Discipleship

“Wise People” Program

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I was blessed to be asked by Jim Norman to talk on cultivating genuine discipleship and evangelism for his “Wise People” program on KDKR radio in Dallas/Ft. Worth. My conversation with Jim will comprise two half- hour shows. These are tentatively set for 8:30 a.m. CDT Saturdays on July 10 and 17, though I’ll firm up those dates for you as further info comes in. I’ll also provide links so folks can listen to the streams.

I thank God for this opportunity to share many of the concepts I’ve discussed with you here at Cerulean Sanctum. We packed a lot of great ideas into those two shows, I believe. People should be challenged, and the Lord will be lifted up. Many thanks for your prayers, as I definitely felt them!

Book Review: Jesus Manifesto

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“We Need a Whole Lot More of Jesus (and a Lot Less Rock ‘n’ Roll)”
—Wayne Raney

I don’t normally review books here at Cerulean Sanctum, but when offered the opportunity by Thomas Nelson to read an advance copy of Jesus Manifesto by Leonard Sweet and Frank Viola, two of the most prominent critics of traditional American Churchianity, I couldn’t pass.

What drew me more than anything to this book, which released June 1, is summed up in the quote that leads off this post. Sweet and Viola mirror Raney’s song title in their insistence that the Church in America has descended into spiritual noise, much to the detriment of our grasp of the person of Jesus Christ. Jesus Manifesto by Sweet and ViolaWe seem to be about everything BUT Jesus. We act as if we barely know Him at all; if we did, everything about the Church would be different. Sweet and Viola diagnose this disaease as Jesus Deficit Disorder. Jesus Manifesto attempts to rectify that disorder.

Sweet’s and Viola’s manifesto starts with a purge. The authors go right to the heart of the matter of the supremacy of Jesus Christ by calling us to re-examine what is meant by Acts 2:42’s mention of “the apostles’ doctrine,” noting all the debris that modern churches tend to teach has nothing to do with that doctrine, which is Christ Himself. We get sidetracked into eschatology, how to live by faith, spiritual warfare, evangelism, holiness, Bible memorization, and on and on. That list of diversions features a large number of sacred cows the authors eventually gore and then ask readers to purge. No Christian is left unchallenged.

The authors write that the ineffective Church is the one that focuses on things rather than the person of Jesus. Instead, the occupation of each Christian must always be Christ and Him alone. Getting a revelation of Jesus and seeing that revelation take root and grow in our lives is all that matters. Anything of value in the Church begins in the Alpha and ends in the Omega. The authors quote Watchman Nee  (in one of the many sidebars filled with wisdom from Christians throughout the ages):

“The characteristic of Christianity lies in the fact that its source, depth, and riches are involved with knowledge of God’s Son. It matters not how much we know of methods or doctrines or power. What really matters is the knowledge of the Son of God.”

Much of the Jesus Manifesto centers on the Book of Colossians. Sweet and Viola mine an excellent Christology from the book, not only elevating Christ to the position He deserves, but also noting how Christ’s elevation is our own by virtue of us being in Christ and Him being in us. The contemporary Church’s failure to tell Christians who they are in Christ has done massive harm, and it’s a blessing to read works by modern authors that address this lack.

Indeed, Sweet and Viola have given us in Jesus Manifesto a timely book filled with spiritual food a starving American Church needs to digest. If you have read Cerulean Sanctum for any length of time, you know my concern that we have lost our connection to the Head and have forgotten who we are and what we are to be about. Jesus Manifesto hits most of those points.

But the book is not without flaws, despite the fact that it focuses intently on our flawless Lord. As much as I found the book compelling in spots, it lacks the cohesiveness and majesty found in a similar book, A.W. Tozer’s The Knowledge of the Holy. Tozer’s book, which examines the character of God, is always riveting and powerful. Sweet’s and Viola’s book, in contrast, soars but equally drifts. One paragraph may be life-changing, while the next adds nothing—or worse, diminishes the profundity of the preceding words.

The book struggles with flow, too. This may be due to attempting to cram the ideas of two fascinating thinkers into a sub-200-page book on the Lord of the Universe. While the authors have much to say, their framing methods for doing so lack a coherent base. Jesus Manifesto reads as if it were written by a committee.

Together, these issues render Jesus Manifesto a huge paradox: a book that is too short and yet too long, profound yet prone to reader skimming, exciting and yet dull. In short, it needed an attentive editor to manage and direct these two intriguing authors.

