The great soul singer, Smokey Robinson, was a scheduled speaker for a two-day Youth Anti-Drug rally for the public schools of Sarasota, Florida. On the first day, he testified how God had rescued him from drug abuse. As a result, his speech for the second day was canceled. Smokey Robinson said, "The awful thing is that you can go into many public schools and talk about the Charles Manson murders, describe sexual promiscuity, and even pass out condoms, but if you mention God or Jesus, it's taboo." Something is out of kilter. Smokey discovered that we Christians are always caught in tension between the prevailing standards of our culture and the standards of Jesus Christ. We are called to live in that tension. We must neither cave in nor bailout. The more we are molded by Christ, the more tension we will have with the culture. The sparks ought to fly. Through that friction and tension, Jesus Christ can change our culture.

Note our two scriptural passages for today. The passage from John 17 is part of Jesus' high priestly prayer. Jesus is on the eve of his crucifixion. He has nurtured this little band of disciples for about three years. Now he is going to leave them. He prays to God for them. "They're going to be hated by the world, " says Jesus, "just as I was hated." Jesus asks two specific requests for the infant church. "Protect them from the evil one" and "sanctify and consecrate them in the truth." Then note St. Paul's classic admonition as recorded in Romans 12:02, "Do not conform any longer to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God's will is--his good, pleasing and perfect will."

Here is the crux of what the Bible is telling us: We Christians ought to stand out in this pagan culture, not as supercilious, condescending prudes, but as unapologetic representatives of Jesus Christ. Therefore, it ought not to bother us that we don't fit in too well. Between us and the culture, sparks ought to fly.

Allow me to lift up two specific truths that God has placed on my heart as I have studied and prayed over this scripture:

FIRST, CHRISTIANS SHOULD BE DELIGHTFULLY DIFFERENT.

Notice what Jesus said about us, the church: "They are not of this world even as I am not of this world." Do you know how we got the name "Methodist"? We did not choose it because it sounded nice. Originally it was a term of ridicule thrown at John Wesley and his Eighteenth Century followers because they were so methodically different in their lifestyle.

When I was in college, there was a young man on our campus who really stood out. Each day he wore shirt and pants of the same bright color...red, purple, yellow, or green. He was so out of style it hurt. According to the story I heard, this young man had very high squeaky voice. His parents, both of whom were psychiatrists, reasoned that if we wore clothes guaranteed to be noticed, that would divert attention away from his high, squeaky voice. Did it work? Well, his nickname was "squeaky."

We Christians are not supposed to be different just for the sake of differentness. There is no virtue is just being weird. Our distinctiveness should consist in our special joy, love, peace, but also it has to do with our values and lifestyle. We Christians have values that differ from the majority. Most of us believe that human life from conception to natural death is sacred and worthy of protection. But large numbers of Americans disagree. Their belief is that human life begins and ends when certain individuals or groups decide it does, and is valuable only as long as it is wanted. Most Christians believe that marriage is a God-ordained lifelong union between a man and a woman. But lots of Americans disagree. They think that marriage is a human contract made between any two people, and either party can terminate it for any reason.

James Reston, the columnist, quoted his 94-year-old Presbyterian grandmother as saying, "Lots of what seems to be progress is just wickedness going faster." Three out of four Americans say there is no such thing as absolute truth and they see all truth as relative. But we Christians believe that Jesus Christ is absolute truth, and holy scriptures provide an absolute guide for faith and ethics.

Let me illustrate our differentness. The Boy Scouts of America locked in a court battle right testing whether or not a private organization can set standards based on its own values. The Boy Scouts are being sued because a homosexual person believes he should e the right to be a scoutmaster. But the Boy Scouts and the United Methodist Church regard homosexual conduct as immoral. Here is a perfect example of how our Christian value system stands against that of much of secular America.

Our differentness as Christians is further highlighted when considers the hottest news item of the last six weeks. Of course, I refer to the accusations swirling around the president. The president and everybody else should be presumed innocent until proven guilty. I have no problem waiting until the facts come in. What bothers me is the contention by Charles Grodin and other talk show hosts that even if the president is guilty as charged, it does not matter. Some Americans believe that whether a politician cheats on his wife should have no bearing on his fitness for public office. They say, "As long as the stock market is up and inflation down, who cares what he does in his personal life? After all, he lives under a lot of pressure." That might be okay if God were not righteous and if America did not need God. Then any behavior would be acceptable. But America without the protection of God is just a latter day version of Sodom. The ancient city of Sodom was, according to the prophet Ezekiel, arrogant, prosperous, callous and immoral. The Sodomite stock market was bullish! Her citizens had never had it good. But God wiped out Sodom.

In Daniel 2, we read, "God sets up kings and deposes them." it applies to presidents, too. Then in Psalms 2 we have this solemn warning: "Therefore, you kings be wise; be warned, you rulers of the earth. Serve the Lord d rejoice with trembling; for God’s wrath can flare up in a moment.”

If a man or a woman cannot be trusted with private moral decisions how can he or she be trusted with moral decisions affecting all of society? Character is one seamless garment, covering both private and facets of one's life. There is a line that sums it up: "You can’t live crooked and think straight whether you’re a chauffeur or a Chief of State."

I don’t need to tell you that the wise men of Washington don't agree with what I have just declared. That's okay. We Christians look at life differently. Our challenge as Christians is the live secular society without selling out or bailing out. Let the sparks fly!

HERE IS THE SECOND TRUTH I FIND IN OUR SCRIPTURE: AS AGENTS OF CHRIST, WE MUST CHANGE OUR CULTURE.

Our task to infiltrate our pagan culture as agents of the Kingdom. We are to be "sacred saboteurs” armed only with the Gospel and Holy Scripture. Jesus said, "I have sent them into the world." Our Methodist mandates from our founder John Wesley: "Reform the continent scriptural holiness across the land." We are to build a new social order based on the principles of Christ.

Jack Eckerd, founder of the Eckerd Drug Chain, became a Christian in 1983 he decreed that all or his stores would get rid graphic magazines like Playboy and Penthouse. He then e directors of other retail stores and urged them to do With the help of a little pressure from the National or Children and Families, many of these stores got rid ash, stores like Revco, Rite Aid, and 7-11. Christians pray and work for a time when God's kingdom will on earth as it is in heaven. This is what St. Peter wrote, "We wait for new heavens and a new earth where righteousness is at home."

Remember, Christians, we are not supposed to fit in too well. Jesus warned, "Beware when all men speak well of you." Our task is not to conform to a secular society, but to allow ourselves and our culture to be transformed by the Christ living in us.

Several days ago the name and face of Kathie Lee Gifford came during prayer time. Of course, she is the co-star on the Kathie Lee" TV talk show. I almost never get a chance hat program, but I have kept up with her through the as been a hard year for Kathie Lee, primarily because of problems that I understand are not her fault. Lee is constantly attacked in the media, and I can think of only one reason. She is one of the very few high-profile stars who dares to stand on moral and spiritual principles. When you dare to climb to a higher level, lots of folks down below will take shots at you. Kathie Lee is paying a heavy price. But, praise be to God, she is not backing down. We Christians who share and spiritual commitments should rally our prayers and best wishes behind her.

Kathie Lee causes me to ask us: are you and I taking stands for Christ that expose us to criticism? If not, why not? What a shame if the world cannot detect anything differ the sparks fly, and to God be the glory!