“Embracing The Stigma of Being A Christian”
Author, speaker and at one time the senior minister of Westminster Chapel in London, Dr. R. T. Kendall has written a book about a subject matter that tragically is foreign to most so called professing “Christians” in America today…and that is “embracing the stigma of being a Christian.” In other parts of the world such as the Horn of Africa, Turkey, China and other third world countries there is a “stigma” attached to a person who openly and unashamedly is a Christ follower. And their taking on that designation…that of being a “Christian” for them can mean their being forever separated from their families, the loss of their jobs and all that they own and even the loss of their lives, but they claim Christ joyfully knowing that God has a better plan and a better place prepared for them. I am glad Dr. Kendall wrote this book for it is a message that desperately needs to be heard and embraced by professing “Christians” in America today.
The book is made up of 15 Chapters. In Chapter 1 Dr. Kendall shares is personal life story – that he how he got to be where he is today. In this Chapter he shares the three important principles that he wants us to get as a result of reading the book. They are: “First, it is a privilege to be scandalized or stigmatized for following Christ.” Second, author Kendall wants to “help us see the utter folly of being concerned with a diminished reputation – if that comes about because of your obedience to the Lord Jesus. And third, “the benefits that come from bearing the offense are incalculable.” “Welcome the Stigma” he encourages us. In sharing his personal story he relates how being pastor of the world renowned Westminster Chapel is a most prestigious position and just how much he enjoyed his ministry there yet as the pastor of that church he experienced the “stigma” for being a Christ follower. In June of 1982 the Lord led him to begin a ministry called “Pilot Light” which was a ministry where he and members of his church passed out tracts and witnessed to people, (conducted evangelistic outreach), in the area of the church. The people who lived near the church and even some of the people who attended the church were quite upset with him and the ministry thinking it to be quite a disgraceful thing that a man of the stature of Dr. Kendall as the pastor of the world renowned Westminster Chapel would do such a demeaning thing. But he informs us at the end of the Chapter that all he and his people went through for doing that ministry was worth it. It was worth bearing the shame of the name so that souls could be saved…and saved they were.
In Chapter 2 titled “The Gospel” author Kendall asks, “Whatever happened to the Gospel?” He then in direct fashion answers that question while also explaining just what the true “Gospel” is. He writes before we embrace the scandal of Christianity we “should know what we are embracing,” “Why there is such a scandal,” and “What is at the heart of it.” And he writes that the heart of the scandal “is the gospel of Jesus Christ.” He then writes to explain just what “the Gospel” really is. In Chapter 3 Dr. Kendall asks what is the most important question for every person alive to ask of ourselves and that is “where will we be 100 years from now? Will we be in Heaven with God, or in Hell?” He then writes how we can know the answer to the question for our own life personally which is found in where we stand in regards to the Gospel. Dr. Kendall pulls out all the stops with his book being very clear as to what the Gospel really is and what it means to truly be a “Christian.
In Chapter 4 he writes about the offense of serving God as revealed in the Old Testament…how many people from the Old Testament we consider to be “giants” of the faith were stigmatized because of their faith in God. He refers to Abel, the first martyr for the faith; Moses who chose “to be mistreated along with the people of God, rather than to enjoy the fleeting pleasures of sin.” David, and the Prophets and how because of their being willing to be known as people of the faith and people of faith, they suffered.
In Chapter 5 Dr. Kendall encourages us…yes encourages us to “welcome” the stigma of following Christ. It is in this chapter that he writes about the Anointing of the Holy Spirit and the role that suffering plays in the lives of believers in regards to the Anointing by the Spirit of God. He Writes, “the greater the suffering, the greater the anointing, the greater the anointing, the greater the suffering.” And the suffering he is referring to is the suffering that we experience because we are “Christians” living Christ-like lives in this world. He challenges us to welcome and embrace such suffering for the cause of Christ and the Gospel. And the Holy Spirit will anoint us and empower us so that we can live for Christ as well as suffer for Christ, being bold in our sharing of the Gospel.
In Chapter 6 author Kendall addresses the issue of “Name-Calling” and how Christians have suffered through the centuries being called names that were unflattering and even degrading as well as the use of names that we as believers should never call one another. His answer to the issue of “name calling” is total forgiveness, just as Christ as totally forgiven us. Easy to read about or think about but harder to do, however, it is essential to our Christian lives to be a forgiving people when we are called names and “scandalized” because of being Christians. Chapter 7 is a must read for all Christians as in it Dr. Kendall addresses the very important issue of what he refers to as “Unnecessary Scandal” which is where we as Christians cause scandal because of our words or our actions and not because of our sharing of the Gospel. He gives a few good examples of how we create unnecessary Scandal.
In Chapter 8 Dr. Kendall writes about the issues that we should “go out on a limb for” as Christians. In this chapter he hits the proverbial nail right on the head by writing that there are some issues that we as Christians should be willing to live and die for and there are others, though important, are not issues we should divide the church over and have animosity exist between each other because of them.
I wish I could write more about the powerful and life changing message that is contained within the pages of Dr. Kendall’s timely and important book for Christians living in our age but space will not allow me to. I will share with you the titles of the remaining Chapters in his book and I think from reading them you will get the gist of what he writes about in the Chapter. Chapter 9 is titled, “The Reason the Jews Missed the Messiah;” Chapter 10, “The Stigma of No Vindication,” Chapter 11, “The Stigma of Suspicion,” Chapter 12, “The Stigma of the Holy Spirit, Chapter 13, “Manifestations of the Holy Spirit,” Chapter 14, “Embarrassing Truths,” and finally in Chapter 15, “Outside the Camp,” which I believe every minister of the Gospel should read.
He concludes his book with a charge to us…that as a result of reading his book and understanding what the real Gospel is, it should affect…no, it must affect how we think and live and what we do as Christians living in this world while being citizens of another place called Heaven, where God by God’s grace we shall end up one day in the future.
For more information about Unashamed To Bear His Name by R. T. Kendall visit the Chosen Books website. http://www.chosenbooks.com.
I received a complimentary copy of Unashamed To Bear His Name by R. T. Kendall from Chosen Books for reviewing it.
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My email address is haroldcameron56@gmail.com.