| New Label: "Follower of Jesus" |
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| Noticed News |
| Monday, 09 March 2009 09:08 |
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Newsweek has a story on the increasing use of "follower of Jesus" rather than "Christian" to describe one's faith. Lisa Miller writes, Now, as the Christian world continues to refine its identity, another label is gaining currency: "follower of Jesus." It is gaining among the young. On Facebook, more than 900 groups use some variation of "follower of Jesus." The tag is also popular among people in the so-called fellowship movement—small, collegial groups that regularly meet for ecumenical prayer. (The weekly prayer breakfasts in Washington—one for senators, another for members of the House—are the most prominent example, but such fellowships are common at corporations too.) "Follower of Jesus" has at least two advantages over "Christian" or "evangelical," its boosters say. First, it doesn't carry baggage. No doubt, the term "Christian" has baggage. Does it mean a hard-nosed, judgemental, Bible-literalist churchgoer? Or can it also label a humble, quiet, spiritually active follower? What about believers who are not church-goers? Christianity has always had a tremendous diversity of expression. But in our media-saturated world, unfortunately it seems that terms are given meaning by one particular group or approach. How do we define ourselves when we don't fit that stereotype?
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