As if we in the church world have nothing else to talk about… there has been an ongoing discussion in the blogosphere about the use of the term “Christ follower” in place of the more common term “Christian.” This simple video parody of the now famous PC vs. Mac commercial shows why the term “Christ follower” is much hipper than using the oft sited word “Christian.” So let’s all change our Christian….i mean…Christ follower vocabulary!
I first heard the term “Christ follower” used by Bill Hybels. I assume he coined the phrase. And because Hybels is connected to the coining of the phrase a number of watchdog groups have posted blogs exposing the dangers of changing the age-old term “Christian.” Once again tradition has clashed with missional thinking. I personally do not have a preference. I find the term “Christ follower” to be a bit awkward, but I have used it from time to time. But really, what is the big deal. If both ways of identifying a Christian/Christ follower communicates the same thing, then who really cares. Oh, I guess these nit-picking bloggers who don’t like anyone who is not like them care, but the rest of us just laugh.