The Bible specifically says that we should avoid “having a form of godliness” without the actual power of God. It challenges us to be phenomenal Christians, not nominal ones. Biblical Christianity isn’t a one-time declaration of self-identity, but a supernatural transformation and lifestyle empowered by Jesus. Early Christianity overflowed with signs and wonders, not with whines and blunders.

Much Christianity through out history has been nominal, lacking the reality of Christ’s living presence and life-changing power. Thus most people have met many more nominal Christians than they have phenomenal Christians. However, if you search for them, you can also find many amazing, phenomenal Christians.

Biblical Christianity isn’t religious allegiance or church attendance. It’s God’s fire actually burning in a transformed human heart. If you never have a testimony about how Christ is working in your life, you may be a Christian in name only.

When Christianity is seen as little more than a nametag we wear, we have denied the power of “Christ in you, the hope of glory.” It’s too easy to settle for a nominal Christian life and to ignore Christ’s call to a phenomenal, Christ-centered life. The nominal Christian life requires nothing but occasional church attendance. However, phenomenal Christianity requires full surrender to the living, resurrected Jesus Christ.

The greater the persecution in any country, fewer nominal Christians will be there, but more phenomenal Christians will be there. Nominal Christians often call phenomenal ones “fanatics.”

Grace isn’t nominal. It’s phenomenal! Grace isn’t the absence of standards or morals, but the free gift of God’s power to live by them.

Jesus wasn’t born to give the world a nominal religious holiday called Christmas, but to offer people a phenomenal relationship with Him. If you look deeper into the events of the first Christmas you will be astonished at the phenomenality of Christianity! Biblically Christianity is lived phenomenally, not nominally!

I love finding phenomenal Christians in history. Then I like to hang out with them by reading their books!

Don’t settle for nominal Christianity, go after a phenomenal relationship with the risen Jesus! Check out my book about the phenomenal Christian life.