Jesus - the Second Most Popular Person in America

[James Nored]

ChurchLeaders.com reported a new national poll out that says that Jesus is the 2nd Most Popular Person in the US. Jesus had a 90% popularity rating, topped only by Abraham Lincoln at 91%.

 

At first it would be tempting to rail against Jesus coming in second to anyone. As great a president as Abraham Lincoln was, he was no Messiah. He could not pull food out of that top hat to feed 5000 people, walk on water, or die on the cross for the sins of the world.

 

The second thought was, what a phenomenal opportunity we have as Christians to share Christ with our family, friends, neighbors, and co-workers. I remember in a class with Alan Hirsch how he said that Jesus always ranks in the top 3 of these types of polls. And this kind of name ID and positive recognition is a marketers' dream.

 

We are not just clever marketers of the gospel. But we do want to share Christ with people (I hope!). And think about what an advantage we have in doing so. In the first few centuries, do you think that Jesus had a 90% popularity rating? I doubt it. And I do not have a poll handy, but a huge number of people in the US still respect the Bible and take it as being from God in some sort of way. Again--what a plus in sharing the gospel.

 

This leads me to three conclusions:

1. We should lead with Jesus in our "marketing."
   The church is not that popular today. But Jesus is. Too often churches think that evangelism is primarily about getting people to come to our church. For the truly unchurched, this may seem self-serving and off putting. They will likely think that we are just after their money. In reality we are after something much greater--their hearts and souls for God. We should lead people to Jesus, and the church will follow.
2. We should lead with Jesus in our spiritual conversations.
   People are interested in Jesus. Movies and books about him sell. If we say, Jesus is alive and I know him--that alone is enough to stop people in their tracks and generate interest. Do we even know about how to talk about Jesus? Is he truly the center of our lives?
3. We should share Christ from the Bible.
   Yes, we need to do this in an understandable way. And we should not assume any Bible knowledge with people, because many people do not have any. But we should not be afraid to share God's word with people, particularly when we point them towards Christ. The evangelistic Bible study that I have written, the Story of Redemption, attempts to do this.

Why do you think that Jesus is still so popular today? Why is the church not?

[James Nored]

True, Darin I think that there are other factors involved, such as the passion and dedication of the early Christians.

[Darin Hamm]

I agree with your points but it would seem that the church grew the most when people didn't think much of Jesus.

[James Nored]

Yes, Bob, everything but Jesus. Isn't that sad? At the center of Christianity--is Christ!

[Bob Young]

Great point, James, we do not appreciate nor call upon the power of the Jesus story.  Often our churches seem to be about everything but Jesus.