I’ve called this site The Extreme Christian because, while white-hot faith with an accompanying lifestyle is not the norm, it is and has always been God’s goal for genuine Christians.
This site’s purpose is to encourage us all away from normal Christianity in America, toward true Christianity.
Extreme Christianity (or what SHOULD be normal) is easy to describe. Look at Paul, the apostle. Look at John and Peter after Pentecost. They are not the only examples, just the best-described followers of Christ in the NT. They are what normal should be. But because normal does not look that way in America, we have to label the true norm as extreme.
And what is called normal American Christianity? Don’t get me started.
Okay, I raised the subject. Let me describe it using a family scenario that I hope is not at all common in families.
A father works hard to provide for his wife and children because he loves them more than they know. He has provided them everything they need, and more. However, when Dad comes home one day bringing gifts and seeking time with the family, the children immediately become occupied with the gifts he has brought them and seem not to know he is there.
His wife quickly tries on the gorgeous outfit he bought her and makes a brief appearance to model it before hurrying away to a mysterious rendezvous. “Leftovers are in the fridge,” she calls as she hurries to the door. “Gotta run!”
This is the American Church. Too distracted to love God with all our hearts, all our minds, all our souls and all our strength.
Our loves are many. And we forget that whatever distracts us from Him is, in His vernacular, an idol.
Do you reject the thought that we are an idolatrous church? Then examine your checkbook and your calendar. How many of the entries are dedicated to loving God and your neighbors around the world, versus loving your hobbies, your comforts, your physical appearance, your convenience, your house, your leisure, your taste for good food or your status?
Is it extreme to suggest these are not God’s expectations for us? Before you answer that for yourself, read Matthew 25:31-46.
Am I trying to lay a guilt trip on you? Not at all. Just trying to expose reality. And reality is this: we American Christians are far more devoted to our desires and goals than to God’s.
We might do a fair job of singing words of commitment and devotion on Sunday mornings, but do we live out those songs after we leave our congregations? Each of us must answer that for ourselves. Honestly.
And if we find we must change, then we must submit to God’s will to change us as He sees fit, without restrictions from us.
Otherwise, what should be normal from God’s perspective will always seem extreme to us.
Following Jesus 