Remember years ago when the WWJD bracelets were all the rage? I must have been in middle school (also around the time “da bomb” was a cool thing to say), and the fact was… you just weren’t cool if you didn’t have one of those bracelets. They were the fashion trend of the year and everyone wore them… all the time.
Since I was in middle school and our maturity levels weren’t exactly established yet, it was like everyone took on the “responsibility” of asking others, “What Would Jesus Do?” if they were struggling with a hard decision or they weren’t making moral decisions. Now, I realize that that sounds a little haughty, and formost middle schoolers, that’s probably exactly what it was.
On the other hand, if done the right way, that question posed as a way to self-reflect and stop yourself from making whatever bad decision it was that you were struggling with. Like a little red string that you’d tie around your finger as a reminder of something, these bracelets served as a moral reminder. What would Jesus do? How would He act?
The bracelets also spread the concept of “Christianity is cool”, which is a very difficult thing to get trending with younger people… especially these days.
As fast as the “fad” came to be, it just as quickly died out. The misuse of the question, “What Would Jesus Do?” was interpreted as patronizing and judgmental, so the bracelets turned into more of a symbol of mockery than anything.
What was it about those bracelets that got everyone so excited in the first place? How can we incorporate that kind of trend in our churches?