I know that we, as mature Christians, have so much to offer people we know that do not follow Jesus.  It feels so right to sit those sweaty little faces in front of us so that we can instruct them in all that has taken us a lifetime to acquire.  Simply stated, it is not our role to teach others that have yet to begin the process of discovering the Kingdom.  I fully realize that I must be wrong in holding on to this premise, but every experience I have had with people convinces me otherwise.  How often did Jesus end His teaching points with, “Those with ears, let them hear”?  He knew that His teaching only had relevancy to those around Him that were seeking and pursuing His Kingdom reality. Teaching requires a context or a venue.  And that place of meeting is the heart of one who follows the Christ. 

So if I can’t teach a person, what do I do?  Express your character.  Do what you always do when you are trying to share a new concept with another person.  Live it out, model the idea through your actions.  Take the ball in hand and pass it as you break for the basket…  Live out the “give and go.”  Allow your lifestyle to be the catalytic impulse that is necessary for another to comprehend the Kingdom moment.  For the Kingdom of God is a reality – it is so much more than mere doctrines or religious tenets.  It is life – real life – daily living.  We do not merely adhere to Jesus’ teachings, we obey them – submit to them – experience them.  And how else can these truths be understood unless they are seen in you and me? 

Save your teaching for those that have ears for it.  Meanwhile, allow your feeble role to be one who daily lives out truth, integrity, compassion, generosity, forgiveness, and love beyond merit; and your surety of faith will declare that the Kingdom of God has come. 

Philippians is one of my favorite books – probably because it’s one of the first books I read over and over and over again, trying to gain insight into what Paul was trying to get across to the church and ultimately to me.  What did I decide it all meant?  Well, I think what I learned is this:  I should not think more of myself than I think of others.  If only I could be consistent in putting that into practice.  If only my love would keep growing more and more and that I could discern what is really true so that I could choose always what is best, especially when it comes to my relationships with other people.

If only I could be like Paul, who put the Philippians’ well-being above his own desires (Phil. 1:20, 24).  His deep desire was that he would never fail in his duty.  Oh to be so dedicated to our God!

Of course, Jesus is the perfect example: “of his own free will, [Christ] gave up all he had and took on the nature of a servant…he was humble and walked the path of obedience all the way to death” (2:7, 8).  Will I ever comprehend what this really means?

Then there is Timothy, who “is the only one who really shares my [Paul's] feelings and who really cares about you” (2:20).  ”Everyone else is concerned with his own affairs, not the cause of Jesus Christ,” (vs. 21) but not Timothy.  Timothy would put the Philippians’ welfare above his own.  Do I put other’s welfare above my own?

Ephaphroditus, who evidently was from Philippi and was returning there with Paul’s letter, had nearly died for the cause.  Paul urges the Philippians to receive him with joy and to show respect to all such people as he, “because he risked his life and nearly died for the sake of the work of Christ in order to give me [Paul] the help that you yourselves could not give” (2:29, 30). Could I do this?

All of this in contrast to Euodia and Synteche, who could not agree as sisters in the Lord – women who had worked hard with Paul in the Lord were in conflict.  Paul begs them to try to agree.  Paul asks his faithful partner to try and help them solve their conflict.  Was the book of Philippians written because of Paul’s concern for these two sisters?  Perhaps his love for them compelled him to write what he did.

Consider these verses:

Now, the important thing is that your way of life should be as the gospel requires, so that whether I am with you or not I am able to go and see you, I will hear that you are standing firm with one common purpose and with one desire you are fighting together for the faith of the gospel (1:27).

Do everything without complaining or arguing, so that you may be innocent and pure as God’s perfect children, who live in a world of corrupt and sinful people.  You must shine among them like stars lighting up the sky, as you offer them the message of life.  If you do so, I shall have reason to be proud of you on the day of Christ, because it will show that all my effort and work have not been wasted (2:14-16).

All of us who are spiritually mature should have the same attitude…pay attention to those who follow the right example that we have set for you (3:15, 17).

