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Posts Tagged ‘christlike’

Christian or Christ Follower…There Is A Difference

Posted in christian living, Jesus follower, Love of God, tagged , , , , on July 28, 2026|

by Michael Donahoe

I recently saw a news article about one group of Christians were picketing another church group. Supposedly they were picketing because they felt the church group, who allowed gays and women who had abortions into their assembly, was being soft on sin. 

I can only assume that the picketers thought the gays and the abortion people were too big of sinners to be in with the religious folk. 

Seems the church assembly was being more Christ-like to me, but the whole situation made me feel a little ashamed to be called a Christian. In fact, I think it is a good idea to give up being called a Christian. It is just another man-made religion, and I have come to a point in life that I am done with religion. Rather than being called a Christian, I think it makes more sense to say I am a follower of Jesus. He did not start Christianity and he did not come to start any kind of religion. 

Being a Christ follower is a daily 24/7 lifestyle, not something to be done once a week in a building. It is not following a doctrine or a set of rules and regulations.

As a Christ follower, we accept all people and we love all people, like Jesus did when he walked this earth. 

This does not mean we agree with everyone. It does not mean people can live anyway they want and have fellowship with God. Yet once they come to God, the Spirit comes to live within them, and he will guide them in their daily lives and actions. It is not our job to condemn others. Jesus command under the New Covenant is for us to love God and love others. 

Like the picketers and church group mentioned above, a lot of Christians today spend more time fighting and arguing amongst themselves while the world watches and laughs. 

As followers of Christ, we need to keep in mind that we, the Church, are the body of Christ in our world. We may be the only “Jesus” many people see. We should focus on Christ as our ultimate source and lay down our personal feelings. Our goal should be more of Him and less of us. 

Michael Donahoe created Done with Religion after he and his wife left the institutional church after over fifty years within the system. He wanted a way to express his thoughts and concerns about the religious system, and tell why he and his wife decided to leave the institution but not their faith in God. They have now been outside the walls of religion for over fifteen years. He enjoys writing about his experiences and thoughts, and he wants to encourage others who are going through the religious deconstruction process. He also writes on Substack at https://deconstructiontrail.substack.com/ and https://personalmeanderings.substack.com/ Michael can be contacted by email at: jimgordon731@gmail.com

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What Do We Mean by the Word Christian?

Posted in christian living, Jesus follower, Love of God, religion, tagged , , , , , , , on March 2, 2023|

by Jim Gordon

What do people think of when they hear the word Christian? With some of the discriminatory and hateful happenings recently with extreme groups who claim to be Christian and with the rise of Christian Nationalism, I feel it is getting a little confusing what the real meaning is.

My wife and I have seriously questioned whether we should continue to use the word Christian to identify us or not. Basically, it all boils down to what we mean by Christian.

If being a Christian is being part of a religion that meets in a building on a particular day and follows set doctrines based on what denomination we belong to, then no, we are not Christians. If being a Christian is considered being part of a group that follows various spiritual beliefs such as Jews, Muslims, Hindu, Baptists, Methodists, Charismatics and others, then no, we are not Christians. If being a Christian is being part of a group that is opposed to all other religions and only accepts those who believe like they do, then no, we are not Christians. If being a Christian has anything to do with religion, political power, hatred, exclusion, discrimination and such, then no, we are not Christians.

In Acts 11:26, the disciples were first called Christians by people in Antioch. They were called Christians because they were acting like Christ. The people there were calling them little Christ’s because of the way they showed the love and power of Jesus. Now, if that is what is meant by being a Christian, then we are all in.

There are many ways we can described ourselves…believers, Christ followers, disciples of Jesus, people of faith, people of the way or even Christians. Yet, the name itself does not really matter. What matters is how we live our lives. Is Christ preeminent? Are we living as one with him? Are we allowing the love of Christ to live through us, accepting others, loving others, including others and being little Christ’s to all we meet? If not, the name itself really makes no difference because we are not being like Christ.

We should not worry so much about the name we use, but by the way we live. When people see us, they should see Jesus. He lives within us and we should be known for the love we have for him and for our fellow man. We are to let Christ live through us each and every day to everyone we meet.

Jim Gordon and his wife left the institutional church after spending over fifty years within the system. Jim wanted a way to express his thoughts and concerns about the religious system and why he and his wife decided to leave the institution but not their faith in God. Jim can be contacted by email at: jimgordon731@gmail.com

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