Okay, this past Monday I went to watch the documentary, Religulous. It’s with Bill Maher by the same guys that did Borat.

I’m sure it ticked-off a lot of “Christians”. And that’s fine. They would say that the way Christianity is portrayed in the movie isn’t accurate. That they edited it to make Christians look ignorant and arrogant. And my complaint would be that they didn’t interview any Christians that were actually doing something positive.

But here’s the thing, to people who are not Christians, this is exactly how Christianity looks. And they would be justified in thinking that.

But there is hope. There was a scene in the movie that really caught my attention. Bill Maher said, to a group of truckers in a Trucker Chapel, “Thank you for being more Christ-like than Christian.” This is a guy who is an agnostic, that believes religion in general is ridiculous, but is able to point out the difference between being Christian and Christ-like.

Over time the word Christian has become a term that is no longer synonymous with being a Christ-follower. It is like the word gentlemen. A gentlemen was once a very specific term. It was a man that came from a noble family and owned a certain amount of land. It now refers to a guy that opens the door for a lady.

How have we let this word, Christian, slip out from under us and allow it to be slapped onto all sorts of stuff that has nothing to do with following Christ? Because I know that when I see these acts that call themselves “Christian” I don’t want to be associated with them.

I believe it is time we reclaim what it means to be Christian.

I would like to thank everyone who participated at six:forty the past few weeks. For those of you that might not have caught wind of what went on, here’s a brief overview.

Tuesday, Sept. 16: After the wind storm on Sunday the 14th, six:forty took the opportunity to help clean up the community. We headed to Tuscora Park to clean up sticks and branches. We tried to find some elderly to help out, but everyone we talked to already had their yard cleaned up, but they were still very appreciative. We ended up getting a thank you note from the Mayor of New Phila, Michael Taylor. That was nice.

Tuesday, Sept. 30: We took the time to just pray for everything that’s going on everywhere. I find it difficult to take time during the week and just lay everything out before God, I find it nearly impossible to do it on a daily basis. So, it was good for me to just clear off some space and pray with some friends. We prayed for our Church, six:forty, the next President, the economy, the Aids Crisis, our next lead pastor, missionaries and a bunch of other stuff. We also took the time to pray through the list of college students I have. So, if you are away at school, i want you to know that we haven’t forgot about you at six:forty, and that we were praying for you. Here’s a little something I shared this past Tuesday, I thought it was cool.

Pray at all times and on every occasion in the power of the Holy Spirit. – Ephesians 6:18

Will God really make the pouring out of blessing on others dependent on our prayers? Yes, He makes us His fellow workers. He has taken us into partnership in His work. If we fail to do our part, others will suffer and His work will suffer.
God has appointed intercession as one of the means by which others will be saved and Christians built up in the faith. People all over the world will receive life and blessing through our prayers. Should we not expect God’s children to endeavor with all our strength to pray for God’s blessing on the world?
Begin to use intercession as a means of grace for yourself and for others. Pray for your neighbors. Pray for sinners that they may come to Christ. Pray for your minister and for missionaries. Pray for your country and for the government leaders. If you live a life completely for God, you will realize that the time spent in prayer is an offering pleasing to God.
Yes, “pray at all times… and be persistent in your prayers for all Christians everywhere.” In so doing you will learn the lesson that intercession is the chief means of bringing others to Christ and bringing glory to God. - Andrew Murray, Teach Me to Pray

There will be no six:forty on Tuesday, Oct. 7.