By Jeff Iorg, President of Golden Gate Seminary, Mill Valley, Calif.
A family once visited our church for the first time. After the service, during a casual conversation, I discovered the woman in the family was Jewish.
Linda had never attended a Christian worship service and seemed quite fascinated by what she had just experienced.
As was my custom, I followed up that conversation with a personal phone call early in the week. She agreed to my offer of a pastoral visit with her and her husband.
Having limited experience with Jewish guests – not many drop in on a typical Midwestern Baptist church – I spent some time thinking about how to open the conversation in their home.
Based on our brief conversation from Sunday, I settled on a question that received a surprising, but delightful answer.
My question was, “What was the biggest difference between our worship service and the synagogue services you may have experienced in the past?”
Linda said, “Oh that’s easy. In your church, Jesus is the ‘Big One.’” I had never heard it put quite that way before!
Having worshipped God all her life, it was striking to her how prominent Jesus was in our worship. We sang about Jesus, prayed in Jesus’ name, talked about how Jesus could change lives, and mentioned Jesus multiple times in the sermon.
Linda’s comment came with a twinkle in her eye. She was a bit bemused, but obviously observant and intrigued.
I took her comment as a compliment. I was delighted a first-time observer of Christian worship walked away saying, “Jesus is the ‘Big One.’” He most certainly is!
During the Christmas season, some lament the loss of “Christ” from Christmas in the culture.
That’s not too big a concern for me. A larger issue is failure by churches to do more than present a sentimental Jesus during this season.
Christmas is the perfect time to magnify Jesus as Savior, Lord, and Messiah. Make him more than a baby in a manger scene this year. Magnify Jesus in every way possible – starting with his birth moving through his ascension – calling people to face their responsibility to respond to a risen Lord.