Friday, July 11, 2008

wotm? wtf??

i'm not a fan, by any means, of way of the master. for the uninitiated, wotm is a "ministry" that kirk cameron is a part of that takes to the street trying to convince people to become christians. not too long ago, they made asses of themselves debating an atheist group, who also made asses of themselves, on network television. i first heard of them through anne, because her brother used to be into them. recently, i was thinking about their methods.

they start by asking random people on the street, "do you think you're a good person"? most people say, "yes" so they then ask if the person has ever broken one of the ten commandments. of course, everyone says, "yes" so the follow-up question is, "then are you really a good person"? i'm probably leaving something out, but that's the gist of it. the idea is to convict the person, and make their conscience get to them. now, this can work all well and good if, in fact, the person believes in the bible. but if he or she doesn't, then it's pretty much an exercise in futility. i have enormous problems with their method, and them as a ministry, for a plethora of reasons which is a whole other series in and of itself. but, at the same time, i think they could have something with this. the problem, however, is with the ten commandments. my question is: if jesus is the fulfillment of the law, then wouldn't living like him be a much more powerful tool of conviction? after all, the entire law is summed up in just two commands, and the sermon on the mount is maybe the most radical way to live ever. so why try and bring conviction with the ten commandments?

now, i'm not about to say that i'm this person who acts like jesus all the time, convicting others, and causing them to want to follow jesus with me. i'm not. recently i got a low score for professionalism at work because this past year there has sucked, and sometimes i have a hard time keeping my cool. but not too long ago i was talking with a coworker. all this guy ever does is complain and run others down. so he was doing this, as we were talking, and i was acting as visibly disinterested as i possibly could. after he got done with his shpeel, he could tell i didn't want to hear it, and said, "i'm sorry but this place just needs to change... well... or maybe i'm the one who needs to change."

of course, he didn't drop to he knees and start confessing his sins or anything like that, but i like to hope that, in that moment, my actions brought some conviction and in my own way, i got to be jesus. and all without asking him if he's a good person.

4 comments:

Anonymous said...

Every time Mike and I see Kirk Cameron on tv we cringe. I have seen him enough to believe he has a good heart, he just has out-of-date and out-of-touch evangelistic tactics. And that is indeed what they seem to be - tactics.

I was involved in that stuff when I was in high school. I loved feeling that I was trying to show people Jesus and get them to follow him, but I always felt that it was so contrived and uncomfortable. I thought it would get better with "practice", but it didn't.

As I have matured in age and wisdom I realize that people won't be interested in hearing about whether or not they are a good person and need Jesus, they will be interested by watching the life of someone they know who is actually living out the way of Jesus in every day situations. If we live our lives in such a radically beautiful way as Jesus did, people will want to live like that too. Funny that The Way of the Master actually misses the point of the way of the Jesus.

Heath Countryman said...

Maybe ironic is a better word... I don't find much about wotm very funny. Sad really... even discouraging at times. But then, I am sure there are many that find help from that misinstry. It is just that there is probably much more irreperable harm done than good...

Anonymous said...

i think you're mostly right julia. for example, most people admire mother teresa and believe she is someone who points people towards God with the life she led. but there are others who will criticize and argue, or who believe the way of jesus is actually foolish. satanists would be a good example.

i, of course, agree with heath as well. wotm make christianity look ridiculous to much of the world. that, i think dateline?, special they did with the "rational" responders, or whatever they call themselves, was nauseating. what kills me is their website. it says something like "seeking and saving the lost just like jesus did." talk about false advertising.

Anonymous said...

Chris, I realize that not everyone is willing to give up the notion of using standard evangelistic methods and I wasn't even thinking of satanists when I commented! I suppose many satanists would need something far deeper than any human can convey. Criticism and arguemnt are par for the course and our reactions to them are what make Christ visible. Allowing someone to challenge us is a good thing and invites them into the conversation in way that does not involve them "coming to church."

And for most people who think the way of Jesus is foolish they more than likely have not seen the "real" Jesus, just the crap on tv and the annoying evangelists out on the streets.