The spiritually mature have found the pearl of great price and have counted everything else as pure garbage in order to possess it (3:4-10).  Our citizenship is in heaven, so we should:

Always be joyful and show a gentle attitude toward everyone.  We should remind ourselves that the Lord is coming soon.  We shouldn’t worry, but in all our prayers ask God for what we need, always asking him with a thankful heart.  If we can do that, we will possess God’s peace, which is far above human understanding and His peace will keep our hearts and minds safe in union with Christ Jesus (4:4-7).

Paul’s final appeal to the Philippians, and perhaps to Euodia and Synteche, is found in Philippians 4:8 & 9:

In conclusion, my brothers, fill your minds with those things that are good and that deserve praise: things that are true, noble, right, pure, lovely, and honorable.  Put into practice what you learned and received from me, both from my words and from my actions.  And the God who gives us peace will be with you.

If we count others better than ourselves as Christ did, as Paul did, as Timothy did and as Epaphroditus did; if we cease to argue and complain; if we are spiritually mature and seek the pearl of great price and count most of what we think is important here in this life as garbage; if we, as God’s people, stand firm together and fight for the gospel together, then perhaps we have learned the lesson Paul wanted us to learn.  We will be a people who look for what is good and noble and honorable and lovely and true.  We will be a people of peace, who shine like the stars in the universe as we honor our God and our King. 

If you are in conflict with someone, consider these things.  Blessings on you all!

“Church planting” might be more biblically stated as “redeeming communities.” The word “community” has less institutional baggage when used in the Christian context. “Community” may also be a more adequate translation into modern English usage for the Greek word ekklesia (“the called out”). When reading the NT description of the ekklesia, they (the disciples who made up the ekklesia) seemed to have more characteristics of community and family than the ideas that “church” conjure up in our minds today. Redeeming communities also implies working within existing communities bringing them to redemption in Christ, rather than individual evangelism that forces unrelated persons into a newly formed and often “strange” community called “church.” This is the predominant biblical approach as Paul reached communities of people in synagogues and in households with the gospel of Christ (cf. Acts of the Apostles).

So what are we as Christians trying to reproduce elsewhere? Is it institutions with the same forms and functions as our churches? Or is it communities of believers that follow the model of Jesus and obey the scripture within their own context? The answer seems obvious, doesn’t it? They may not look like churches in the West, but nonetheless are churches.

It is not a question of doctrine, dogma, or form that defines us as “church.” But it is obedience, service, love, and submission that define us as communities of disciples of Jesus. There is a difference. The contrast lies in relationship and covenant, not in form and function.

I recently have re-read Roland Allen’s Missionary Methods: St. Paul’s or Ours? and The Spontaneous Expansion of the Church. I am amazed at the insight Allen had (he wrote these books in 1912 & 1927 respectively). A relevant quote to redeeming communities comes from the last page of Spontaneous Expansion.  Allen says:

The spontaneous expansion of the Church reduced to its elements is a very simple thing. It asks for no elaborate organization, no large finances, no great numbers of paid missionaries. In its beginning it may be the work of one man, and that a man neither learned in the things of this world, nor rich in the wealth of this world. The organization of a little church on the apostolic model is also extremely simple, and the most illiterate converts can use it, and the poorest are sufficiently wealthy to maintain it.

“Planting churches” in today’s world may be unattractive to the senders and receivers. But redeeming communities is not. In fact, many people are saying, “I don’t want your church, just tell me about Jesus.” Reaching existing communities with the gospel of Jesus is what Allen and St. Paul had in mind. Then, these communities of believers, the “called out” (ekklesia) are the churches. Could that be where the Holy Spirit is leading us?

I am intent on serving a role in the mission of God.  However, arrogant that may seem, it is one that God Himself has defined and enabled.  Therefore I don’t believe that I am intruding in this matter – I am clearly invited to fulfill His intent for me.  As are others…

Hasn’t God’s agenda been advanced by those that serve Him diligently, as well as those that are indifferent to Him and all of those somewhere within this spectrum of godly allegiance?  And are we not grateful that God is willing and able to fulfill His goodness through any one of us?  Any one of them?  I sure am.  I depend on it – you depend on it, too.

