{"id":11084,"date":"2013-11-08T10:08:09","date_gmt":"2013-11-08T16:08:09","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/theamericanjesus.net\/?p=11084"},"modified":"2013-11-08T10:08:09","modified_gmt":"2013-11-08T16:08:09","slug":"the-thing-thats-shocked-me-most-about-pope-francis-or-why-protestant-pastors-need-to-pay-attention-to-this-pope","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/zackhunt\/2013\/11\/the-thing-thats-shocked-me-most-about-pope-francis-or-why-protestant-pastors-need-to-pay-attention-to-this-pope\/","title":{"rendered":"The Thing That’s Shocked Me Most About Pope Francis (Or Why Protestant Pastors Need To Pay Attention To This Pope)"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<\/head>

\"Vatican<\/a>(H\/T<\/a>)<\/p>\n

This will probably come as no surprise, but I\u2019m a fan of Pope Francis.<\/p>\n

A big<\/em> fan.<\/p>\n

I\u2019m under no illusions that he isn\u2019t without his flaws, but when it comes to the Christian faith and in particular being Christ-like he just seems to get it, probably more than any other major Christian leader I know.<\/p>\n

From rejecting the luxurious papal apartment to washing the feet of a Muslim female inmate to his theology that seems more concerned with loving the poor and defending the oppressed than drawing lines of exclusion to that time last week when he put a kid on the papal seat during a talk at St. Peter\u2019s or just the other day when he embraced and kissed a man stricken with a disfiguring skin disease Pope Francis never ceases to wow me and, more often than not, bring a few tears to my eyes.<\/p>\n

I\u2019m not Roman Catholic, but he\u2019s the sort of leader I would gladly follow, the kind of Christ-like example I want<\/em> to follow.<\/p>\n

But incarnated grace aside, the thing that\u2019s really shocked me the most about Pope Francis is the response he\u2019s received from those outside the faith.<\/p>\n

And I don\u2019t just mean non-Catholics.<\/p>\n

I mean those of entirely different religious traditions, but especially those with no religious affiliation at all and those who oppose religion altogether.<\/p>\n

If you spend enough time on the internet, you can just about predict the sorts of comments that will appear under religious news stories, particularly stories about the Roman Catholic church. To say the comments are typically not kind would be an understatement. Even calling them irrationally hateful doesn\u2019t quite capture the vitriol spewed in those comment sections.<\/p>\n

Which is why I\u2019ve been so blown away by the comments left on stories about Pope Francis.<\/p>\n

I expected to find cheap shots about the child abuse scandal, dismissals of his actions as a PR stunt, or at least a bizarre rant about how helping the poor is actually evil.<\/p>\n

But I\u2019ve found almost none of that. And trust me I\u2019ve tried to find it.<\/p>\n

I winced in fear the first time I scrolled down to the comments section under a Pope Francis story that really moved me, knowing the internet trolls would be there waiting to gleefully destroy my happiness. But they weren\u2019t there. So I kept scrolling. And still nothing. Then I went to another site thinking surely they\u2019ve got to be hiding out over there. But they were virtually nowhere to be found.<\/p>\n

Instead, over and over again I keep finding comments like this\u2026.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019m not Catholic, but man do I love this Pope!\u201d (Buzzfeed<\/a>)<\/em><\/p>\n

\u201cAgreed. I\u2019m a Recovered Catholic, born-again pagan- but this is one cool dude!\u201d (Buzzfeed<\/a>)<\/em><\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019m an atheist, but I am really starting to like Pope Francis. He really seems like he understands that the church should be focusing on doing what Jesus said- helping the poor, needy and undesirables. If more Christians would actually live their life like this- Christianity wouldn\u2019t get such a bad reputation. I truly hope Pope Francis continues on this path. I know he will do great things in his time for the church.\u201d (Huffington Post<\/a>)<\/em><\/p>\n

\u201cThough I am not Catholic or even religious, my respect for Pope Francis continues to grow. He strikes me as a true man of Christ.\u201d (Yahoo<\/a>)<\/em><\/p>\n

\u201cMakes me want to rethink my atheism. What a kind, good hearted, loving human this pope is.\u201d (Yahoo<\/a>)<\/em><\/p>\n

\u201cThis Pope is crushing it. I\u2019m an atheist from a very religious family, but I\u2019m so pleased about some of Pope Francis\u2019 actions and stances. He gets it, and the church needs it.\u201d (CNN<\/a>)<\/em><\/p>\n

\u201cI have long held a grudge against the Catholic Church (and the Christian faith) for the hypocrisy and intolerance so often exhibited by its practitioners. In no time in my life have I liked a Pope or felt that they embodied what Christians and Catholics proclaim is the essence of their faith. That is, until Pope Francis. I\u2019m thrilled to finally see a religious leader so full of love and compassion. Though I am not Catholic, I truly believe that Pope Francis is a wonderful human being and actually deserves the respect he is given.\u201d (Washington Post<\/a>)<\/em><\/p>\n

\u201cI am certainly no fan of the RCC and there is a lot of work they need to do in order to clean up their act, but this pope?\u00a0Is a class act.\u00a0Shine on, Your Eminence, shine on.\u201d (Huffington Post<\/a>)<\/em><\/p>\n

