Righteous Insanity

Company Man: Are Christians Christianity's worst enemy?

Over the last few years, I've come to realize a hard truth about Christianity today: Christians are the worst enemy of Christianity. Not atheists, not liberals, not the media, not Hollywood, but Christians. In fact Christians are a bigger obstacle to people coming to Christ than the gospel - a message that Jesus himself described as offensive to the world.

The world still finds it offensive that it is sinful and in need of redemption. But more offensive than that are the people who wag their fingers telling the world "you must repent" who fail to live up to the standard of Christ in every conceivable way. Christians are gossips. They constantly judging others. They are complete hypocrites, condemning people for sinful actions while excusing their own. They walled themselves off from the world completely, and then they self-righteously wept for the fate of the world that doesn't get it 

If Jesus walked into a modern day church, I wonder how many disciples he'd see vs. Pharisees. I bet we'd be astonished at the ratio of pure white sheep to white-washed tombs. I'm lumping myself into that latter category because most of my life, that's where I've belonged.

Biblical Christianity is not the way of judging and hypocrisy and legalism, but that's what we've made it. Until we go back to the model of Christ, we will continue to be the biggest stumbling block on the road to salvation for the people we claim we want to see saved.

That's why I want you to read "Company Man." It's a business parable written to help Christians go from legalistic, self-appointed judges to true followers of Christ. It's about learning to live by the second greatest commandment: love your neighbor as yourself.

Our world is dying apart from Christ, and until we get out of his way, they will continue to die apart from him. We will be held accountable for our actions one day, and self-righteous excuses are not going to let us off the hook. Please pick up a copy of "Company Man" today, and share it with your fellow believers.

 

New pricing on Kindle books

I just did an update to my fiction website www.johncosper.com, and I just dropped the price on a number of the Kindle books available through the website. All Kindle books are now $2.99 or less, and both Left Overs and Company Man are now only 99 cents. 

Over the next year, I have three projects I hope to roll out through the website. One is a study guide for Company Man that can be used in small groups, Sunday School classes, and Bible studies that choose to use the book as a resource. I also have two novels on the way, including the long in development sequel to The Shell Collector. 

Company Man is available in paperback, and if you contact me directly, you can get a nice discount off the Amazon.com price of $7.99 for group orders. 

Top Sellers on Kindle for Summer

These were the top sellers for me on Kindle over the summer. Give them a look when you get a chance!

Left Overs: A Left Behind Parody. A short and sweet spoof of the Left Behind franchise that takes on everything from Kirk Cameron's sitcom roots to the blatant rip off of GI Joe that is the Anti-Christ's origin story.

Demonica: Confessions of a Small Town Super-Villain. I'm surprised but pleased to see this book doing well. It's a memoir of a former super-villain who returns to her home town for Christmas, only to find her arch enemy and her past stalking her. Can a former super-villain find redemption?

Company Man. A business parable about learning to be the kind of Christian who draws others to Christ. We seem to have gone the other way the last few decades with our judgmental outlook on sinners and sin. It's about time we remember how Jesus modeled personal evangelism for us.

Throwing Eggs in the Shower: Embracing and Enjoying the Single Life. Another surprise hit on the sales chart. This memoir of a single life was written as an extension of the singles website parody www.getyoked.net. It seems to be finding an audience on Kindle, which shouldn't really be a surprise because there aren't many voices out there encouraging singles to embrace their single status and use that time to further their relationship with the one who matters most, Jesus.

There's plenty more of my work on Kindle, especially if you like science fiction. Paperback editions are available for all except Left Overs.

New skit - Strong Arm Evangelism

I'm reading Kyle Idleman's "Not a Fan," and a chapter I read this morning led to an interesting realization. Jesus pursues us like a romantic lover, but he wants us to choose to love him rather than compel us to love him back. Yet how do many Christians act when telling the world about Jesus? Do we go in like the good friend of the love struck Romeo to tell Juliet that he likes her, or do we go in like goon henchmen trying to strong arm people into the faith? 

So like always... I turned that thought into a sketch - one that ties in nicely with my own book Company Man. (Though I strongly recommend Not a Fan as well.)

Enjoy. 

Strong Arm Evangelism

By John Cosper

www.righteousinsanity.com

 

CHARACTERS

The Guy- Represents "You Know Who"

Jerry- The Guy's friend

Denise- A girl the Guy really loves 

 

 

Denise is sitting at a table, reading a Harry Potter book. She is wearing a nice knee-length skirt and shirt. There's a coffee with no lid (not hot!!) on the table in front of her. The Guy and Jerry enter and sit at another table with their own drinks. The Guy points at Denise.

