FEATURED: Beneath the Graffiti: A De-churched Christian’s Search for Christianity by CJ Penn

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About Beneath the Graffiti: A De-churched Christian’s Search for Christianity:

Jesus Christ created a masterpiece when He lived and taught what came to be called Christianity. Then, over the centuries, men splattered graffiti on that masterpiece, graffiti in the form of manmade rules, doctrines, beliefs, and traditions. Today, the manmade sometimes obscures the God-made to the point where, in some Christian circles, Jesus’ masterpiece is barely visible.
Sensing that the Christianity he had been experiencing was influenced more by man than God, many years ago CJ Penn left church and stepped off on a journey in search of the masterpiece. This book is a record of what he found when he peered beneath the accumulated graffiti of the past 2000 years, graffiti painted by church history and human nature.
What CJ found confirmed his suspicions that, when we look on the surface of modern Christianity, we don’t always see what Jesus lived and taught. We don’t always see the truth of what it means to be Christian.

Written by: CJ Penn

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Author Bio:
After becoming an almost-every-Sunday Christian churchgoer in his mid-thirties, CJ Penn eventually volunteered for the challenging task of helping lead the church junior high youth group. Then, in his late-forties, CJ left church and joined the ranks of the de-churched. He soon discovered he wasn’t alone.
Shortly after becoming another church refugee, CJ fell into writing as a way to express his devotion to Jesus, a devotion that, if anything, grew after he stopped attending church. This devotion motived CJ to follow the advice of his favorite Christian author, Andrew Murray, and tangibly (not symbolically) surrender himself to Jesus. He’d gotten tired of trying and often failing to lead his life in any way that felt meaningful and beneficial to others, especially those he loves. And he figured Jesus could do a lot better job of leading his life than he could.
CJ’s writing first took the form of a blog he started back in 2008. Then, just as the pandemic erupted, CJ published his first book, which he’d put four years of effort into. Since then, he’s continued working on multiple books, which remain his preferred form of what many call outreach.

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FEATURED: Contending with Paul 3 by William Cobble

FEATURED: Contending with Paul 3 by William Cobble

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CHAPTER EIGHTEEN
Lydia

Lydia only appears in the Book of Acts. Since the church in Philippi began with her conversion, one would expect to find her in the greetings section of Philippians, but she receives no mention in any of Paul’s letters. She does, however, hold the distinction of being the first known European convert to Christianity. Acts shows her as a businesswoman who was likely financially independent. Clothes colored with the royal purple dye of Thyatira were considered luxury items and her trade had likely brought her to Philippi to sell to the wealthy clientele there. Her home was obviously large enough to accommodate servants, guests, and ultimately a Christian assembly. Since there is no mention of a husband, Lydia was most likely single at the time she met Paul:

“On the sabbath day we went outside the gate by the river, where we supposed there was a place of prayer; and we sat down and spoke to the women who had gathered there. A certain woman named Lydia, a worshipper of God, was listening to us; she was from the city of Thyatira and a dealer in purple cloth. The Lord opened her heart to listen eagerly to what was said by Paul. When she and her household were baptized, she urged us, saying, “If you have judged me to be faithful to the Lord, come and stay at my home.” And she prevailed upon us.” (Acts 16:13-15)

Lydia, or at least her home, will make one additional appearance in Acts later in the same chapter. Her residence appears to have become the meeting place for a burgeoning Christian congregation in Philippi:

“After leaving the prison (Paul and Silas) went to Lydia’s home; and when they had seen and encouraged the brothers and sisters there, they departed.” (Acts 16:40)

A Theory
The appearance of devout women meeting beside a stream at a place of prayer on the Sabbath speaks to them being Jewish. This seems confirmed by the description of Lydia as “a worshipper of God.” That it was only women meeting outside on the sabbath could be evidence that there were not enough Jewish men in Philippi to make up the quorum required to establish a proper synagogue, which necessitated ten Jewish males over the age of thirteen. By the author of Acts relating this information, he may be showing an interesting contrast: Lydia, while a Jewish woman, was forbidden from founding a synagogue, but as a Christian she could found a church within her own home.

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