This is something I have been thinking about lately also. Does my life look any different than anyone else's? There is no certain "look" of a christian, but some christians find that a certain look is an easy way to hide from it or to judge with legalistic ideas. If you are out on a Sunday afternoon and you have tattoos and piercings and a mohawk then the first thought people won't have is about your relationship with God, but if you have the nice suit with nicely trimmed hair or a girl with a trendy skirt and sandels you must be a very committed member of your church. Its our society that puts labels on people based on how they look. I don't think Jesus intended us to have a certain look on the outside, but its the heart that he intended to be like his.

http://bestof.provocateuse.com/images/photos/christian_bale_98.jpg
I think this is one way that a Christian can look. I like this way.

i don't even like to call myself a christian because people just assume that i am an ass hole if i do. i prefer the term christ follower . . . and i try to let them know that i am not one of the judgemental jerks that call themselves christians but don't love as christ does.

So I come from a tradition that defines themselves based on what they are not. THey are the ones who don't use instruments, who don't let women speak, ect.

I think those of us who are trying to step away from an exclusive and arogant Christianity still have a tendancy to define ourselves based on what we are not (judgemental, legalistic, etc). What if we tried to define ourselves based on what we are or on what we want to be. How would that change us and our verbiage?

It's not that our verbiage defines us. I think that if we begin to define ourselves in healthy and valuable ways it will then in turn change the way we speak and communicate with others.

...for example...rather than defining myself by saying that I am not the judgmental old fashion traditionalist who is close minded and says that everyone is wrong but those who agree with me; rather than that I would say that I am a Christian who beilevs in grace, who believs that he doesn't have everything right, who is trying to think creativly so that he can understand God and spirituality in greater and more full terms, who thinks that there is much to learn from other religions and philosophies and world views even if I disagree with them on a theological or philosophical level, who chooses love over hate, peace over war, war over injustice, etc...

...that was just off the cuff, but that would be a little bit of how I would like to define myself as a Christian/Christ follower/Jesus Freak/etc. That new definition encompases more than simply a member of the Churches of Christ or of any denomination. It does more than to group me with "those" people who hate homosexuals and women who have abortions. I think it groups me more with Jesus than anything else...maybe not, but I sure hope so.

Excellent, love it! »