What Are You Doing With Jesus?

This is part two of a two-part introduction to Jesus.Place.

In Part One, “What is Jesus?”, I gave you a short narrative of how I came to be a Christian and the journey I’ve been on.

To recap, I’m a former savage who had a Jesus experience in March 2014. Soon after, I became less enthralled with American Evangelicalism the more I came in contact with it. My Jesus-ness rose and fell, and I drifted in and out for the next 8 years.

But the funny thing is that regardless of the state of my attentiveness to my faith, Jesus never wavered in His attentiveness to me.

More and more He seemed to be asking me “now that you know what I am what do you plan to do with Me?”

And during the last 2 years of this spiritual standoff I was having with Jesus, a few things happened:

1. A pandemic.

2. The world came unhinged.

Due to #1 & #2, people seem to be looking for spiritual safe harbor.

You would think that American Christianity, in all its varieties, would be the obvious candidate to step up and provide that safe harbor.

But you would be wrong.

Oh, perhaps there are pockets of American Christianity that are thriving in these tumultuous times. But if there are, I don’t know of them.

My friend Mac is a former pastor and what I hear from him is that since the pandemic pastors are stepping down and churches are closing their doors at record pace. And when I search the news and social media about the state of Christianity, the majority of what I find is an intense loathing of Christendom.

I mean Team Christianity wasn’t all that popular in 2014 when I got drafted by the team. But it wasn’t this.

I’m guessing that Evangelicals going headfirst into politics in 2016 didn’t help, and perhaps Covid just accelerated a trend away from institutional church.

We can debate the reasons, but it’s hard to debate that American Christianity is in a serious funk. And it doesn’t appear that the trend is going to turn around anytime soon. We seem to be on a glidepath to extinction.

Yet while institutional Christianity in America is in decline, here I am with its Namesake prodding me to get more involved.

I guess you could say I’m braindead. Or delusional. And I’m not sure that I could compose a logical argument to counter your accusations.

But I’ve got a hunch.

Well, actually, I have a hunch AND a certainty. But first with the hunch.

In my limited circle of influence (family, friends, acquaintances, and coworkers), I have noticed a pressing need for spiritual relief, and I’ve noticed that people aren’t opposed to having a Jesus conversation with me.

It probably helps that I don’t come off churchy, and perhaps they’ve seen the transformation in me and think that I’m legit.

But even my new friends and acquaintances (I just changed jobs in June 2021) who only know the “new me”, they also seem to be open to dialogue about Jesus.

So my hunch is that there is a thirst for spiritual relief.

Now Big Church isn’t going to quench that thirst. Remember? Glidepath. Extinction.

But here’s my certainty: I know Jesus can.

I have my own personal relationship with Jesus to prove that point. There are very few things that I will state with ABSOLUTE certainty, but the fact that Jesus singlehandedly saved and changed my life is at the top of that short list.

(Any non-believers make it this far into the conversation? If so, welcome! How did you get here?? But I digress. If you want to challenge my FACT that Jesus changed my life, I’m open to the possibility of a friendly psychosis or a kindly brain tumor, but I don’t think there are any other possibilities, and my anecdotal evidence has led me to believe its…Jesus)

I know that Jesus can heal and transform. I’ve experienced personal transformation & healing, and the transformation of my relationships and how I interact with the world. And I know He offers this to all who ask.

So as uncomfortable as this feels, I’m doing something with the gift that Jesus gave me and sharing my testimony of my ongoing experience with Jesus here at Jesus.Place.

So if…

A Jesus follower sharing what he learns about Jesus.

A broken man reborn in Christ offering his testimony of his journey.

A diary of an ongoing, real, and powerful relationship with Jesus.

Interests you

Then let me tell you what I’ve got planned for at Jesus.Place.

I plan to start modestly with 1 article a week with potential bonus articles throughout the week.

The articles are going to fall into the following categories:

General Jesus Musings

Posts that explore my relationship with Jesus and Christianity. I’m big on healing, love, and non-violence so expect a steady dose of those topics thru a Jesus lens.

Explain Like I’m Five

Making sense of Bible passages without a theology degree. I read the theologians’ takes and then explain them in laymen’s terms with a dose of Tim thrown in.

Tik Talkin Jesus

I’ll be sharing my Jesus centered Tik Tok videos. Why am I swimming in the cesspool that is Tik Tok you may ask. To paraphrase, Willie Sutton, that’s where the people are at.

I’ll also be doing some book reviews, YouTube recommendations, defining Bible words, and hopefully adding some guest posts as well.

Before I close, let me address and dispel any perceived arrogance my two introductory posts may imply.

First, I am thoroughly Team Christian. I may disagree with other members of the team, and I’m certain that many of my more conservative brothers and sisters have serious disagreements with my theology, but I’m on the Team for the permanent long haul. So please take any of my criticism, in essence, as self-criticism. We got the Greatest Presence in the universe on our Team, and it pains me to watch us put up barriers rather than building a bridge to knowing Him.

Second, I ain’t no guru. I just have the experience of my personal transformation in Christ. I am a broken man reborn in Christ offering his testimony of his journey and a diary of an ongoing, real, and powerful relationship with Jesus. And how I still struggle to be the person God intends me to be. I’m just a guy trying to make sense of this and I think sharing my experience will have value to others.

And finally, speaking of others, I have no grand illusions about the reach of this Jesus project. I might be writing to audience of me, myself, and I. But if my musings can help even one other person experience what I’ve experienced, and to persevere when things look bleak, then this project will be a success.

Thanks in advance for your support and let’s start doing some Jesus stuff!