by R. Douglas Williams

Created on: December 20, 2008

There are many churches in our day that would not invite someone like Jesus to speak on a given subject matter. If they knew for sure that it was Jesus, they would without doubt make him the featured speaker. Every large and small church in America would invite him to address their respective congregations.

But what if Jesus was not the person deemed the Savior of Mankind? What if he were just another man with a message? Then, he would not likely be seen at the pulpit of most contemporary Evangelical churches. Mostly the larger, "megachurches," would never trust someone like Jesus to preach in their "houses of worship".

For one, Jesus did not have a seminary degree. He never took an accredited course in sermon-preparation or public speaking or Biblical languages. The administration in most churches would overlook Jesus because of his lack of academic credentials. No distinguished professors could vouch for him and discuss his intellect. It seems important for most mainline churches to have a scholar open the Bible before the people and enunciate Greek words and engage them with sentence sructure. A passage must be carefully exposited so that every known principle can be withdrawn.

Secondly, Jesus would not be a popular speaker since he never wrote a book. It is shameless to sit and listen to a preacher go on and on about their new book and how it can change your life. But, these very people are the ones found in great demand when it comes to church conventions and retreats and spiritual rallies. These authors somehow become an authority on spiritual matters because their names are seen in Christian stores. Though Jesus could very well have written a best-seller, his priorities were different than today's name-dropping religious church culture.

Another reason Jesus would not be invited to many churches is the content in most of his sermons. While Jesus embraced everyone despite their way of living, he was clear about sin and its effects on the individual and society as a whole. His first recorded sermon was about repentance. This is not heard in most large churches, where the message has been liquified for easy consumption. Instead of messages which address the heart of a person, one will more likely hear something to help the businessman or the success-driven person.

If Jesus had a church, I wonder how many people would attend. It certainly would look different than what we currently see littering the street-sides in our country.

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