Prevailing cultural sentiment: “I like Jesus but not the church.”
My take: We want people to meet Jesus; with or without the church. When they meet Him, they’ll want to do church.
The approach so far: “They like Jesus but not the church, let’s rethink church.”
My take: They like Jesus, so let’s preach Jesus. Focus on your strengths, especially when your strength is the Lord of the universe.
The question: How can we take advantage of “I like Jesus”?
I think some of the people who say they “like” Jesus probably don’t know him very well. I suspect they would find the real article a bit less appealing.
A very good point. I’d still ask the same question, though: “How can we take advantage of “I like Jesus” [in people who think they like Jesus]?”