Therefore, we should not be disturbed when He facilitates our mission partnership with those that are not…like us.  Not Christian, not from our church, not even believers in the Christ or a Christ.  And what I am perceiving, as life offers more experience, is that my role in God’s mission is not even appropriate until my partnership with this “other” person or people is engaged.  One may argue with this statement, but I submit that the argument is based on a default missions (ministry, evangelistic) premise that is overdue for reflection: Only a Christian can serve in the mission of God. 

God and His apostles (sent ones) have consistently depended upon kingdom outsiders, pagans, sinners of all sorts to bring a redemptive voice into communities.  And as Jesus released His 72 ambassadors to the villages of Luke 10, His prayer focus was NOT for the harvest (that which would be of most concern to us), but rather for the co-workers in this harvest.  Those people of peace that will make a local harvest possible.  Those in whom God’s peace is finding its way.  Worthy people with whom we may partner in God’s agenda.  Could it be that my purpose as one sent by God into His mission is not to produce a harvest (that’s His role) but rather to FIND that person of peace with whom to partner in his local community in order to reveal the Kingdom of God?  And could it be true that my efforts to proclaim the gospel message are not appropriate, nor relevant, nor sustainable UNTIL I have found that local person or people of peace? 

I am convicted as I think of people of peace that were available in my life only to be kidnapped to serve MY well-intended mission/ministry.  Not only did I fail in my role, but I sabotaged their role in God’s mission as well. 

The person of peace is the answer to my prayer, “Lord, bring me a co-worker in this community – in this neighborhood – in this office – in this household.”   My God-defined role is not to scream on the banks of the river to convince anyone on the other side to swim across and join my tribe.  But rather to find a co-worker from the other side with whom I may build a bridge from both banks – so that Jesus may cross over and visit the whole community.

In the modern era of missions, Christendom has used the term “church planting” to describe the activity and/or goal of the missionary enterprise. This often included gathering converts, acquiring a building, and beginning worship services and other activities. But this most naturally leads to a socially contrived and unnatural community we call “church” rather than a true family of God. Many of the “converts” may not have had a relationship with each other prior to baptism. The church group is held together by common ideas and rituals, not by natural relationships and a common way of life. Such event-centered institutions are not capable of fully functioning as communities of disciples as we read about in the Bible.

As well-intended as “church planting” may be, we need to reconsider our scriptural mandate and pay more attention to the practice Jesus modeled and gave to his disciples. Before he left, Jesus gave some final orders and church planting was not in view. In fact, he had claimed that activity as his own when he told Peter earlier “On this rock, I will build my church.”(Matthew 16:18) He did not command his followers to plant churches. He commissioned his disciples to make disciples. That is all. Make disciples of all nationalities and immerse them into the communal life of the trinity. Jesus knew that through obedience and the guidance of the Holy Spirit, churches would naturally result.

If planting churches was the mantra that drove Paul from city to city on his missionary journeys, there is no record of it in Acts. Rather, it is apparent that he sought to make followers of the way of Jesus. “The way” is the common term used in Acts to describe the church into which new disciples were being called. He had no clear institutional format in mind. Rather he was busy convincing people of every race and class that God had become King in Jesus and a new era had emerged. That call is for us to live in a new reality with total allegiance to God’s new King: Jesus. Human history changed forever at the cross and the empty tomb. Life could never be the same. As Paul made disciples, their obedience and natural resulting community was what we call churches. He did not start with a model of church he was trying to flesh out. Rather he started with the gospel and imbedded it into existing communities of people who produced communities of disciples who remained in their social groups, or were kicked out and became churches apart from the communities who expelled followers of Jesus. There is a big difference between going to a place or people to establish Christianity (church) and establishing Christ within their hearts.

The way we have conceived of church planting only makes sense on this side of the traditional church of European history. That was not the culture of the early church. It also is not the culture of the 21^st century post-modern, post-Christian world—which explains why this model of church is in decline throughout the Western World.

Here are a few facts to consider along this line of thought.