 

GUY: There she is.

JERRY: (looks) That girl?

GUY: That's her.

JERRY: Wow. She's pretty.

GUY: I love her, Jerry. I really do.

JERRY: So why don't you go and talk to her?

GUY: I could, but I want you to do it.

JERRY: You want me to do it?

GUY: Yes.

JERRY: Why me?

GUY: (quickly, like a commercial disclaimer) Because the whole point of this skit is to illustrate the way Christians fail to properly share Christ's love with the world, and if I go over and talk to her, there's no metaphor.

JERRY: What was all that you just said?

 

The Guy looks at the audience, then back to Jerry.

 

GUY: My knee hurts. I can't walk over there.

JERRY: Oh, okay.

GUY: Good. Now get over there. 

JERRY: What do I tell her?

GUY: What I told you on the way here. I love her. I can't stop thinking about her. I'd pursue her to the ends of the Earth just to be with her. Can you do that?

JERRY: Sure, Guy. Anything for you.

 

The Guy nods. Jerry stands and walks over to Denise.

 

JERRY: Hey, you. You see that guy over there?

DENISE: (looks at the Guy) Yes.

JERRY: He likes you.

DENISE: Does he now?

JERRY: Oh yeah. He can't stop thinking about you. Matter of fact, he loves you.

DENISE: He loves me?

JERRY: More than anything in the world.

DENISE: That's so sweet.

JERRY: Matter of fact, he's go to the ends of the Earth just to be with you.

DENISE: Aww.

JERRY: Yeah, he really loves you. And he sent me over here to tell you he wants to have a relationship.

DENISE: That's very sweet of him.

JERRY: Yeah, it is. So why don't you be a good girl and go talk to him?

DENISE: I'd like to, really, but I'm not ready for a relationship.

JERRY: (taken aback) What?

DENISE: I'm not interested in a relationship.

JERRY: But he loves you.

DENISE: (polite as can be) I'd really rather just sit and read my book, if you don't mind.

 

She goes back to her book. Jerry starts to take on a darker tone, like a Mafia enforcer. He pushes her book down to make eye contact.

 

JERRY: I don't think you understand. He doesn't want a debate about it. He wants a relationship with you.

DENISE: I'm flattered, really, but I don't want a relationship.

JERRY: I think you do.

DENISE: No, I really don't.

JERRY: But he loves you!

DENISE: Will you please leave me alone?

 

The Guy watches in horror as Jerry becomes more hostile.

 

JERRY: No! No, I will NOT leave you alone! My friend over there went to a lot of trouble to find you. Now you get out of that chair, and get over there!

DENISE: No!

JERRY: I said get!

DENISE: I said NO!!!

JERRY: (yelling) You don't want to be loved? You don't want what could be the greatest relationship you could ever have?

DENISE: Just leave me alone, please.

JERRY: (screaming) Fine! You don't want to be with him? Don’t be with him! In fact, you CAN'T be with him because he doesn't want to be with you! You just stay there, and don't ever bother talking to him ever again, do you hear me? Why I wouldn't let you talk to him if you got on your hands and begged me! You don't deserve a guy like him! He could do way better than you any day! You read bad books, your skirt's too short, and you got too many nose hairs hanging out of that nostril of yours!

 

Denise gasps. The Guy smacks his forehead in embarrassment.

 

JERRY: Why don't you braid that thing and put a bead on the end of it, you lousy hippy!

 

Jerry grabs her drink and throws it in her face. He stomps back over to the guy.

 

GUY: (stunned, shocked, appalled) What... What…?

 

Jerry picks up his drink casually, shaking the dust off his feet (in the metaphorical sense).

 

JERRY: Sorry, Guy, she's just not into you.

Company Man: Pre-screening for salvation?

I applied for a job in inside sales a few years back, a job that I knew I could do because I had done the job before. I had a very good first interview with the HR rep, followed by what felt like a very good job with two of the "team members" I'd be working with. The people were very warm and welcoming, and I felt like I had a foot in the door. 

 

I was then invited back to take a test - a psych profile. I took the test, shook hands, and went home. A week or so later, I got the form letter that I had been eliminated from consideration.

 

It's very likely the reason I wasn't selected had nothing to do with the psych profile, but ever since, I've wondered about that profile. What was it that came up that caused them to all of a sudden cut me out? Am I a psycho? A loser? One has to wonder about these things.

