The Christian Ghetto

Justin Lookadoo, an amazing Christian youth author and public speaker, talks about this in one of his books entitled "The Hardest 30 Days of Your Life". As I was scimming through the chapters, Chapter 11 caught my eye - CHRISTIAN GHETTO. I flipped to it and read it a few times. Wow, this so true! Here's what Justin says...

"We as Christians have created our own ghetto. We have our own Christian schools, Christian newspapers, Christian TV shows. We have our own language, look, our own way of doing things. We don't even need to leave our Christian community. We have everything we need. We have seperated ourselves from the world so that we don't have to venture out. We are safe in our ghetto. When strangers come around, we stare at the because we know they don't belong."

He gives the Bible passage Matt. 9:9-13. In this passage, Jesus tells tax collector Matthew to get up and follow Him. And then, He goes and eats with more tax collectors. When the Pharisees see this, they are all flipping out over Jesus because He went out of the Christian Ghetto to hang out with people from another "hood".

And Jesus is the perfect role model.

We need to get out of own little "ghetto" and reach out to those sinners. How else are we supposed to witness to them? In a book that I am doing right now "How To Stay Christian In High School" (:-D) this kid named Mark talks to the author about how everybody tells him to not have any nonChristian friends, yet when it comes time for a youth outreach and they tell him invite his nonChristian, it sends a mixed message. "How can I have nonChristian friends if I can't hang out with them?"

Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit. (Matt. 28:19)

Now, I'm not saying that living in a Christian atmosphere is wrong. Definately not. We need that to make our lives to thrive for Christ. But, what I'm saying is that we need to step out of our "comfort zone" I guess we could call it, and go out into the world and bring in those sinners. Be fishers of men, men! (and women!) Go out with your Christian friends, so that you have somebody to correct you if you get too heavily influenced and for support. God will support you. But, most importantly, go out with the entire armor of God (Ephesians 6: 10-18) . God will be with you as you explore the other "hoods". Stand strong for Christ.