Jesus is My Homeboy Too

It was at least five or six years ago when I first saw that monotone halo surrounding those curly locks on a mannequine at Urban Outfitters. “Jesus is my homeboy…” HA!  I laughed! My immediate reaction was… “yea… he’s definitely my homeboy too.”  Little did I know how radically diverse the reactions would be to this simple but powerful statement.

Later that month I began to hear the backlash starting. The blue hairs were in an uproar and the pastor of our local church was in a rage. “HOW RUDE!” they said. They were so upset that young people would speak of almighty creator with such disrespect so as to call him their “homeboy.” I really didn’t see what all of the uproar was about, but chalked it up to yet another example of the generation gap rearing its ugly head. Now some few years later I’m realizing that the underpinnings of this statement and the outcry that accompanies it are harbingers of a bigger shift.

This emerging culture… these kids who identify with Jesus as their homeboy… they’re desperately seeking a God who is on their side.  Street gangs, groups of hippies playing hacky sack and smoking weed; all are happy to identify with Jesus, the man who brought a message of hope, love, and a new world to the uptight, stuffy, hyper-religious institution of the day. Now, it seems, we’re right back in the same situation we were in when he came the first time. Our churches have adopted a “they need to come to us to be saved” posture where little of what we believe is taken outside of our walls.  Those thugs on the train, puffing out their chests would rather give you a solid beat down than listen to you give them the 4 point gospel. But, wearing a “Jesus is My Homeboy” shirt with the same group will more likely get you a chuckle and an opportunity to share what he’s done in your life. How he’s got your back in tough situations, but he’ll give you a thump if you get out of line.  They get it.

So, it’s time to ask yourself…  Is Jesus Your Homeboy? I know you respect Him… he’s the Son of God after all. But, do you hang out with him? Do you kick it real with him and invite him into the dirty parts of your life? Would you puff a fat Nicaraguan cigar with him and have some brews on your back patio with your boys and grill him on the stuff you don’t understand? More important, do you dig him enough to get over your “puffiness” and wear a “Jesus is My Homebody” shirt as a conversation starter so you can talk to the thuggies and druggies? He might actually appreciate that.