This is Part 11 in a 12 Part series. The premise is this: "Two men in their in their late 20鈥檚 walk into a coffee shop around 7:00 a.m. In college they had been good friends, but over the past few years had gotten out of touch. Having lived in the same dormitory for three of their four years at City Christian College, they still had many fond鈥攁nd a few not-so-fond memories鈥攐f their time together in college. Just by accident (or so Michael thought) they had run into each other in a hardware store and had set up a time to talk over breakfast. This is their eleventh breakfast together.

If you want to read this series of conversations from the beginning (you don't have to start at the beginning), please see Part 1.

Jim: This orange juice is great. I think it was freshly squeezed. Pure, smooth, and a bit tangy鈥攋ust the way I like it. I鈥檓 growing fond of this restaurant.

Michael: Because of the orange juice?

Jim: (thoughtfully) No 鈥 but I love the orange juice.

Michael: You should have seen my breakfast this last Sunday at the caf茅 in Alpine Lodge. Eggs Benedict 鈥 apple crepes 鈥 mocha coffee 鈥

Jim: What were you doing up there?

Michael: Skiing 鈥 or trying to.

Jim: I didn鈥檛 know you knew how to ski.

Michael: I don鈥檛. I mean, I didn鈥檛. I鈥檓 just learning.

Jim: That鈥檚 great 鈥 learning to ski at your age.

Michael: As though I鈥檓 so old 鈥

Jim: How did skiing get into your mind?

Michael: For one thing, it was a good way to be away on Sunday, though I鈥檝e wanted to try skiing for a long time.

Jim: What鈥檚 wrong, disenchanted already with Apostolic Spiritual Encounters Church?

Michael: A little 鈥

Jim: Too exciting, huh? I heard they had a worship-dance group this past Sunday. Ready for some liturgy again?

Michael: It has nothing to do with that.

Jim: I don鈥檛 like the ties the pastor wears either 鈥

Michael: Ties? Oh, get off it, Jim. I wouldn鈥檛 avoid a church over polka-dot ties.

Jim: OK, then, spill it. What鈥檚 the problem?

Michael: I think I鈥檒l never find a church I can take my family to.

Jim: WHY NOT?!

Michael: There鈥檚 just too much hypocrisy!

Jim: I have to agree with you there.

Michael: (not listening to Jim鈥檚 answer) 鈥 I know it鈥檚 hard for you to hear this, since you鈥檙e in the ministry and everything 鈥 (all of a sudden catching on) 鈥 did you say you agree?!

Jim: Of course I do.

Michael: Well, then, at least we agree on one point.

Jim: I hope we agree on more than just this point.

Michael: If you took all the hypocrites in the church and laid them end to end 鈥

Jim: You should leave them there.

Michael: Not a bad idea. But how long do you think the line would be?

Jim: Long enough to kill a lot of nice, green grass. What happened to make you change your mind so soon?

Michael: I鈥檓 not changing my mind. I鈥檝e always been frustrated about the hypocrisy I see in the church. But most of my interactions at this church had been pretty good. But then 鈥

Jim: Then?

Michael: I agreed to do some graphics work on the side for one of the deacons, but now that I鈥檝e put a lot of time into it, he鈥檚 told me he doesn鈥檛 want it done after all.

Jim: Is that everything?

Michael: No. Betsy is sick-to-death of Jeff鈥檚 wife. She always dresses like the models in the Macys catalog, yet she constantly moans about how bad her financial situation is.

Jim: Is that all?

Michael: Actually not, but I don鈥檛 want to sound like I鈥檓 complaining. We heard that the last elders鈥 meeting turned into a big fight after one of the elders suggested building a basketball court in the empty lot so the teenagers could use it for youth ministries.

Jim: It sounds like a good idea to me.

Michael: I don鈥檛 agree with you, but that鈥檚 not what bothered me. My problem was that they couldn鈥檛 sit down and work out their differences peacefully.

