speaks to you?

Lou took a moment to study the bumper-sticker suit before selecting a favorite.

LOU: Lets see... I like God Spoke and Bang It Happened. I think that fits nicely with Darwin and the Jesus Fishnot a Jesus Fish but a Fundamentalist Christian Fish.

DAN: [laughs] Thanks. The whole idea with this suit, well, it seems to me like complex ideas are being reduced to simple bumper-sticker slogans and that seems good enough for a lot of people. What are you finding?

LOU: I find that I agree with you. Complex ideas are reduced to bumper-sticker statements and there is no conversation between the two extremes that are represented on your costume. I shouldnt say costumeon your clothing, sorry.

DAN: No, Im not offended by costume because were having an open dialogue; this is how we do it. Were actually having a conversation.