Editorial

Steve Cole

If this particular issue consisted of a thousand pages we would still never be able to do justice to the magnitude, influence and impact of this man.

“I am an historian, I am not a believer, but I must confess as a historian that this penniless preacher from Nazareth is irrevocably the very centre of history. Jesus Christ is easily the most dominant figure in all history.”
H.G. Wells, British Author (1866-1946)

“I know men and I tell you that Jesus Christ is no mere man. Between him and every other person in the world there is no possible term of comparison. Alexander, Caesar, Charlemagne, and I founded empires. But on what did we rest the creations of our genius? Upon force. Jesus Christ founded His empire upon love; and at this hour millions of people would die for him.”

Napoleon Bonaparte, French Emperor (1769-1821)

“At a steady rate over the last 20 centuries, in 238 countries over 70 million Christians have been martyred – killed, executed, murdered – for Christ.”
World Christian Encyclopaedia

A famous Hollywood film star appeared on the front pages of one of the UK’s biggest selling tabloids yesterday. The photo showed this famous women walking into her London home wearing no shoes. It magnified the soles of her feet with the shocking headline that this film star had dirty feet.

The novelist Chuck Palahniuk suggests that this exaggeration of modern celebrity culture is created out of a need for drama and spectacle. In the book ‘Haunted’ he describes the pattern of creating a celebrity as a god-like figure and, once this image is created, the desire to then destroy it and shame the individual in the most extreme ways possible. Tabloid magazines are the prototype  example of this theory.

In an age of reality TV and celebrity why do billions of people see Jesus as the man to emulate and follow? Jesus is such a paradox to these ‘god-like figures’. He was born in a cattle trough and made tables and chairs for a job. During his three years of ministry people were desperate to make him king but he made a quick exit stage right instead. He was not interested in status or titles. Leading names in society were fascinated but Jesus was more interested in hanging out with rejects than he was about being seen with the ‘celebs’ of the day. He chose tax collectors and fisherman to train up and start the global church movement. Jesus had the potential to heal and raise people from the dead and cast out demons and yet he would be found praying up a mountain by himself or asleep on a boat in the middle of the sea. He was a PR nightmare, never giving straight answers to questions. He could have ridden into Jerusalem on a white stallion but chose a donkey instead. Yet, despite impacting thousands of lives his life ended with death on a cross with just a few followers nearby. Jesus was rejected by the people he had healed and saved.

Today, the most well-known person to have set foot on this earth stands face to face with our ‘god-like figure’ celeb, who is hassled and stressed with the intimidation of the paparazzi. There is no doubt that Jesus would be there in the doorway with a bowl and towel in hand as an example to us all. Yes, the most important man cleaned feet! Just see John 14.

In many ways our culture has become desensitised to reality and has become satisfied with the artificial. Where is the meat to truly feed the soul? Where is the water to refresh and hydrate the mind? Where is the fire, the passion that ignites the heart? Jesus says follow me.

I would like to finish by paying tribute to Rob Lacey who died aged 43 on May 1st. Rob was an absolute one off creative who wrote one of his last articles for the Spring edition of Artisan on ‘The Word’. In recent years he wrote, produced and performed under the shadow of cancer and yet, in the midst of incredible hardship, his inspiration and writing was at a level that will no doubt impact generations to come. We continue to pray for his wife Sandra (an amazing dancer) and his two young children Lukas and Magdalene - see www.thewordonthestreet.com

Love to you all
Steve