Jim: That is a problem.

Michael: And I鈥檓 starting to get frustrated with the sermons. I mean 鈥 the pastor鈥檚 a good man 鈥

Jim: He is. I know him well鈥.

Michael: But is it really possible to live out the kind of holy life he keeps exhorting us to live? I wonder if he鈥檚 really living out what he鈥檚 telling us to do.

Jim: Well 鈥 without addressing any of the specifics for the moment, perhaps we should talk about the problem of hypocrisy in the church.

Michael: It looks like we鈥檝e already started.

Jim: What frustrates you is when people say one thing and do another, right?

Michael: Or they keep hinting to others about what wonderful Christians they are. But when I look closely, they don鈥檛 look so great to me.

Jim: Everyone?

Michael: I鈥檓 not ready to say everyone. But the percentage is high enough that I鈥檓 starting to wonder if there鈥檚 not a lot more hypocrisy than I ever imagined. Maybe the entire thing is a farce. That鈥檚 what I begin to think when I see so many living short of what they claim to believe. If ten separate people applied to work for me in my layout department, and the quality of their work all appeared to be below industry standards, and they all had graduated from the same school, shouldn鈥檛 I question the institution from which they graduated?

Jim: In the case of layout, it鈥檚 a good illustration, but it won鈥檛 work for the church.

Michael: Why not?

Jim: Because the proof of the pudding in not in the church, it鈥檚 in Christ himself. You鈥檙e looking the wrong direction.

Michael: But shouldn鈥檛 the people who wear Christ鈥檚 name reflect the attitudes of their leader?

Jim: They should. It doesn鈥檛 mean that they always do. I heard about a guy who read that carrots were good for his eyes. He stuck one in his eye and it didn鈥檛 help a bit!

Michael: (dryly) Very funny.

Jim: Just because someone sticks a carrot in his eye and says it doesn鈥檛 help doesn鈥檛 prove that carrots aren鈥檛 good for your eyes if you eat them. Just because people wear the name Christian, and claim to be disciples of Christ doesn鈥檛 mean anything if they don鈥檛 live according to the Word of Christ. In other words, just because there are hypocrites in the church鈥攁nd there are鈥攄oesn鈥檛 mean that Jesus isn鈥檛 true, the Bible isn鈥檛 true, and that it鈥檚 not possible to live the compelling sort of life described in the Bible.

Michael: But what are we supposed to do about the problem of hypocrisy? There鈥檚 so much of it.

Jim: Don鈥檛 be a hypocrite yourself.

Michael: That sounds like a good start.

Jim: I think it鈥檚 a good start, middle, and finish.

Michael: My fear of appearing a hypocrite is one of the main reasons why I鈥檝e been reticent to get too involved in any church. Soon after someone in the church learns that I鈥檓 a graduate of a Christian college, they begin to recruit me to teach something. I don鈥檛 want to be a hypocrite, so I back off.

Jim: I can respect that.

Michael: But, if I don鈥檛 begin teaching somewhere, I鈥檓 perceived to be shirking my responsibilities to the church. They begin to think that there鈥檚 something wrong with me spiritually. Then they start heaping guilt on me.

Jim: But isn鈥檛 there actually something wrong with you spiritually? Excuse my bluntness, but if you鈥檙e refusing to become a teacher because you fear appearing a hypocrite, you鈥檙e making a statement that there is something wrong spiritually.

Michael: Of course 鈥 I agree with you. We鈥檝e already talked about my frustration and disillusionment. But why pile hypocrisy on top of cynicism? I already have enough of the second; I certainly don鈥檛 need any more of the first.

Jim: I truly respect your concern not to fall into hypocrisy. I wish more people in our churches were so concerned. It鈥檚 interesting how Jesus spoke gently and openly to many different categories of people, but addressed the hypocrites so severely. I think this is evidence that he considered hypocrisy to be among the worst of all sins.

