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10 Toxic Christians in the Church Today
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Today_files/10 Toxic Christians in the
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10 Toxic Christians in the Church Today

Lets start by saying we are all guilty of being at least one of these
people sometimes. This post is a great opportunity for us to pray for
God to show the areas of our lives that dont parallel the Gospel and
how we can pray to be a Church that glorifies Christ!

Share this

Several years ago, I had some friends over for dinner. Things were
going welluntil everyone took their first bite of food. You see, I

decided to fire up the grill and cook some burgers. I went through
(https://www.facebook.com/sharer.php?
the usually grilling routine. Id grilled dozens of times before. Slap
u=http://www.faithit.com/10-toxicon the meat. Flip a few times. Voila.
christians-in-the-church-today/)
Not really.
(http://pinterest.com/pin/create/button/?url=http://www.faithit.com/10-toxic-christiansin-the-church-today/&media=http://www.faithit.com/wpWhen everyone sunk their teeth into the burgers, blood flowed
content/uploads/2015/07/toxic.jpg&description=10%20Toxic%20Christians%20in%20the%20Church%20Today)
worse than the time I nearly sliced off my finger. After a few
awkward stares, I realized what happened. In a moment of sheer
embarrassment, I got up from my chair and grabbed some deli
(https://www.twitter.com/share?
turkey from the fridge.
url=http://www.faithit.com/10Random question: Why is the person who makes the mistake
toxic-christians-in-the-churchtoday/)

always the last one to realize it?

Anyway, no one at the table even considered trying my straight

from the meat section burgers. Why? Just one bite of uncooked
(http://www.faithit.com/10toxic-christians-in-the- meat is toxic to the body and could result in an appointment with
church-today/#)

Mr. John.
What is true of meat is also true of the church. A few toxic

Christians can impact an entire church. So, I want to highlight some toxic Christians in the
church today. The following Christians describe me at various points in my Christian
journey. Understand something. This post is really about self-reflection. My prayer is that
you will identify some of these toxic behaviors in your life and, like myself, make some
changes.
Here are 10 toxic Christians in the church today.
1.)THE ALWAYS CYNICAL CHRISTIAN

Cynicism is toxic (http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2014/05/140528163739.htm).

From a general lack of trust towards people to the inability to see good in anything,
cynicism has the power to infect every arena of life.
Many Christians, starting with me, master the art of pointing out the bad from a young
age. For much of my Christian journey, I thought it was my job to find the errors in
everything from sermons to the lives of those around me. I was like a stealth ninja. My
only job was to make sure every mistake was pointed out. And after finding the errors, my
friends and I would gather for a time of reflection.
It was really an exercise of self-glorification.
Heres the problem with cynicism: as long as its your default perspective, you cant be a
catalyst for change. Not for the good, at least. And I say perspective because cynicism is
all about how you see things. You and I can look at the same person, situation, etc., and
see two different things. Theonly difference is the filter through which we see it.
If you are a Christian, everything you believe in and look forward to is anchored in hope,
and the breath that gives life to hope is optimism. God refused to give up on you because
of hope. Jesus came to this world because of hope. One day every man and woman who
loves God will live eternally with him because of hope.
Now, I understand what you might be thinking. There is a difference between cynicism and
critical thinking. Here it is. Cynics look at the worst in every situation, never desiring to
make things better. Critical thinkers recognize the evil and ugly, but always choose to
focus on something redeeming. They always operate out of hope, and they are always in
the trenches trying to make things better.
To put it another way, cynics focus on what something is. Critical thinkers focus on what
something could be.
The church is desperate for men and women who will choose to focus on the redeeming
qualities of the church. After all, God sees the redeeming qualities in us. Even when we are
at our worst.
2.)THE BACK ROW CHRISTIAN
In college, I sat in the back row of every class. I didnt want the teacher to call on me. I
wanted to spend my time browsing the internet or adjusting my fantasy football roster. I
wasnt interested in the material. To be honest, I only showed up for class because I
thought it would help me at the end of the semester.
Such is the case with back row Christians. They are mildly interested in God, at best.
Being a back row Christian isnt about where you sit in a pew or chair during worship.
Some back row Christians are front row worshippers. This is about where God sits in
proximity to your life.