 

Whether we want to admit it or not, Christians do the same thing when it comes to inviting people in the church. Sure, we say we will welcome anyone. And if a family with special needs or someone living a lifestyle we do not approve of walked in the doors, we'd smile and shake their hands. But how many of us would actively seek out these people and invite them?

 

Christians are guilty of a lot when it comes to welcoming others in Jesus' name. We screen and select whom we want to share the gospel with based on any number of factors - not the least of which is how our fellow believers will judge us for associating with such people. The simple fact is we cannot say we are Christians, or Christ followers, or whatever you want to call us unless welcome all comers without prequalifying them.

 

Jesus went to the sinners, lepers, prostitutes, and tax collectors. We all know this. We all like to point this out when we're debating the gospel. But few of us live this truth ourselves. We're afraid our own faith and standing with God will be judged. That, or we are too judgmental ourselves.

 

That's why I want you to read Company Man, and share it with someone else. I believe in this book because I believe it's past time for us to stop screening people who need the gospel and learn to love our neighbors as Christ loved us.

 

The great miracle of the gospel is not that Christ loved the prostitures and the tax collectors. It's that he still loves and forgives the hypocrites.

Company Man: Parables in the work place

The first guy to tell a parable using the work place was Jesus. In fact, many of Jesus' parables took place in the "office." Of course in Jesus' time, the office was a vineyard, a farm field, and occasionally a banker's office because that's what the people knew. Jesus knew that such stories would leave images in his listener's heads that would cause the messages to stick. And while the work place has changed since Jesus' time, his parables still connect with today's 9 to 5 workers.

 

Like the parables of Jesus (and many of the modern day business parables written to address business issues), Company Man is set in an office. The story focuses on a true company man, a man who loves his job and his employer unconditionally. The problem is he is so zealous about his work place, he tries to force the same devotion on the employees in his office rather than allowing them to make the choice. Through the mentorship of a wise manager, he learns that it is not his place to force people into compliance, but to lead through example while accepting and loving the individuals for who they are and not who they could be.

 

Company Man was written for the long time believers, the weary pastors, and all those who long to see respect for the Lord restored to society. It's a reminder of the way the Lord first loved us - just as we were - and a call to love others in the same way.

 

There will be a day of reckoning for all, and the world will be held accountable for what they did with Jesus. But just as the world will be judged (by Christ, and NOT by us!), we as believers will be judged for the way we represented Christ. 

 

Company Man is available in paperback and Kindle on Amazon.com. If you are interested in purchasing for a group or in bulk, please contact john@righteousinsanity.com to get a special discounted price.

New skit - 491 Times

This script ties in nicely with Company Man, but it's also a nice stand alone piece for introducing a sermon on forgiving others and that tricky passage about seven times seventy. You always wondered what would happen if someone got up to 490 times, right?

 

491 Times

By John Cosper

www.righteousinsanity.com

 

CHARACTERS
Dave- An angry boss

Kip- A brown-nosing assistant

Jensen- A carefree employee

 

A desk is on stage - a very messy one covered in papers. There's also a trash can beside it. Dave enters, drinking his coffee. Kip follows on his heels with a clipboard as Dave checks the desk and then checks his watch.

 

DAVE: Well, well, look at what we have here. An empty desk. It's 8:05, and no sign of Jensen! Kip, you see Jensen this morning?

KIP: Not today, sir.

DAVE: Did he call in?

KIP: (checks his clipboard) Uhh, no, sir.

DAVE: Then he's late. Again. Which makes this the...  How many times does this make?

KIP: According to my count, this would be ther 491st time.

 

Dave gets a gleam in his eye.

  

DAVE: 491?

KIP: Yes, sir.

DAVE: Are you absolutely sure?

KIP: Positive.

DAVE: (in jubilation and exaltation) I can fire him! I can finally fire Steve Jensen!

KIP: Yes, sir, you can!

DAVE: Oh what a happy day! You don't know what this means to me, to be able to fire somebody. Actually fire someone after so many years! Used to be I could fire a man for looking at me funny. But ever since we got that new Chairman and his "Jesus is our CEO" policy, it's been a nightmare.

KIP: To be fair, sir, morale has improved, customer satisfaction is improved, and sales have climbed every quarter.

DAVE: Meanwhile, my blood is boiling on a daily basis because I have to keep on forgiving the incompetant morons that work in this office for their mistakes! Not once, not twice, not even three times, but--

KIP: Seven times seventy - or as we've already discussed 490 times.

