Frankly, I sat there silent and stunned. It was difficult for me to believe
what I was hearing. But I could neither deny it nor ignore it.

I’m referring to the answers that were given to this simple three-word
question: “Who is Jesus?” The adults who were asked that question were
mainly in their twenties and thirties, well educated, and intelligent.
Understand, this was not in some distant, far-removed region of our world.
It occurred at a large shopping mall not even five miles from our church in
the busy, rapidly growing community of Frisco, Texas, only a few miles
north of the Dallas metroplex. Nevertheless, these people didn’t have a clue.

To help our congregation become aware of the spiritual vacuum in which
we find ourselves, one of our staff members came up with the idea of onthe-
street video interviews with a random sampling of individuals in the
local mall. The questions he asked were not complicated or designed to
manipulate or embarrass anyone; they were clear, courteous, simple, and to
the point. The results of his informal survey helped convince all of us that
our plans to expand made good sense. Truth be told, most of us had no idea
what we would discover.

As the video flickered across a small projection screen in one of our
church conference rooms, my mouth dropped open and my eyes grew wide.
Subconsciously, I began to lean forward in my chair. The crowning moment
came when the interviewer asked several people, “Who is Jesus?” Here are
a few of the answers he received: