Is Jesus Your Homeboy?

Quite a little debate got going in the comments over at The Evangelical Outpost over the “Jesus is my homeboy” T-shirts you see in many popular teen clothing stores. Full disclosure: My daughter bought one and has worn it to school and church.

Joe Carter takes up the “con” side, contending that these T-shirts trivialize and mock Jesus, who is much more than our buddy. He is the Eternal Word, Lord, Savior and Redeemer.

In the comments and over at her own blog, Ambra capably argues the “pro” side, asserting that biblically Jesus is both Master and Friend.

During the discussion, both touch on the subject of whether things like T-shirts are valid and effective vehicles for the Christian message. Do they speak the language of the culture? Or do they demean the Gospel because the medium IS the message?

I can see the merit of both sides. As a young believer, I had my own favorite Jesus T-shirt, which I wore often. I thought of it as a conversation starter. What with business casual dress codes being what they are, today my “Jesus junk” is pretty much limited to a license plate surround that says, “Praise the Lord!” and another on the minivan that reads, “My boss is a Jewish carpenter.” To this day, I don’t think a single person has commented on either one. So much for conversation starters.

On the other hand, there’s a wide latitude for misunderstanding and misuse. It’s a big leap from “Jesus is my homeboy” to “Jesus is my Lord and Savior.” Somebody could wear this shirt because they think it’s cool, not even knowing much about Jesus. The Message gets watered down. Worst of all, it dishonors God because it fails to represent the totality of who Jesus is.

Comments

[Bryan]

I may be reading a bit too much into it, but my understanding of "my homeboy" has more to do with following him than it does declaring that he's cool enough to hang with me, kind of turning the Lord/Follower paradigm on its head.

I'm all for the understanding of "what a friend we have in Jesus," but not at the cost of understanding that this Friend is the High, Holy, Sinless, Almighty God.

[Bill Carew]

I can see the validity of the comments here, but .....

I have been trying to get my step-son interested in a continued exploration of his Christianity.

Two days ago ago he came home and told me that he wanted to save his money to buy this Tee Shirt.

I was delighted!

It wasn't that I completely liked the Tee Shirt, but it gave us a common ground.

The "Word" preceded all .... and was to be heard. This shirt spreads the Word. Like it or not it creates a starting point.

Start the conversation when you see the shirt.

Bill

[Bruce]

Hello, i just want to post my comment about the issue over the "jesus is my homeboy" situation. This classmate of mine claims that i am a bad christian because i support the phrase "jesus is my homeboy." However, he does not believe in christianity nor its principles, but he seems to contradict christianity with science, politics and Islam beliefs. For one thing, i know that he cannot be my friend because of his hypocrisy. Anyways, i argued that the phrase "homeboy" has good connotations of a good friend. In the bible, when God spoke to Abraham, and the verse is found in James 2:23 i believe, Abraham was God's best and only friend because of his devotion. Simon was Jesus' favorite disciples because of his character and devotion. I for one support the phrase because it blends modern day language (yes language change with society's change as well) with religious intentions.

[matthew]

I have been thinking about this lately. I have come to believe that this t-shirt is not a good thing because many of the people who wear them have little understanding of the awesome power of God and that we should fear and respect Him. The connotation that he is my "homeboy" I think demeans this very personal relationship. The world sees it as a mockery because the world does not know Him. The very fact that the world accepts this shirt as "cool" should send off all sorts of bells and whistles. Not to mention the fact many people wear this should and commit heinous acts which send a horrible message to a watching world. There is nothing wrong with Christ on a t-shirt, but the world has meant this as a goof and as sarcasm, not declaring Jesus as Lord and King.

[Joe S. Gonzales]

Homeboy,as I understand it, means you accept someone to be with you. A part of you. I have never known anyone to use "homeboy" in a sentence that didn't depict someone as someone they loved or accepted to be a part of themselves. I think, the problem with a lot of the other cultures, is that they continue to be in the dark about language issues. Like ebonics, if we don't understand the language, we view it in a negative light. This same language has mistakenly been misenterpreted as a barrier. I love Jesus and yes, He is my Homeboy. Those wanting to see the T-Shirt in a negative light, need to open their minds and realize Jesus understands all languages.