The Way

In the book of Acts, we read that the followers of Jesus who lived in Antioch were the first to be called "Christians" (Acts 11:26), and it appears that the label has stuck. Today, billions of people, hailing from just about every corner of the world, refer to themselves as Christians. But the book of Acts also uses another term to describe believers. In several places, they're called followers of "the Way" (19:9, 19:23, 22:4, 24:14, 24:22).

What's the difference? Well, initially, there wasn't much. "Christian" meant "little Christ." The label was intended as a way of mocking Jesus' followers by noting how they imitated him in word and deed. And, similarly, "the Way" was a designation of the path of true life and righteousness. Both terms were about lifestyle and action. Followers of Christ weren't considered peculiar, dangerous, or a threat to the status quo because of their beliefs, but because of what they did and said.

I just got back from a trip to Charlotte and Atlanta. I had to go to Charlotte to attend a class (Exegesis in the Elijah-Elisha Narratives if you really want to know), and I decided to tack on a few more days to my trip to visit my sister and her family just north of Atlanta. As I drove my rented Toyota Yaris down the familiar path from Charlotte to Atlanta, I was once again struck by the unique way of life in the Bible belt. The drive on I-85 is spotted with churches large and small. A sign for one had bright flames and warned that there are only two choices in life - heaven or hell. Another had a giant picture of a pastor with plastic-looking hair and freshly bleached teeth that seemed to say, "Come to my church. I promise to let you in on the secret of my bright and shiny smile."

I wonder if we'd still refer to the South as "the Bible belt" if the signs were gone and the steeples were no longer visible. There's a cheesy Christian T-shirt/bumper sticker that reads, "If you were on trial for being a Christian, would there be enough evidence to convict you?" And as I drove down the highway, I thought about that question. Lots of people claim to be Christians; they wear the T-shirts, they have Jesus fish on their cars, they go to church, and they carry around giant, worn, leatherbound Bibles. And this isn't just found in the South; I pick on Dixie because the area seems to have been saturated with the American Christian subculture more than any other.

I was reading the book of James earlier. Whenever I read this letter, I am struck by the practical and convicting instructions I find. In fact, there is very little doctrine at all - at least not without being attached to ethical teaching. For someone trying to uncover what it means to live life as a Christian, the book of James draws stark lines between following the ways of the world and following the Way.

I think about my own life and the compromises I make every day. I think about the communities of faith of which I've been a part, and I wonder if anyone looking in ever thought we were following a truly different path in this life. I think about the personal and corporate decisions we make everyday regarding money and I think about James' words: "Your gold and silver have corroded, and their corrosion will be evidence against you and will eat your flesh like fire. You have laid up treasure in the last days" (James 5:3, ESV).

I admire folks like Shane Claiborne who have given up lots of potential comforts to identify with the poor. I think about friends who will soon travel half-way around the world to adopt a child (or two) from Africa to give him or her (or them) a better life in the suburbs of Connecticut. I wonder if I would do the same, but most of all I wonder if all the external ornaments were gone, would I be thought of as peculiar, as dangerous, as a follower of the Way?