my friend amy and i used to have this phrase to describe what we felt we were witnessing in the church (months before we both decided to move).

we called it either the "goosebump" package or the "jacuzzi jesus" package which, of course, alluded to the emphasis placed on having an overly emotional experience in the church. or even just going to church because it made us feel good. i think you get the idea.

well, last night i happened to be sitting in the jacuzzi on my roof with vince and three other people from my complex. they were already there chatting about their travels and reminiscing about old times. vince and i quietly kept to ourselves in the other corner, sipping our starbucks and enjoying the pretty skyline.

it was hard not to hear their conversation because we were the only people on the roof and vince and i weren't really intending to engage in dialog while relaxing in the steamy water. what we heard was undoubtedly entertaining but ultimately devastating.

the conversation began with one of them telling of their recent experiences in india. i almost jumped into the conversation because (as we all know) i seem to have a slight obsession with that country. but i didn't. and i'm glad i didn't.

she went on to talk about spending time at an ashram and learning about different world religions. i agreed that some of the rituals seemed scary and a bit odd. but the interesting thing is that she said, no matter how weird it was, i got sucked in ... like i was in a trance. it was all so cult-ish.

hmm.

that of course led to other stories about other religions and cults. from scientology to self-help groups to hinduism to ... yes ... christianity.

they didn't seem to have a problem with the fundamentals of christianity. they didn't even seem to have a real problem with the church. but one story made them all agree that christianity was just another pyramid scheme ... another cult-like phenomenon.

promise keepers.

now, i know that a lot of good comes out of these conferences. i'm not bashing promise keepers or passion or catalyst or (fill in the blank). i've been to almost every major christian conference you can think of. but this was their perception:

that it was creepy. that it was fake. that is was over the top and all just one big scheme to get you emotionally connected so that you would buy their package at the end of the day.

that's what the two men in the conversation walked away from that experience with when they were 14.

i thought it was ironic that i was hearing this perspective after yesterday's post. vince and i talked about it after they left and felt a little defeated by the way jesus has been portrayed. we completely agreed with what they were saying. we have felt the same way. but cleaning up that mess with people who are trying to stay as far away from those kinds of experiences as possible, seems like a daunting task.

it just makes me wish i never put my own comfort level before the needs of other people. and it makes me even more certain that jesus wasn't about temporary highs ... he was about relationships. until i care more about other people than keeping up my super christian facade, this whole perception will keep perpetuating itself and we'll be oblivious to our categorization of "other world religion" instead of being a revolutionary movement of faith, hope and love.