DAVE: Kip, don't interrupt me! I told you never to interrupt me! (sadistically) How many times have you interrupted me?

KIP: (marks a tally on his clipboard, says nervously) Only three hundred seven, sir.

DAVE: Gah! You can't run a business this way, forgiving people left and right. You have to have a heavy hand. You have to have authority. People have to be scared of you! A man who has to forgive five hundred times minus ten before he can fire you is just not scary!

KIP: Very poetic, sir.

DAVE: Thank you.

 

Jensen enters.

 

DAVE: Ah, here he comes. Hold my coffee.

KIP: Yes, sir.

DAVE: I am going to enjoy this.

JENSEN: Good morning, sir.

DAVE: Jensen, you're late! This is your 491st strike, and I think you know what that means.

JENSEN: I do?

DAVE: YOU'RE FIRED, JENSEN!!! (to Kip) That felt so good! (back in character) Get your stuff together and get out!

JENSEN: I will, sir. But with all due respect, you can't fire me.

DAVE: Of course I can! Seven times seventy is 490. You've been late 491 times. YOU'RE FIRED!!!!

JENSEN: But sir, I don't work for you any more.

DAVE: I know you don't because YOU'RE FIRED!!!!

JENSEN: Sir, I don't work for you because... I took a different position.

DAVE: You what?

JENSEN: I took a job at the corporate office.

DAVE: You did?

JENSEN: I gave you a letter two weeks ago, remember?

DAVE: Letter? What letter?

 

Dave turns to Kip with an angry glare. Kip smiles and pulls an envelope out of his coat pocket.

 

KIP: I'm sorry, sir. But this is only the 97th--

DAVE: Just give it to me!

 

Dave takes the letter an opens it.

 

DAVE: "Dear Mr. blah blah blah... Effective immediately, taking a new position in the corporate IT department as head of... network abuse enforcement?" What does that mean?

JENSEN: Well, this is a little awkward, sir, but it means that I'm here this morning to talk to you about your Internet usage.

DAVE: Internet usage?

JENSEN: Of the 957 people employed by our firm, you're one of the top three in terms of bandwidth theft.

DAVE: What do you man, bandwidth therft?

KIP: I think he means surfing the Internet.

DAVE: Oh.

JENSEN: It seems you've spent an inordinate amount of time watching videos and... oh, that's interesting. Reading wrestling news blogs. 

KIP: Sir, I didn't know you were a wrestling fan.

DAVE: Shut up, Kip!

JENSEN: Now as you know, per our "Jesus is our CEO" action plan, the company will forgive any single infraction up to seven times seventy.

DAVE: (impatient) Right, right. So how many times have I violated the Internet policy?

JENSEN: Twelve thousand, nine hundred sixty eight.

KIP: Holy smokes, you are so dead.

DAVE: Look, Jensen, are you sure those numbers are right? I mean, given this is the first time anyone's been here to talk to me, are you sure it wasn't 489 times?

JENSEN: No, sir, we've checked and double checked. But since you mentioned it, you have hit the web page with that dramatic squirrel video 489 times alone.

 

Dramatic musical stinger as Dave looks at the audience, mocking the famous "dramatic squirrel" Internet video.

 

JENSEN: I'm really sorry, sir, but you're fired.

DAVE: Fired??

JENSEN: I'll wait in the lobby while you clean out your desk.

 

Jensen exits.

 

DAVE: Can you believe that? Of all the legalistic...

 

Dave storms off. Kip watches him go.

 

KIP: Bad news for him.

 

Kip rips the tally sheet off his clipboard and wads it up.

 

KIP: Clean slate for me.

 

Kip tosses the paper in the trash and exits.

Company Man: How do you see the people around you?

Question 1: Why do good employees flock to certain companies and not others? Because different companies treat their employees differently.

A company that sees employees as cogs in the wheel, totally replaceable, replaces a lot of parts all the time.

A company that values people and understands that people are unique individuals, not simply parts lying in a box, will build loyalty, trust, and long-term relationships with its employees.

Question 2: Why do certain churches do a better job reaching the lost?

Some churches believe that all Christians should be the same. We must dress the same, act the same, live the same, listen to the same music, and vote the same. As Steve Taylor once said, "If you want to be one of his, you gotta act like one of us."

Some churches realize that God has made everyone unique. They also understood Jesus' approach to the lost. Jesus went to the people where they were and accepted them in that condition. Zacchaeus, Mary Magdalene, Matthew the tax collector, the woman at the well - Jesus didn't wait for these people to change their clothes and their lives before he let them in the church. He went out and found them and embraced them, just as they were.