Most back row Christians keep God at arms length. They are driven by money, titles,
and achievements. And they dont want God interfering with their pursuits. Unless, of
course, God wants to help them reach their goals.
Back row Christians are toxic because they wear the tag Christian, but their lives arent
informed by God.And because the church is a body, these Christians force the church to
carry their weight. What fat is to the body, these Christians are to the church. And the
more fat that churches carries around, the less effective they become in moving towards
a broken world and impacting an ever-changing culture. .
3.) THE WORLD IS CAVING IN CHRISTIAN
Its not ironic that most of these Christians favorite channel ends in news. Fox News.
CNN News. ABC News. They are paralyzed by fear. ISIS is taking over the world. Global
warming will eventually wipe out humanity. The zombie apocalypseis imminent. And
every major story, especially the tragic ones, are conspiracy theories.
Never mind that the God these Christians serve claims to be sovereign over all the
apparent threats to humanity. Never mind that the phrase do not fear appears hundreds
of times in the Bible.
These Christians allow fear to dominate their life, and this drowns out any opportunity for
the world to see God. When fear is present, God is absent. Fear is self-reliance. It is a
declaration that God isnt enough. Hes not big enough, strong enough, or knowledgeable
enough.
This is why fear has no place in the church. Its the opposite of faith and therefore the
antithesis of God.
4.) THE FOLLOW THE RULES CHRISTIAN
Follow the rules Christians believe their actions make them cool with God. They
condemn other Christians for their lack of morality. And secretly they are okay with
Christians falling on their face because it makes follow the rules Christians feel better
about themselves.
Eventually the weight of earning Gods love will crush your joy.Theres no room for
authenticity or transparency. Theres no room for gray areas. And eventually the weight of
trying to earn a relationship with God crushes their joy and destroys their intimacy with
God.
Lets face it. When someone is only happy with you when you follow the rules, its
impossible to grow in intimacy with that person. When that person is God, the only thing
that will please him is perfection. And you screwed that up this morning before you got
out of bed.
The message of the cross is You cant earn it! God knows you suck at life. Maybe thats
too harsh. God knows you suck at perfection. But Jesus is awesome at perfection, and
because of Jesus, God is cool with you. What the world needs to see is your weakness, not

your perfection. It is in your weakness God will show the world his perfection.
It is in our weakness God shows the world his perfection.
5.) THE POLITICAL CHRISTIAN
Every church has a few of these Christians. They equate the decisions of our government
with the direction of the church. They believe how you vote determines whether you love
God. And their conversations usually include a rant about the President the most recent
government decision.
Its really quite fascinating how these Christians work politics into every conversation. Just
think if political Christians channeled their creative energy and passion about politics
towards Jesus?
Can you say, Revival?
6.) THE CULTURE IS EVIL AND SCARY CHRISTIAN
Culture is evil and scary Christians find insanely creative ways to escape the world. Its
evil and scary, after all.
These Christians act more like the Old Testament Israelites than the New Testament
apostles. They are the chosen people. And, like the Israelites, engaging in the worlds
affairs is a slippery slope. Engagement might start harmlessly. But before you know it, you
are worshipping their gods and stuff. So these Christians stay off the slope altogether.
This would be a great idea if not forJesus. You see, when Jesus showed up, he changed
what it meant to be holy and righteous. Disengaging was no longer the way God showed
himself to the world. Engagement became the new way.
Culture is evil and scary Christians believe the goal for their Christian life is to play
defense, hoping to arrive on their death bed with no scratches, scrapes, or wounds. But
the opposite is actually true. The goal is to engage the culture, praying that Gods love,
joy, and peace will seep through your words and actions onto those around you. In the
process, you might get wounded.
But remember this. Jesus was wounded. And his wounds gave you life.
7.) THE I LOVE JESUS BUT NOT THE CHURCH CHRISTIAN.
These Christians believe faith is best worked out in isolation. Its disengagement of a
different kind. A more dangerous kind. Isolation is Satans secret weapon.
You see, Jesus spent most of his ministry around people. These people werent perfect.
They struggled to get it. They fought over worldly stuff like having the highest place in
Jesuss kingdom. And eventually, all of Jesuss friends left him. Abandoned him. But Jesus
knew his friends would hurt him and he invested in them anyway.

