I no longer tell people I am a Christian. Why? Because I don’t want to confuse people. If you ask 10 people on the street in the USA (or most other countries) what a Christian is, you will get 10 different answers. If I say I am a Christian, they will likely interpret that to mean something different than what I am communicating. But more importantly, the term is not a good Biblical term.
“In actuality, Jesus never used the word Christian. For that matter, neither did Paul. Peter did once, telling others that they might be insulted because of the name of Christ: ‘If you suffer as a Christian, do not be ashamed….’ (1 Peter 4:14-16). Christian appears one other time in the Bible — in the book of Acts — where Luke says ‘the disciples were called Christians first at Antioch’ (Acts 11:26). Even so, the origin of the word — ‘little Christs’ — may have been used by non-Christians in Antioch in a derogatory way.
We are never commanded, exhorted, or encouraged to use the word Christian. It is, after all, a word, and for that matter a loaded word, weighted with hidden meanings and historical grievances. A much better phrase, one I use myself, is “follower of Jesus”. This defines. It explains. It’s dynamic and real.” *
Believers in the New Testament referred to themselves as “Followers of the Way” (Acts 9:2, 19:9, 19:23, 24:14, 24:22). Where did they get that terminology, and why did they use it? Jesus had said, “I am the way, and the truth, and the life; no one comes to the Father but through Me.” (John 14:6). They were followers of The Way, which must have been fairly ambiguous to those who did not know Jesus. It must have elicited some questions. What Way? What do you mean, you are following the way? Which opened up an opportunity to talk about the fact that they way was a person, not a philosophy or a religion. Jesus is THE WAY.
In our modern context, “followers of Jesus” might be a better description. But I am wondering if reviving “Follower of The Way” might be an even better idea. What do you think?
* Muslims, Christians, and Jesus by Carl Medearis