Dear Parents,
What does it means to be a Christian. The word “Christian” stirs up a lot of emotions from different people. Some have positive reactions and some not so positive. I want to tell you something you may not know about the word “Christian.” The word “Christian” is actually only used 3 different times in the Bible. In fact, the word “Christian” was first used by pagans in Antioch (non-Christians). The Greek word for “Christian” is Christanos. This word literally means “little Christs” or “little Jesus’.” The non-Christians were making fun of the Christians, basically calling them “Christ-ones” or “little Christs.” “They're just trying to be like Jesus.” The term Christian was a derogatory term. It was like saying, “He’s a loser." So the term Christian was made up by non-Christians to make fun of Christians.
Now I don’t have a big deal with the name Christian. I call myself a Christian. But I want you to think about this…Jesus never said, “Be a Christian.” What He said over and over was, “I want you to be my disciple. I want you to be my follower. I want to be the example to you. I don’t want to be something you just believe, but I want you to follow Me and do life like I did." So what would a modern day disciple of Jesus look like? How would they act, live, and interact with others? This school year Alien Youth will be looking at what it means to be a teenage disciple in today’s world.
Dare to be a Disciple,
Pastor John