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Through the marvelous world of Twitter I stumbled upon this great summary by Scot McKnight of John Stott’s take on the word “conversion.” 

Conversion is a word that, in our religious past, has been closely tied with another word we young adults tend to turn our noses up at: evangelism. It smacks of naivety, simple-mindedness, and brainwashing.

But I think “conversion” is a powerful word. It doesn’t speak of reigning in our humanity to become dim-witted slaves to religion. Instead, it speaks of the seismic shift that happens when one way of life gives way to a more free, more powerful, more creative and God-given way of life. I’ll let Stott take it here:

For Stott it comes down to two features: those are saved are “in Christ” and those who are “in Christ” are reconciled to God. Therefore, conversion is about getting “in Christ.” Those who aren’t are perishing.

For what it’s worth, McKnight was the first writer who effectively used the phrase “in Christ” in such a way that captured my imagination and gave me a whole new, robust way of talking about salvation and faith in Jesus (see A Community Called Atonement).

“Those who aren’t are perishing.” — this is a simple way of saying that life apart from Christ is destined for death, destruction, selfishness.

It is life that is crumbling away, withering towards death and unable to rescue itself.

As I’ve observed before, we need no other proof than aging that life is spiraling towards something 100% out of our control.

Letting our life be converted to Christ’s life, or letting ourselves be subsumed into the life of Christ, means giving ourselves over to the values, desires, and ways of God.

It is a way that looks death in the eyes and says “you don’t own me.”

Conversion is about a way of life that trusts we are not in control but God is. That even though we age and spiral towards death there is a way to life.

We were once under the banner of something else—culture, country, self—but now find ourselves under the banner of Christ.

The former promises to shield us from aging and death through power, control, manipulation, success, sex. Things that fade. 

The latter, the Kingdom of God life that Jesus invites us into, promises us that death is not the end. And therefore it has no power in this life because we don’t have to spend this life trying to escape it.

And that’s conversion: a conversion from escaping life to embracing it to the full in the power of Christ.