Now, I\u2019m not dumb. Well, at least not that<\/em> dumb. I\u2019m well aware of the fact that there are some not so nice comments out there in these comment sections too, but they\u2019re usually hard to find and even when you do find them, they\u2019re lacking the usual sting you expect to find.<\/p>\n

As someone (a blogger) who spends an absurd amount of time on the internet and an equally absurd amount of time reading through comments, I\u2019m telling you this is a big deal<\/em>. I\u2019ve never seen anything like it and I don\u2019t think I\u2019m likely to see such a near universal outpouring of love, support, open-mindedness, acceptance, and grace again anytime soon \u2013 if ever.<\/p>\n

That\u2019s just not the way the internet works. The internet breeds cynicism and hate. It\u2019s like it\u2019s in its DNA. Even in the most warm-hearted stories you\u2019ll find somebody making a cynical, hateful, or smartass remark just because they can.<\/p>\n

But with Pope Francis it\u2019s just not there and its absence is incredible.<\/p>\n

Maybe even more incredible is the fact that Pope Francis hasn\u2019t just silenced his critics.<\/p>\n

He\u2019s won them over.<\/p>\n

Which makes me really hopeful.<\/p>\n

Not hopeful that everyone is suddenly going to see the light and become Christians. I\u2019m just hopeful that maybe, just maybe some old wounds can begin to heal, wounds that too often the church has inflicted. And if that can begin to happen, then maybe, just maybe Pope Francis\u2019 example and the goodwill he\u2019s engendering will allow us all, both Christian and atheist, agnostic and Catholic, to beat our swords into ploughshares and find a way to coexist peacefully.<\/p>\n

Which is why I really, really hope other Christian leaders, especially the celebrity pastor kind who wield enormous influence among Protestants, are taking note of Pope Francis and the response he\u2019s receiving.<\/p>\n

As a Church we lose so much sleep over millennials leaving and our inability to reach those outside our community of faith, particularly those who are antagonistic towards religion. So, we create elaborate programs. And spend fortunes on buildings and worship bands and stage lighting and multimedia experiences. And when that doesn\u2019t work we try hitting people with some good ole \u201cturn or burn,\u201d God hates you and you\u2019re going to hell preaching.<\/p>\n

But it\u2019s not working.<\/p>\n

People are leaving in droves despite our fancy graphics and despite our best efforts to literally scare the hell out of them.<\/p>\n

And yet here is this humble man from Argentina who doesn\u2019t seem to care at all about outreach programs or marketing campaigns or cutting edge worship. He\u2019s shunned the luxury house that came with his celebrity status, stopped battling over theological issues that aren\u2019t worth fighting over, and instead of trying to scare people into heaven with words about God\u2019s wrath, he\u2019s chosen to embody God\u2019s love to the least of these with his actions.<\/p>\n

And the world is loving it. Young and old, he\u2019s being embraced everywhere he goes. Even those who have no love whatsoever for religion, love this man and what he is doing.<\/p>\n

As the Church, we would describe it this way, \u201cThey\u2019re loving the incarnated love and grace of Christ unfold before their eyes.\u201d<\/p>\n

Which means in his simple humility and compassionate servitude, Pope Francis is succeeding where our best programming and marketing efforts have failed \u2013 he\u2019s reaching those who don\u2019t want to be reached.<\/p>\n

So pastors, if you\u2019re out there and you\u2019re listening and you really care about reaching the people in your own community, stop listening to the ministry gurus tell you how to grow your church. Stop funneling money into the latest fad program or worship trend. Stop trying to be like the celebrity megachurch pastor you follow online and start trying to be more like Pope Francis.<\/p>\n

If nothing else, it\u2019s cheaper and the results speak for themselves.<\/p>\n

But more importantly, it\u2019s a much more Christ-like way of leading and living than most of us have seen in a very, very long time. The kind of example the Church needs now maybe more than ever. The kind of example all of us need to embody whether we\u2019re the pope or a pastor or just somebody sitting in the pews.<\/p>\n

As Pope Francis seems to be reminding us each and every day, if Christianity is going to have any credibility it has to be to lived out, not just talked about.<\/p>\n

He\u2019s doing a lot to restore some of that credibility.<\/p>\n

I can\u2019t wait to see what he does next.<\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n

Grace and peace,<\/p>\n

Zack Hunt<\/p>\n

\u00a0
\nUPDATE: I added links to where I found those quotes. However, because so many new comments were coming in on the post where I found them I couldn\u2019t find some of the original quotes. So, I switched out a couple for similar quotes just for the sake of people being able to see where I found them. Hope that helps.<\/em><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n<\/body><\/html>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

(H\/T) This will probably come as no surprise, but I\u2019m a fan of Pope Francis. A big fan. I\u2019m under no illusions that he isn\u2019t without his flaws, but when it comes to the Christian faith and in particular being Christ-like he just seems to get it, probably more than any other major Christian leader […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3437,"featured_media":11086,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-11084","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"yoast_head":"\nThe Thing That's Shocked Me Most About Pope Francis (Or Why Protestant Pastors Need To Pay Attention To This Pope)<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"(H\/T) This will probably come as no surprise, but I'm a fan of Pope Francis. A big fan. 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