The phrase come-to-Jesus as a compound adjective is gaining popularity around the office. And fast. You almost always hear it in the phrase "a come-to-Jesus meeting" or "a come-to-Jesus moment." The meeting is an intervention, a dressing down, for some unacceptable or disruptive behavior or attitude. The moment is an affirmation of the desired behavior or attitude.
What I find so strange is that this phrase is gaining steam at a time when and in context where the referent is so foreign and out of place. What could be more removed from a tent revival meeting than a New York City office building? In such a context, any literal reference to Jesus would be inappropriate.
I wonder if someone will have a come-to-Jesus meeting about their use of the phrase "come-to-Jesus."
It's true that the western world has become, to a degree, uncomfortable with Christianity, rather as teenagers go through a phase where they're embarrassed at everything about their parents. Â It's not not as bad in the US as it is in Europe, and even here it's worse in some regions than others; for example, in some places you can get an awkward pause out of a crowd at work just by mentioning in passing that you first met so-and-so at church.
But Christianity is so much a part of our background that it has become not just a religious but also, to some degree, a sheerly cultural influence. Â Everyone understands a reference to Goliath, with or without David; most know what Daniel in the lion's den means; "epiphany", "resurrection", "revival", "tent meeting", "baptism by fire" and many other such terms are used in normal conversation without anyone necessarily thinking of Christianity per se. Â It may be a while longer before "come-to-Jesus meeting" is used commonly in the Bible Belt, but I'm guessing it's one of those cultural uses, religious in origin but not in intention.
Whether it's nevertheless a symptom of something, good or bad, I can't tell. Â I haven't heard the term much myself, down here in North Carolina.