What's in a name?

Christian? Christ follwer? Believer? Disciple? Saved? Born again?

All of the above (and more) are terms we might use to refer to someone who has embraced Jesus Christ as their savior, committed their life to Him and seek to obey and serve Him. Even defining it with the immediate preceeding sentence presents problems. The problem is that all the terms above have some baggage attached. Even the secular media is picking up on it.

The earliest Christian/Christ followers/believers/disciples/etc. were called followers of The Way. When Christ came He introduced a 'way' like none before. Those who chose that path were followers of The Way (praying for enemies, offering forgiveness unlimited, the last shall be first, and on and on). Some years later these followers were called "Christians" (little Christs) because they mimicked Christ. Those on the outside could see an obvious Christlikeness about them, they began to call them "little Christ's" as a term of derision. They meant it as anything but a compliment.

The word "christian" today has little resemblance to its origin. Any time I use the word to describe myself I feel compelled to describe what I mean. To say we are a "christian" nation is a great example of how little this word really means any more. We look and act nothing like Christ as a nation today. And many who apply the label "christian" as individuals could hardly be mistaken for Christ ... or even a cheap model of Christ.

Believer? James 2:19 says, "You believe that God is one; you do well. The demons also believe—and they shudder." To 'believe' is not enough if that belief does not lead to a life sold out to Christ that leads to transformation into His likeness.

Born again? Saved? These are terms only understood by those who grew up in church or hang around a church. "Disciple" falls into this category of church-speak as well.

I use the term "christ follower". This term has its short comings as well. Jesus was much more than a model to live by. He was the sacrifice made on our behalf. He was our substitute. I choose this term because the first call Jesus made to the first "disciples" was "Come, follow Me". Those that attend the church I pastor hear me say such things as, "genuine Christ follower" rather than, if you would like to be a "christian". The article in Newsweek referenced above is correct in that the terms we use carry so much baggage.

Then again, maybe that's not a bad thing. As we tell others we are a Christian/Believer/Disciple/Christ Follower/etc. we will need to go into an immediate explanation of what that means. What a great opportunity to share our faith!