• The Jesus Mandate in Matthew 28 is about making disciples, not planting churches. The latter would have meant nothing to the disciples. They had never seen a church but they did know a lot about following Jesus as an obedient community.
•  The word “Christian” is used twice in the book of Acts to describe Jesus followers, and the word “disciple(s)” is used thirty times. Acts 11:26 is penetrating: “the disciples were first called Christians in Antioch.” Today, can Christians be call disciples? Are we following Christ or an institution with a certain doctrine?
• “Disciple” describes a kind of intimate trust relationship Jesus describes throughout his ministry (cf. John 8:31-32; 13:34-35; 15:8). This is not true of today’s use of the word “church” and “Christian.” “Church” has evolved to describe a place or event and “Christian” now refers to a set of ideas or affiliation with an institution, not a way of life.
• Post-Christendom churches are rarely designed to produce disciples; rather, they are designed to produce worship events and attract attendees.

Where did we get the language of “church planting?” The closest we can come is from Paul himself, but he did not use that expression per se and did not mean it the way we have come to use it. In referring to himself as a planter and Apollos as one who waters in 1 Corinthians 3:6, Paul is not speaking of planting churches but planting the gospel. Paul usually went to existing communities to redeem them (synagogues, families, etc). What drove Paul was preaching Christ crucified and encouraging others to follow Him, not planting churches. Acts 15:36 states, “where we proclaimed the word of the Lord,” not “where we planted churches.” Yes, faith communities call churches should naturally result from making disciples, but disciples are not usually the result from simply planting a church. God is the one who brings disciples together into community through a common Savior, not us.

In our current context, where the institutional church is facing an overwhelming credibility gap with emerging generations, we must make a shift in language reflecting a sharpened sense of mission. God has worked through the church structures we have inherited and we are thankful for them. However, for us to move forward in a way that is relevant, we cannot count on the cultural assumptions which supported the historic church in the west. In our current context, the culture has grown weary of institutional churches whose adherents are not substantially different from those who do not “believe.” The world is looking for disciples of Jesus, not church goers. We must preach Jesus, not denominational dogma, doctrines or institutions. We must show Jesus to others through loving service because they are not seeing him in our buildings and church adherents.

God’s work is bringing the increase, forming His people into His families. If we will make disciples, they will naturally be in community like a biblical church. Disciples are genuine followers of Christ who seek to imitate his life, obey his teachings, and show him to the world. They are real, relevant, and reproductive. Churches will naturally emerge just as a plant grows from a seed, well planted in good soil and properly tended. (cf. 1 Peter 2:9) Being disciples and making disciples is how God will multiply the planting of churches all over the world. Let’s make sure we focus on what Jesus told us to do.

“Bart, do you remember that encounter at the well of Sychar? said Jim.  “We had all gone into town to get a bite to eat; we come around the corner and there He is talking to this woman, a total stranger, no less, and all by herself.  What a shocker, it was so surreal.  I just couldn’t believe this man we thought was a Rabbi, talking to this loose Samaritan woman.  They were talking about everything from ‘living water’, whatever that is, to true worship … as if an ignorant Samaritan woman would have a clue what He was talking about.”

“How could I forget it.” said Bart.  “She dropped her water jar and walked right past me.  Suddenly, her interest in drawing well water was over.  Something else seemed so much more urgent now.  She walked quickly back to the market square in the village and began calling people together.  And Jesus didn’t even stop her!  There’s no way she could have known enough in that short conversation to be a qualified evangelist.  Why didn’t he send some of us who’d been with him on the road and learned so much from him?”

“Then, the most unbelievable thing happened.  This huge crowd of people followed her back to the well.  So recently they had all shunned her and now they were following her back to Jesus, intrigued by her tantalizing question, ‘Could this be the Christ?’  Man, did I learn something that day about what it takes to be an evangelist.”

So what does it take to be an evangelist?  How do you define an evangelist?  Let me suggest a simple, general definition: an evangelist is an announcer of good news.  No, that’s not the usual religious definition.  It doesn’t include enough study, enough theological education, enough Bible courses and understanding of the doctrines of the church.  It doesn’t include enough memorization of Scripture, enough instruction on how to preach.

Kinda sounds like the Jewish leaders’ observation about Peter and John preaching in the Temple.  “They noted that they were uneducated, ordinary men.”  When ordinary men speak to their people with extraordinary power (the Holy Spirit), ordinary people somehow get the message clearly.

