Are You a Fan?
Then [Jesus] said to them all, “If any want to become my followers, let them deny themselves and take up their cross daily and follow me.” Luke 9:23 NRSV In his book, Not a Fan , Kyle Idleman shares an interesting distinction between fans and followers. Fans are enthusiastic admirers. Think of all the people who are fans of a sports star or celebrity. The fans might know all kinds of facts and statistics. They might have pictures and books. They probably have a great deal of passion about their particular celebrity. If the fans showed up at the star's door, however, the celebrity wouldn’t know who they are. Idleman, a pastor in Louisville, Kentucky is the son of a pastor. When he was growing up, he had a poster of Michael Jordan in his bedroom. Right next to it he had a poster of Jesus. He considered himself a Christian, but while he was a fan of Jesus he wanted to be like Mike. He didn’t come to understand this distinction until later in his life. There are a lot of peop