The gift of faith…

There are many things that can cause us to lose faith in God. In fact, Jesus’ parable of the sower and the following explanation to his disciples explained some of them in Mark 4 [The Message]:

14-15″The farmer plants the Word. Some people are like the seed that falls on the hardened soil of the road. No sooner do they hear the Word than Satan snatches away what has been planted in them.

16-17″And some are like the seed that lands in the gravel. When they first hear the Word, they respond with great enthusiasm. But there is such shallow soil of character that when the emotions wear off and some difficulty arrives, there is nothing to show for it.

18-19″The seed cast in the weeds represents the ones who hear the kingdom news but are overwhelmed with worries about all the things they have to do and all the things they want to get. The stress strangles what they heard, and nothing comes of it.

20″But the seed planted in the good earth represents those who hear the Word, embrace it, and produce a harvest beyond their wildest dreams.”

I am thinking about these things because I am wondering about what it means to make disciples. Evangelical Christianity has focused a lot of attention on the following verses quoted from the NIV and known as “The Great Commission.”

Matthew 28:18-20 Then Jesus came to them and said, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age.”

I like the Message version of these verses because they seem a little less mechanistic:

Jesus, undeterred, went right ahead and gave his charge: “God authorized and commanded me to commission you: Go out and train everyone you meet, far and near, in this way of life, marking them by baptism in the threefold name: Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. Then instruct them in the practice of all I have commanded you. I’ll be with you as you do this, day after day after day, right up to the end of the age.”

We hear very little of Buddhist evangelists, Muslim evangelists, or Jewish Evangelists. However, this does not mean that, if approached, a practitioner of these religions would turn away a seeker. In fact, I would argue that Buddhists, or for that matter, Yoga enthusiasts, Pilates participants, or Recovery program practitioners are better equipped to lead others on a path to knowledge and practice of their various disciplines.

On the other hand, I believe that Christians have managed to be left with this answer to anyone that would express a sincere interest in their faith: “Come to my church.” Unfortunately, churches have managed to strip away the high level of commitment that following Jesus entails, I think, in the name of institutional survival.

If the behavior of Christians is not appreciably different than the population at large as reported by George Barna, then one might ask what difference being a Christian makes. Trials and losses in life raise difficult questions. Seeing the behavior of churches that cover up abuse and religious celebrities that seem to take advantage of the faithful could cause anyone to lose their faith.

Then there are the stereotypical high pressure salesman tactics practiced by some evangelicals. The street evangelist approaches a stranger and opens a conversation with “Are you born again?” And from there the argument begins. Surely this is not the message that Jesus brought to those who heard him during his ministry.

Jesus’ message: “Change your life, God’s kingdom is here,” meant different things to his listeners. But changing your life, or changing your way of thinking, or changing your mind implies that his listeners were practicing their religion in a way that needed to be changed.

It seems to me that if professed Christians followed the teachings of Jesus, then there would be a clear difference between them and the culture at large. Maybe the message to Christians today should be “Change your life, God’s kingdom is here.”

These are the thoughts that are occupying my thinking as I launch a new website, Learning to Follow Jesus. Seekers will be encouraged to gather in groups of two or three and read and discuss the Life and Teachings of Jesus as inspired by the Gospels of Matthew, Mark, Luke and John. I am hoping that will provide a different answer to those who have been invited to start a spiritual journey of discovery that might include becoming a follower of Jesus.