November 24, 2013 by

What Is a Bad Christian?

2 comments

Categories: food for thought

So this morning, Donald Miller’s blog featured a “Sunday Morning Sermon”–a short video in which author Anne Lamott talks about how she got sober. Her story isn’t so incredibly dramatic, but I find the words she uses to express herself to be captivating. Take a look below, and then I’ve got a question for you to think about with me:

So toward the end of the video clip, Anne Lamott mentions that she is a very “bad” Christian. For some reason, this statement stuck with me, and I began to mull it over in my mind. I began to wonder: what actually constitutes a “bad” Christian? What makes one person a good Christian, and one person a bad one? And why does Lamott think of herself as a bad Christian? What is the criteria?

Is a bad Christian someone who stumbles frequently?

Is a bad Christian someone who doesn’t meet the standards other Christians impose on them?

Is a bad Christian someone who doubts?

Is a bad Christian someone who struggles with addiction?

Is a bad Christian someone who “majors on the minors?”

And who actually decides these things?

There are those, for example, who probably think I am a bad Christian because I fail to attend Sunday church services, or because I maintain a blog that likes to poke holes in the inconsistencies of institutional Christianity. Does this make me a bad Christian, really?

So that’s my question: what is a “bad” Christian, as opposed to a good one? For the few of you left hanging around this here blog, feel free to discuss. 🙂

Musician. Composer. Recovering perfectionist. Minister-in-transition. Lover of puns. Hijacker of rock song references. Questioner of the status quo. I'm not really a rebel. Just a sincere Christ-follower with a thirst for significance that gets me into trouble. My quest has taken me over the fence of institutional Christianity. Here are some of my random thoughts along the way. Read along, join in the conversation. Just be nice.

2 Responses to What Is a Bad Christian?

  1. Fred

    A Christian has Christ’s Spirit in them, so by definition they can not be “bad.” Of course, by some folks’ definition, I’m a bad Christian. 🙂

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