Yes, God wants us to repent. Yes, God wants us to live his way. But the first step in leading people to that kind of change is loving people HIS way.

Company Man is a story about changing the way we view others. It's not about glossing over sin or letting new believers live how they want. It's about opening our hearts to loving those who are different than us. It's about letting go of pre-requisites for new believers and realizing the only pre-requisites that matter are the ones the Lord places on HIS people - to love our neighbors unconditionally, the way he does.

Company Man is on Kindle and in paperback on Amazon.com. If you're interested in sharing the book with your church group or small group, please email Righteous Insanity to inquire about bulk purchase pricing.

Company Man: A new book from John Cosper

Company Man is not a book about business. If you're looking for a new way to connect with your employees and infuse company morale - you might find something useful. But that's not the main point.

Company Man is a parable - a story about God and man, even though God never enters into the story at all himself. Like all parables, Company Man has a message and a purpose: to change the way Christians interact with the world around them.

Christians are not popular people. To be honest, we never have been. Jesus himself said the gospel is offensive to the natural man. But let's face it, Christians today have done a great deal of damage to the cause of Christ. We're so worked up about things and issues and politics that we've lost sight of what matters most to God: PEOPLE!

Company Man is about a paradigm shift. It's about becoming Christians who draw people to Christ instead of sending them running for the hills with their hands over their ears. It's learning to see past the surface and focus on the people we interact with day by day. Not that we let everything fall by the wayside, mind you, but that we learn to let things go that hinder us from embracing the people God has placed in our lives. 

Company Man is available for $7.99 in paperback and $1.99 on Kindle. I hope you'll get a copy with yourself, and if you like it, share it with a few friends. 

Company Man: Contagious or Quarantined?

Willow Creek once put out an evangelism curriculum called Contagious Christianity. It was a wonderfully named program that gave a great visual for how Christians should be in the world: the Gospel is such good news, people who come in contact with Christians should be quick to catch it and spread it themselves.

I doubt many people on the outside looking in would consider Christianity to be something worth catching. More likely, they'd want to take the lot of us and have us quarantined. Sadly, many believers, disgusted by the decline of the world around them, would be all to eager to go along with that, condemning the world to die apart from Christ while they live blissfully ignorant in their religious bubble.

There's no question the world at large is more hostile toward Christians than ever, but Christians by and large have responded not in love, but with hatred and bile. Christians are openly hostile people who vote for the wrong political party. They hate the sinner on top of the sin. They write posts on websites that are just as hate-filled and inflammatory as the most militant anti-Christian writers. The only difference is they leave out all the cuss words - usually.

Can you blame the casual seeker - or even the staunch unbeliever - for not wanting any part of whatever's infected us? We're not acting like a bunch of Christ followers. We're acting just like everyone else. Why would someone buy into the idea that Christ will give them a new life if Christians are just as bitter and nasty as everyone else?

It's far past time for Christians to repent of our hate, our bias, and our bitterness. Yes the world has rejected Christ. This is no surprise; Christ himself said it would. But that does not give us the right to respond with anger, with screaming, with flames fired across the Internet.

We as believers need to go back to the Word and re-learn lessons long lost. When someone strikes you on the cheek, turn to him the other cheek as well. If a soldier asks you to carry his pack a mile, go with him two.

Render to Caesar what is Caesar's - and do it without grumbling. Pray for those in power, for they are indeed the Lord's anointed. It doesn't matter what you think of them and their actions. Remember, God even used Nebuchadnezzar. 

Above all - and this is the big one, folks - love your neighbor. Love unconditionally, for you are God's hands and feet in this world. And God's love is for everyone: conservative or liberal, gay or straight, rich or poor, famous or infamous.

When you struggle to love someone, pray for them, and pray for yourself. God help me if someone misses a chance at heaven because I was the one who failed to show them God's love.

“Company Man” was written to call Christians back to a life of love, grace, and mercy. Not that we accept the sin, but that we embrace the sinner unquestioningly. My prayer is we'll learn to hold our anger, to lay it at the feet of the Lord, and to respond to anger and bitterness with a gentle answer. I pray that we will learn to love people without condition, and welcome them to God's family just as they are. It is God's place to mold and shape them, not ours.

Above all, I pray that we become a church with open doors, not locked doors, that we leave our little bubbles and go where the people are that Jesus loves - which is pretty much everywhere.