The 21st century is strange and wonderful place to be and a difficult place to envision a radical, grace give and whole hearted Christian faith. This series of the A-Z of discipleship will help us try and narrow down a few key concepts of what it means to be a disciple of Jesus in the 21st century.

Authentic

Have you ever heard about the guy who walked a tight rope across Niagra Falls? Many people watched him do it. To them he asked, “Do you believe I can walk a tight rope across the Falls?” They all replied, “Yes.” They had already seen him do it. 

Then he pushed a wheel barrow on a tight rope across Niagra Falls. When he completed the feat, he asked the onlookers, “Do you believe I can walk a tight rope across the Falls pushing a wheel barrow?” To that they replied unanimously, “Yes.” Because they saw him do that too. 

Finally, a buddy of the tight rope walker climbs into the wheel barrow and the tight rope walker pushes him across the Falls. Wow, what a daring feat! When they finished, the tight rope walker asked the crowd, “Do you believe I can walk a tight rope across the Falls pushing a wheel barrow with a person in it?” To that they exclaimed, “Yes!” For they were now believers in this guy’s awesome abilities. 

Then he looked at the crowd and asked, “Who’s next?”

Authenticity is key element of discipleship. Just like the man who asked people get in the wheel barrow God asked us to take the first step onto the tight rope andfollow him. Discipleship begins with us making an honest decision to step out of comfort-zone. Authentic discipleship is about trust, both being a trustworthy disciple but also that others can trust you.

Authenticity is foremost because we have to want to do if we are ever to take on this brave and brutal task. Life is not easy and it takes it toll on you and your relationship with God.

Today I am going to take a quote from. Dallas Willard. He is an American philosophy professor and author born in Buffalo, Missouri. His work in philosophy has been primarily in phenomenology, particularly the work of Edmund Husserl. His more popular work has been in the area of Christian spiritual formation, within the various expressions of historic Christian orthodoxy. I came across his work as he was my previous boss Bruce Hoplers’ mentor. Check this out, its taken from a book called Hearing God.

“The test of character posed by the gentleness of God’s approach to us is especially dangerous for those formed by the ideas that dominate our modern world. We live in a culture that has, for centuries now, cultivated the idea that the skeptical person is always smarter than one who believes. You can be almost as stupid as a cabbage, as long as you doubt. The fashion of the age has identified mental sharpness with a pose, not with genuine intellectual method and character. Only a very hardy individualist or social rebel — or one desperate for another life — therefore stands any chance of discovering the substantiality of the spiritual life today. Today it is the skeptics who are the social conformists, though because of powerful intellectual propaganda they continue to enjoy thinking of themselves as wildly individualistic and unbearably bright.”

Let me know what you think…

This book is a gem, 145 pages of pure love, trust, gratitude and faith in Jesus. I was struck by how much this book spoke into my life when I read it. It gives you a glimpse of Jesus’ heart and his pure, rentless love towards His people.

This book defines self-hatred as the reason that so many Christian struggle with the constant unrelenting love of Abba. By clearly understanding and grappling with the life and teachings of Jesus we can understand and grapple with the real and true saviour. And then be truly changed and transformed.

In the astonishing chapter entitled ‘Jesus: The Stranger to Self-Hatred’ we see Manning grapple with the experience of Peter (John 21:15-17, Matthew 16:13-20). He argues that the central question of the New Testament Gospel, especially John is ‘Who Do You Say I Am?’ Theologians, evangelists, biblical scholars, preachers and authors all have their own answers but he challenges us with the great truth that these are THEIR answers and we have to find our own answers. He speaks here of Jesus service of others and his love of all-inclusive love. I am struck down by how our understanding of the answer of the question call truly shape of lives and our grace must turn into love and service of others.

‘The unflinching, unwavering love and compassion of Jesus Christ, the stranger to self-hatred, is the ultimate source of our healing and wholeness’ (p.39). Here we see what the followers of Jesus lived in and experienced, Peter transformed the Roman world by preaching from his weakness the power of God.

Christ criterion by which Christ assess his friends and repudiators is still ‘Do you love me?’ (p.40) The story on page 41 o the mother is simply an extraordinary image/analogy of the Jesus that is a centre of the bible. He ends this chapter with an astonishing comment

‘This is a glimpse of Jesus whom I have met over the years of the terrain of my wounded self, the Christ of my interiority. There is a beauty and enchantment about the Nazarene that draws me irresistibly to follow him. He is the Pied Piper to my lonely heart.’

This sums up the heart of the reason for this very book and the whole in my life that I have been searching for, some days I stumble upon on it and other times I left searching for the sweet sound of his pipe.

Another chapter real jumped out at me, the chapter named ‘Healing through Meal-Sharing’ one of the most striking features of Jesus’ ministry [was] the meals he shared with ‘sinners’-that is, outcasts. Pharisees (and others) would not eat with someone who was impure and no decent person would share a meal with an outcast (p.54).

