Are You a Fan?
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 people who are fans of Jesus. Disciples, however, are not fans of Jesus. In the pages of the Gospels, Jesus doesn’t seem to be too interested in fans. In fact, when there are crowds around him, Jesus knows they are mostly interested in a miracle, a healing, some food. Jesus often tried to get away from the crowds. Jesus wasn’t looking for fans, people who stand on the sidelines, who know about Jesus and cheer for him as a celebrity. He was looking for followers, people who get in the game of becoming more like Jesus.
Dallas Willard, a Christian and a professor at the University of Southern California contends that for, at least, the last several decades churches in the Western world have not made discipleship a condition of being a Christian. In his book, The Great Omission, Willard writes “One is not required to be, or to intend to be a disciple in order to become a Christian, and one may remain a Christian without any signs of progress toward or in discipleship. Contemporary American churches in particular do not require following Christ in his example, spirit, and teachings as a condition of membership.”
Our mission is to make disciples of Jesus Christ who will transform the world. So how do we do that? What is our process? How are we doing? That is a conversation that church leaders have been having over the last year.
Becoming more like Jesus is a journey. Discipleship doesn’t happen magically. The great church father, Tertullian (c. 160 – c. 225) said, “Christians are made, not born.” When we watch the Olympics this summer, we know what it means for these athletes to be made, not born. Likewise, following Jesus means you are on the move. It requires action, discipline. The kind of people we become is directly related to the habits we practice in life.
Our founder in the Methodist movement, John Wesley, taught us to order our lives with habits. Wesley called these practices or disciplines the Means of Grace. He specifically lifted up praying, reading Scripture, receiving holy communion, participating in small groups, fasting, participating in Christian community, and doing good to others. These are the habits that we practice that help us become like Jesus. Our membership vows reflect these. We ask members to practice regularly using their prayers, presence, gifts, service, and witness.
Are you a fan, an enthusiastic admirer? Or are you a committed follower, a disciple? What do you need to do to get in the game and become more like Jesus? If you are in the game already, what’s your next step? Perhaps you need to become more regular in our weekly worship gatherings. Perhaps it’s time to step into a small group, like a Sunday school class or a Bible study or a home group. Perhaps you feel God calling you to use your gifts, serving in the church and in the world.
Jesus is always on the move in the world. Don’t be a fan. Let’s go! Let’s get in the game!
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