For two weeks I had been chewing on a verse from the book of Hebrews that I planned to use as my text to prepare us for the Lord's Supper. Then on Monday evening, God sent me in a different direction. My prayer is that God will use one verse from the book of Acts to set the stage for what I believe will be an awesome 40 Days of Outreach experience.

We use the word "Christian" a lot, don't we? Grammatically, the word can be used either as a noun, as in, "That guy is a Christian." Or it can be used as an adjective that labels a noun, as in, "Do you enjoy Christian music?"

How many times do you think the word "Christian" appears in the Bible? 100 times? 50? 20? How about 3? Only three times does the word appear. Do you think the three appearances are nouns, adjectives or both? Nouns. All three times the word appears as a noun.

The first time we find the word "Christian" is in the book of Acts, some ten years after the resurrection and ascension of Jesus. So as followers of Jesus assembled themselves and boldly shared their faith, the first ten years after Jesus' resurrection, they were not known as Christians.

Antioch was a city where large numbers of people were turning to the Lord. The church at Jerusalem sent Barnabas to Antioch to check things out. He saw what God was doing in this city and immediately left for Tarsus to find Paul because he knew Paul could help disciple these new believers. He found Paul and brought him to Antioch. Now read with me from Acts 11:26—"So for a whole year Barnabas and Saul met with the church and taught great numbers of people. The disciples were called Christians first at Antioch."

I believe it is significant that the verse does not say, "They called themselves Christians." No, "They were called Christians." The wording suggests that outsiders began calling these people Christians. Why? The first followers of Jesus were called Christians because they had devoted themselves to living the way Jesus taught people to live. They accepted his teachings and adjusted their lives accordingly.

So "Christian" is a noun. The word refers to a follower of Jesus Christ, someone who is devoted to living the way Jesus lived. You may call yourself a Christian. But would outsiders call you a Christian because of the way you live?

Today, unfortunately, the word has lost much of its original meaning. It's been watered down to refer to someone who has prayed the sinner's prayer, gone through a catechism class, or been baptized. It can refer to someone who believes in God or who is a patriotic American. Rarely is it used to refer to someone who lives the way Jesus lived.

The word usually loses much of its original meaning when we use it as an adjective. We tack it on to nouns to create phrases like Christian music, Christian movie, Christian political movement, or Christian jewelry. I know the labels can be helpful, but what exactly, say, is a Christian band? Is it a band that is made up of Christians? Or is it a band that sings songs about Jesus, even though the members may or may not be Christians? What if the music is bad? Is it still Christian? On and on I could go. But I hope you see that our use of the word has watered down what the word originally meant in the book of Acts.

So what does it mean to identify yourself as a Christian? The biblical answer to that question is that it means you follow the teachings of Jesus and you are devoted to living like Jesus. This raises a follow-up question. What does it mean to live like Jesus did? That would be a year's worth of messages. But in a capsule, to live like Jesus means that I love God with my whole being and I love my neighbor as myself. It means that I am unselfish and that I reach out to those who are rejected by society. It means that I take time to help others become fully devoted followers. It means that my thoughts, my words, and my actions bring glory to God the Father.

To be a Christian means that I am devoted to serving others. Every day God presents you with opportunities to serve others. It might be saying an encouraging word to a clerk instead of losing your patience. It may be doing some extra chores around the house. It may be helping an elderly person put groceries in her car. The opportunities—oh, they are there.

The other day I was returning to the office from making visits at Generations. I came to the intersection where I cross over 76 onto Murray Lindler, and there was a truck stopped at the stop sign and the driver wasn't making any effort to cross. So I pulled around and asked if everything was okay. He was broken down and wanted to push his car across the intersection but was afraid of oncoming traffic. I volunteered to help but felt we needed one more hand. I waved down another vehicle that just happened to be the Chapin police chief. He blocked traffic while we got the car across.

Five minutes of time to help someone. I didn't say to him, "I'm a Christian; therefore I will help you." That fellow didn't know I was Christian, much less a pastor. I just tried to do what Jesus would have done and served a need. If you just look, I bet you could find an opportunity to serve before this day is over.

But then there's another kind of serving others I want to talk about. There are segments of our society whose paths you will never cross in your normal, daily traffic patterns. I'm talking about the poverty-stricken, the drug addicts, the AIDS victims, the nursing homes, orphanages and homes for unwed mothers. I believe Jesus calls us to serve their needs also. To do so requires planning and strategy.

That's what 40 Days of Outreach is all about. Making plans to go outside the walls and outside our normal daily schedule to meet the needs of others. 40 Days is a thrust that gives you many opportunities to demonstrate what it means to be a Christian.

Although it doesn't fit within the context of the 40 Days of Outreach, Clothe-a-Child is a prime example of a strategy that goes beyond our daily patterns of serving others. Buying new school clothes for needy children would not just happen. It required Christians joining together to develop a strategy and then giving up a Saturday morning to serve others.

Last week I received a card from a grandmother whose grandson was a recipient of new clothes. She writes, "Words can not express the gratitude for the $100 voucher given to my grandchild. I can only imagine the hours and dedication that were needed for this event. My daughter had some disappointing news during this time, and the generosity of all the people involved with Clothe-a-Child gave her some light at the tunnel. We thank all of you from the bottom of our hearts, and your kindness will always be remembered, especially by my grandson."

God only knows the number of man-hours invested to make Clothe-a-Child happen. All for about five hours of ministry on a Saturday morning. But reading a note like this just confirms in my heart that every hour and dollar invested were worth it all.

"Christian"—someone who is devoted to living like Jesus. Does that definition describe you? As we take the Lord's Supper in a few moments, I want you to do some soul searching. Jesus died on the cross for you so that your sins could be wiped away and to give you power to live like Jesus did. Are you a Christian in name only? Or do you actually follow Jesus' teachings and implement them into your life? It's pretty easy to say, "I am a Christian." But when others say about you, "That person is a Christian," then I believe that's confirmation.