Look, I get it. Some of you have been hurt by the church. I have been hurt but the church.
There is nothing easy about plugging into a community of believers. They will hurt you
and disappoint you. But nothing worth having comes easy. You are selfish. I am selfish.
And community releases us from the drug of self-addiction.
I love Jesus, but not the church Christians will only become a fraction of the person God
created them to be. And they will only show the world a fraction of who God is.
8.) THE GOD DOESNT WORK THAT WAY CHRISTIAN
Cut and dry. In or out. Up or down. Black or white. All of these describe God doesnt work
that way Christians. Their view of God is limited to their perspective, their experiences,
and their understanding of the Bible. These Christians claim to have faith in God, but they
wont believe anything they havent seen with their own eyes.
These Christians believe God is all-powerful. But if something isnt logical, they are
skeptical.
The mystery of God and how you become a Christians are compressed into five easy steps.
Intimacy and love cant be manufactured. They can only be experienced.And heres why
this is a problem based on personal experience as God doesnt work that way Christian.
You can follow the right steps, figure out all the formulas, and still be a long ways from
God. Light years, in fact. Intimacy and love arent formulas. They cant be manufactured.
They can only be experienced.
While these Christians conjure up formulas for God, I believe he is saying, Look up. Look
around. Get out of the box. Experience my greatness. Stand in awe of my unending power
and unfailing love. Fall in love with me and stop falling in love with some churchy
formulas.
9.) THE LOVES TO PICK A FIGHT CHRISTIAN
These Christians show up anytime someone mocks God or challenges their theology.
Social media. The local coffee shop. Wherever. I promise, sometimes I think, Were you
hiding behind my bookshelf during that conversation? How did you even know I said that?
These Christianity believe they are the morality police. They use their knowledge of the
Bible as aweapon to beat down all the theologically misinformed Christians. They are
aggressive. They are obnoxious, and they usually have a temper shorter than your average
Oompa-Loompa.
These Christians are toxic because they believe winning an argument and pointing
someone to God are the same thing. But its interesting. Jesus wasnt interested in winning
arguments during his ministry. He was ok with people not understanding his purpose or
his relationship with God.

Winning arguments might give you satisfaction. But it doesnt bring God glory.Jesus was
more concerned with love. Winning arguments might give you satisfaction. But it doesnt
bring God glory.
10.) THE YOU CANT TALK ABOUT THAT IN CHURCH CHRISTIAN
These Christians are fearful every word they say will be taken the wrong way. They believe
truth should be filtered, just in case some weaker Christians dont fully understand what
you are trying to say. In other words, there are certain conversations the church shouldnt
have. Mainly the ones that make people uncomfortable.
Sex. Abortion. Mental Illness. Doubts about God. Justin Beiber.
Jesus, however, wasnt concerned with being politically correct. In fact, Jesus said on
numerous occasions, You wont understand this right now, or some variation of the
phrase. Jesus was obviously not concerned with being misunderstood.
Jesus proclaimed truth because he was the Truth. And truth has nothing to hide.
________________
Only a few toxic Christians can impact a church. Again, my prayer is that you will do some
reflection. At some point in my journey, I was every one of these Christians. Some of these
I am still fighting today.
As you take steps towards Jesus, the world sees a clearer picture of his glory and
character. Thats the goal.
About Frank Powell
Devoted follower of Christ, college/young adult minister, husband to @tiffanipowell
(https://twitter.com/tiffanipowell), dad to Noah and Micah, avid blogger/writer, sports
fan. You can follow him on twitter here (https://twitter.com/frankmattpowell) and read
more blogs here (http://frankpowell.me/)!

/LNH

6KDUH

N

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