After the resurrection of Jesus, the growth of the early Christian church exploded. In the face of tremendous obstacles and persecution, Christianity flourished and eventually converted its onetime greatest enemy, the Roman Empire, into followers of the teachings of Jesus.
Fast-forward two thousand years, and the opposite is happening. People are leaving the Christian faith in record numbers.
The question is, why? There are some notable bad actors behind this turning away from traditional Christianity, but the cause is more widespread. It's ourselves as Christians in today's world that--by our actions or inactions--have inadvertently contributed to the modern assumption that Christianity is no longer relevant and may be even the cause of many of today's problems.
This book takes a unique approach by contrasting the interactions of Jesus and others in His world with how we modern-day Christians would interact in the same setting. Some of the differences are obvious, some are more subtle, but all these interactions will call attention to how we may be acting and reacting differently from Jesus to those around us. The world is watching us, and unlike the early church where cultures were in awe of what Christians were doing, many in our world today are dismayed.
Each one of us calling ourselves Christians has a role to play in reversing this trend. Jesus said to follow Him, and that requires action on our part. The stories and examples in this book can help us engage with our communities more like Jesus would. Instead of pushing people away, we want to pull them in to follow Christ. At the same time, we need to demonstrate to the world the ongoing significance and relevance of the Christian faith.