This book overall is a great read, should be read and reflected on by all Christians.

Max Lucado (born January 11, 1955) is a best-selling Christian author and minister of writing and preaching at Oak Hills Church (formerly the Oak Hills Church of Christ) inSan Antonio, Texas. Lucado has written more than 50 books with 28 million copies in print, including three recipients of the Charles “Kip” Jordon Gold Medallion Christian Book of the Year (Just Like Jesus, In the Grip of Grace, and When God Whispers Your Name), and has appeared regularly on several bestseller lists. I was given this quote a while ago and have been mediating on it this weekend as I spent time with some really close friends.

“When my daughter was a toddler, I used to take her to a park not far from our apartment. One day as she was playing in a sandbox, an ice-cream salesman approached us. I purchased her a treat, and when I turned to give it to her, I saw her mouth was full of sand. Where I had intended to put a delicacy, she had put dirt.
Did I love her with dirt in her mouth? Absolutely. Was she any less of my daughter with dirt in her mouth? Of

course not. Was I going to allow her to keep the dirt in her mouth? No way. I loved her right where she was, but I refused to leave her there. I carried her over to the water fountain and washed out her mouth. Why? Because I love her.
God does the same for us. He holds us over the fountain. “Spit out the dirt, honey,” our Father urges. “I’ve got something better for you.” And so he cleanses us of filth; immorality, dishonesty, prejudice, bitterness, greed. We don’t enjoy the cleansing; sometimes we even opt for the dirt over the ice cream. “I can eat dirt if I want to!” we pout and proclaim. Which is true—we can. But if we do, the loss is ours. God has a better offer.”
— Max Lucado (Just Like Jesus)
Let me know what you think…

My spiritual mentor has been telling me for years now to read the bible in a year. He tells me its a great discipline and a great way to read and grapple with parts of the bible that I may never have read before. Here is your 21 day update. 3 weeks in and I am thinking why haven’t I done this before. I have been amazed at how much reading the bible everyday can help make you so much more aware of God. So much more aware of what God has been doing in this world. I wonder if we sometimes are too afraid of being disciplined  in our culture because it leads us back to the days of rebellion, rage, anger and, maybe just me, teenager tantrums. I am finding some beautiful about being disciplined in my reading and about choosing God over many other things.

There is something to this being disciplined lark…

One of the most remarkable features of the Christian story, in which I participate, is the inner renewal it brings. This is witnessed in scripture – ‘Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation. The old has passed away; behold, the new has come.’ (2 Corinthians 5:17) and experienced by many believers over the centuries. The Apostle Paul knew first hand the transforming power of Jesus Christ, but there are others too: Nicky Cruz, William Wilberforce, John Wesley are the ones which spring quickly to mind.

But God doesn’t do that, anymore, does he?

God doesn’t take ordinary, broken and confused men and women and create in them wonderful things.

Because that seems to be how we often live.

I have heard many a preacher and writer accuse believers of living as ‘practical atheists’. By this, they mean we live as if God didn’t exist. We stress over balancing the check-book, anxious over what school our kids get out in, angry when the local gang get away with vandalising an old ladies house. But don’t we believe that ‘the LORD will vindicate his people and have compassion on his servants’ (Deuteronomy 32:36) or that if we seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness’ (Matthew 6:33) we will not have to worry about food or clothing?

I know I am often a practical atheist. I will not leave vengeance to the Lord, I want justice and I want it now! Though justice is often distorted so it becomes what is best for me. And I need this money to pay for my petrol, why should I give it away? Surly God would want me to invest in myself?

What would it look like, in this present age, for me to live as if everything God reveals about himself is true?

How would that transform me?

Sometimes, we in the believing community take in the Gospel and with it we become Rather Nice People, with political views slightly to the left and a concern that everyone should know just how Rather Nice we are and how Rather Nice the world could be if more joined the community of Rather Nice People.

I’m not sure the ‘new creation’ Paul wrote of is a ‘Rather Nice Person’. Paul often wasn’t Rather Nice, in fact his letters are difficult to read.

Difficult because they confront me with a reality different to the one I can see, with its credit cards and party political broadcasts and marching to foreign wars and ‘did you see X-Factor last night’.

No, Paul was concerned about far bigger matters.

God and Man. Reconciled

All this is from God, who through Christ reconciled us to himself and gave us the ministry of reconciliation; that is, in Christ God was reconciling the world to himself, not counting their trespasses against them, and entrusting to us the message of reconciliation. (2 Corinthians 5:18-20)

No, this new year is not a year to try my hardest to be a Rather Nice Person. This is a year to tell all people that they can be reconciled to God, join in the adventure and know in their souls what it means to be a new creation.

Happy New Year,
May it be the greatest adventure of your life.