Should Christians Label Themselves as Christians?

Last Updated on July 26, 2016

Should Christians stop calling themselves Christians? There’s a valid argument on that very topic.

My mom has a list of pet peeves when it comes to television shows. One day, I might publish a list of them for your entertainment.

One of the ones she talks about a great deal is when a talk show host refers to a guest or characters in a scripted drama refers to another character with words like “beautiful.”

“If she’s really so beautiful,” my mom loves to point out, “why do they feel the need to tell us that? We could see it.”

It is in that spirit that I offer a post from John Pavlovitz, a youth pastor at a church in North Carolina. I’ve referred to Pavlovitz’s writing before, and you should probably get used to the idea that I’ll likely refer to him again from time to time.

Some people — particularly the more pious, holier-than-thou types — refer to him as a heretic or a false profit. There are others of us, however, who see the points he makes about modern-day Christianity and those who claim to practice it and think, “I thought I was the only one who felt that way!”

One of his recent posts, titled, “Maybe You Should Stop Calling Yourself a Christian, Christian,” is a perfect example.

Some religious people I’ve run across over the years would immediately dismiss the idea without even reading the post, claiming that not calling themselves Christian would in some way imply “shame”&nbsp that they follow Christ.

If that’s how the title struck you, you should know something important: it’s not about that at all.

Pavlovitz writes:

Maybe our problem in the Church is that we’re so quick and cavalier and presumptuous to place the name “Christian” upon ourselves, or to remove it from others. How dare we assume we’ve earned the title; that this is within our pay grade?

The Bible makes it clear that we have not earned the title. That’s where God’s grace comes into the picture.

But it’s easy for us Christians to forget that when we feel we have the reward. It’s too easy to make it all about us, particularly when we encounter someone who dares disagree with us.

Here on my blog, my “mini”&nbsp About Me section says this:

I’m Patrick and I’m a blogger, digital content manager and creator for local TV, writer, Mac lover, and Christian, though not necessarily in that order.

To some people, I realize, mentioning that I’m a Christian is a turnoff. What I’d like them to see is that I don’t always see things the way a certain percentage of Christians seem to. When I am critical of the way some Christians believe, it’s not about trying to cause division, but rather to point out that branding yourself as a “Christian” means neither that you have all the answers nor that you have found a way to never make a misstep.

Christians don’t have all the answers. And I am sure I need not point out that Christians aren’t any more perfect than non-believers.

Is my faith a turn-off for potential readers of this blog? Perhaps. Is that my fault? Not if they don’t even bother to read my take on faith before rushing to that judgment.

Should I delete the mention of faith in my About section? I’m still thinking about that. I do think it’s reasonable to mention that I am a Christian since “Faith”&nbsp is one of my key topics here on this blog. The “Christian”&nbsp label puts a perspective on that topic.

But again, that perspective, when read by others, is likely clouded by their experiences in churches, and that might make them avoid that category like a proverbial plague.

Pavlovitz makes this point:

I think we rush to advertise our Christianity to the world because we’re terrified. I think we’re really afraid that if we didn’t tell people we were Christians, no one would see Jesus in us and we’d realize our chosen title is ceremonial at best.

I daresay, in many cases, he’s absolutely right.

As Christians, that’s our problem, our fault, not the fault of those we’re trying to convince.

Rather than trying to assure people how much better we are, even if we never come right out and say it that way, why can’t we just be better by being the Christ we want to see in others?

It’s a tall order, but if it’s so tall an order that we aren’t willing to try, we might just be doing it wrong.