I would encourage others to read Jesus Manifesto, for it contains a valuable reminder of the real point of the Christian faith we believe and practice. Too much “rock ‘n’ roll” exists in the American Church. Less of that and more of Jesus Himself is most definitely the cure for what ails us.

Indoctrinating for Heaven or Hell

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I once read about a pastor who was criticized for telling people he was baptizing that when they came up from the water not to be surprised if they were speaking in tongues—which was the case for many. Critics would argue that this set a false expectation.

But in thinking about this, I have to come down in favor of the pastor.

You see, each of us is receiving indoctrination. Just being alive means that a perpetual stream of thought patterns assaults us 24/7/365. Some of that stream is obvious; some is not.

Three responses to indoctrination exist: We can embrace an idea, ignore it, or counter it.

When we look at the American Church today, we have to ask just what kind of indoctrination we are receiving. By and large, the message coming out of our churches sounds like this:

Jesus loves you, even though you sometimes sin. You can rest in His grace and not be worried about doing things for Him except to read your Bible and pray. Show up on Sundays and to the occasional church event. If you are young, go to a good college and get a degree that ensures a solid job working for a reputable company. Find a good-looking Christian mate from among the right kind of people, buy a house, and have 2.2 kids. Make sure those kids are loaded with activities and skills so they can get into an even better, more expensive college. Live in the right neighborhood with the right kind of people who can help you advance in life and build your career. Go on vacations and enjoy yourself. Give some money every once in a while to worthy causes. And most of all, be happy with your Christian experience, even if you sometimes wonder whether it’s really all it’s cut out to be.

Seriously, isn’t that the indoctrination most of us Christians receive from childhood until the day we die?

In stark contrast, here is the Bible’s true indoctrination:

You have been crucified with Christ. Any pretense you had to living like worldly people is dead. Jesus Christ, the Lord of All, dwells inside you. Greater is He that is in you than he that is in the world. You are being changed from one degree of glory to another, moving from sinner to saint. You are seated in the heavenlies with Christ and are empowered by His Spirit. Therefore, nothing is impossible for you. The Christian life is filled with miracles; they should be expected. You overcome the world because Christ did. Take dominion. Make disciples of all nations and tear down strongholds. Worship Christ with your entire being, even if that puts you at odds with the establishment. Pray at all times and in all places, and expect those prayers to come to great fruition.

You will be hated for Jesus’ sake. Because you have counted all things lost for the sake of knowing Christ, you will live a countercultural life that will be misunderstood by most people. For this reason, many of you will be martyred for the Gospel because Christ is in you, is transforming you, and compels you to speak about Him.

Your love will be for all men, no matter race, creed, or color. You will care for the downtrodden and weak. You will repay good for evil and will love and pray for those who persecute you. Your life is now hidden with Christ, therefore, you are not your own. You only do what the Father is doing, not what you want. Your life is expendable for the cause of Christ. Therefore, you should not think too highly of yourself, but in humility you should value others as much as yourself and your family, if God in his graciousness gives you a family. Your primary family is the family of God, and building up the community of faith through the supernatural gifts God has implanted in you is one of your primary reasons for existence. Meet with the community of faith as much as possible and ensure that no one among you lacks for anything needful, even if that means you personally do without the trappings of worldly class and culture. And no matter what kind of life you end up living, you should give thanks to God at all times.

Most of all, never stop laying ahold of Christ and abiding in Him.

We don’t set that kind of expectation in our churches, though, do we?

The Church in America bears little to no resemblance to the Church of the 1st century because our indoctrination is lukewarm or nonexistent. Period. 'The Christian Martyrs' Last Prayer' by Jean-Léon GérômeSome may argue that they do try to indoctrinate people into that more Biblical model. But the fact is that we hear it rarely, and surely not enough to compete with the nonstop message the world gives. And a worldly message abhors a vacuum, too.

As a Church, we have got to get serious about speaking truth to each other. We have got to stop watering down our indoctrination. If we don’t, the world is all set to step in and give us its own deviant set of expectations.

In closing, imagine what the next generation of Christians would be like if we set just the one expectation that they would be martyred for Christ because they love Jesus so much. Too strong? I don’t think so. For too long we’ve been preaching a watered down message that asks nothing. Why then should we be surprised at the powerless outcome?