Michael: And you鈥檙e saying that the only thing we can do about the problem of hypocrisy in the church is to not be hypocrites ourselves.

Jim: That would be the first big step. The second step would be to pursue with all our hearts an unhypocritical life characterized by a vibrant, practical holiness.

Michael: But, isn鈥檛 this just the thing I鈥檓 afraid of? If I really dive into a full pursuit of the kind of spiritual life we鈥檝e been talking about for weeks, won鈥檛 my shortcomings quickly come to the surface, and won鈥檛 my hypocrisy be exposed?

Jim: Do you realize that this kind of fear has kept a lot of very sincere people from taking the leap into a pursuit of a full spiritual life. For example, many people would never think of taking up skiing at your age because of their fear of falling down.

Michael: You keep talking like I鈥檓 an old man!

Jim: Sorry. But didn鈥檛 you have any fear of falling down this past weekend when you got off the chair-lift and looked down that steep hill for the first time?

Michael: Of course I did. But I knew that I would never learn how to ski if I didn鈥檛 take the risk. In fact, I did fall down quite a few times, but I kept getting up and trying again.

Jim: Just as the fear of falling down has kept many a person from ever learning how to ski, the fear of falling down spiritually鈥攖he fear of looking like a fool and appearing the hypocrite鈥攈as kept a lot of otherwise honest people from letting loose into the pursuit of a passionate and dedicated devotion to Christ.

Michael: You couldn鈥檛 have described my feelings better. But what should I do about it?

Jim: The first thing you should do is keep up a vigilant campaign against hypocrisy. Nevertheless, this campaign should be鈥攁t least for the present鈥攁 personal campaign rather than a public one. Fight personal hypocrisy in every way you know. Since this is already, I believe, one of your strengths, I鈥檒l say no more. As to diving into spiritual life, you just have to take the risk and start. But let me make one practical suggestion. Don鈥檛 tell too many people that you鈥檝e made a decision to move forward spiritually. Only share it with your closest spiritual friends鈥攖hough definitely share it with them. Live it a while before you preach it. Let other people learn about it by 鈥 osmosis that you鈥檝e made a decision to live all for Jesus. They鈥檒l realize it soon enough, I can assure you. But living a lot and talking a little will go a long way to holding off your fear of appearing a hypocrite before others.

Michael: But if I begin to act like I want to live totally for Christ, I know a lot of people are going to begin pointing out my shortcomings 鈥

Jim: Just like you鈥檙e aware of others鈥 shortcomings?

Michael: (sheepishly) Uh huh.

Jim: First of all, you鈥檙e not going to act like it, you鈥檙e going to actually, truly, and really begin living it. Second, you鈥檙e simply going to have to take a risk. You may be accused of hypocrisy occasionally. Just receive any valid points of criticism, take them to Jesus in prayer, and keep pressing on. God will build humility into your life through such experiences. Third, don鈥檛 start teaching until you鈥檙e very sure that teaching is what God wants you to do, because the Bible holds the teacher to a higher standard than the non-teacher.[1]

Michael: I wish I had more role-models and examples in my life.

Jim: Finding models who live the kind of life we鈥檝e discussed is difficult these days. But don鈥檛 forget that Jesus himself is your model. All the saints in history have at one time or another felt the loneliness that a devoted life lived out in the midst of mediocrity can bring. You鈥檒l occasionally feel this loneliness, too. But God will give you heart-friends along the way who will walk this path with you and encourage you in it.

Michael: I鈥檓 glad you鈥檙e such a friend. I鈥檓 sorry I鈥檓 not such a friend for you.

Jim: Don鈥檛 underestimate what your friendship has meant to me, Michael. Just concentrate on walking closely with your Lord and you鈥檒l be more encouragement to me than anything you could possibly imagine.

Michael: Maybe I should try 鈥

Read Questions Over Breakfast #12: Can One Person Change the World?

[1] James 3:1.