The Self-Proclaimed Half-Christian

A few years ago in Asia, I met a man named Lance, a self-proclaimed “half-Christian.”  To my surprise it was obvious that he saw this as a very good thing, being proud of his commitment, and he wanted to let me know that he was like me, a “full-Christian,” I suppose.

Was This An Invitation?

At least Lance was honest.  In America, people cover this up and say they are fully Christian when they are really only half-Christian.  So, I engaged him in a few significant conversations over the next few days.  I had never met a person espousing such a position.  I was wondering:  What does he mean?  Is there such a thing?  How would this work?  What would it look like?

At first, it seemed his comment was an open invitation to dialogue about Jesus Christ, His teachings and ultimately His Cross and glory.  And we did get to talk seriously about these things and from the Biblical text itself.  However, in time his original comment would be used again as a polite way of saying he didn’t want any more of Jesus or Christianity.

I found this out during one particular dialogue we had about Jesus’ demands for morality.  His countenance quickly changed as we got into specifics.  I found out which “half” of Christianity he didn’t embrace.  He loved his carousing, womanizing, and various other illicit pursuits.  I am still puzzled over which “half” he actually did embrace--I am thinking just the sound of the name “Christian” and any benefits he could get out of using it.

Merely A Relationship Of Self-Interest

His motivation for befriending our group was purely opportunistic as a businessman seeking to advance his standing by having American friends.  However, he was useful to us, as well, as an odd sort of “person of peace” (Matthew 10), who opened doors for us and the Gospel.  He even went to bat for us with local authorities when there was concern about our activities. 

At least for that week our relationship worked, and worked for mutual benefit.  It reminds me of Jesus’ words in Mark 9:40 ESV, “For the one who is not against us is for us.”  During our team’s short visit, the Gospel was delivered not only to him, but throughout the community and over 40 people professed to become “full-Christians” and four small house churches were formed.

An Evangelism Lesson Learned

God surprises us by using the most interesting people and the most fascinating circumstances sometimes to get His Mission accomplished.  Lance actually helped us to be more forthright in our evangelism about Jesus’ moral teachings and speak clearly about both aspects of conversion--repentance and faith.  

Perhaps, if we were more upfront about this in our evangelism here at home we would make more “full-Christians” and fewer “half-Christians.”