So what do you say to an unqualified evangelist?  Do you say no, not yet?  You don’t know enough yet.  Or do you let someone driven by the spirit do what they must do and say what they must say?  Jesus didn’t stop the woman from doing what she was compelled to do.  And it worked out pretty well.

I hope I would say something like:  I am glad you know your people, I don’t.  I am glad you know their lives and relationships and problems, because I don’t.  I can see they understand you and I know they wouldn’t understand me.  You may not feel you know all the answers, but you know many of the questions.  And together, we can find the answers because we’ve found the Source.

- Sam Shewmaker

As you know, after Nehemiah hears of Jerusalem’s condition of vulnerability and shame, his narrative informs us how he gains King Artaxerxes’ permission and support to return to Jerusalem to mobilize the citizens to rebuild the city wall.  This is church planting gold.  Yet…

As is typical for me, I read too quickly – surprisingly so since I am a product of the Arkansas public school system.  I have allowed myself to rush through the first chapter of Nehemiah, even though I regard it as somewhat necessary to set the stage for the main acts that follow.  But I have recently paused on an aspect of this story that is convicting me and, I desperately hope, is re-orienting me.  I do not function in the Jewish calendar, so it was rather inconsequential to me when I read that Nehemiah received news of Jerusalem’s indignity in the month of Kislev and it was later in the month of Nisan when he approaches King Artaxerxes with a request to go to Jerusalem to repair the walls.  From Kislev to Nisan is about five months.  I realize now that more time passes during the first chapter than in the rest of the chapters which chronicle Nehemiah’s preparation and completion of wall re-construction.  

 And what was Nehemiah doing during those five months? 

• Sat down, wept, mourned, fasted and prayed.
• Confessed before the LORD; “I confess the sins we Israelites, including myself and my father’s house, have committed against you.” 
• Reminded the LORD of His covenant; “but if we return to You and obey Your commands, then You will gather the exiles back to the place You have chosen.”

When addressing the issue of Jerusalem’s condition, Nehemiah engaged God with a purpose that changed him.  The Nehemiah prayer is transforming – and for those of us with such a heart, it navigates us through our own pride, self-sufficiency and standing before the LORD.  We also discover that the accomplishment of the mission has already been assured – guaranteed.  It is the LORD who restores the integrity and dignity of a people.  Nehemiah’s identity as an Israelite and his role as a city builder is being defined in chapter one.  And by that definition, his primary role is not to put rocks on each other, but rather to obey and lead his people in their obedience to the LORD.  These five months moved Nehemiah from grief of a broken wall to the clarity of his own obedience and the LORD’s covenant. 

In the month of Kislev Nehemiah shows us that it is time to pray, to confess and to be reminded of the LORD’s covenant – so that when Nisan comes we are available for the mission.

Jeff McMillon from the Memorial Road Church of Christ in Oklahoma City, USA will be leading our thoughts and discussion about Discipleship.  We will have break-out sessions, youth and teenager classes and of course each other to bless and to be blessed by.

Jesus sent his followers to disciple the nations.  Time was, this usually meant leaving our home countries.  That may increasingly become a thing of the past.  We’re not saying the church will stop traveling the globe on mission—this will likely increase in our globalized world.  We are saying it is no longer always necessary to relocate as a resident outside the US in order to make disciples and plant churches around the world.  The forces of globalization and developing information technologies have created options that just were not there before.

Our friend, Jared Looney, ministers among many nationalities who have migrated to The Bronx in the New York City megalopolis.  He will tell you that we don’t have to live outside the US to reach the nations, the nations have come to us.  While NYC may have more international inhabitants than most cities, it is not that different from every city in the US.  The immigrants around us may have left their home countries, but they have not lost contact with all the people there.  What happens among immigrants in the US quickly makes ripples across national borders.  In one of the more interesting stories I’ve heard recently, Jared has planted the nucleus of a new church in Puebla Mexico from a McDonalds in The Bronx.  He is part of an informal missionary guild of like-minded kingdom people who are following God’s leading into uncharted waters.  They are leveraging God’s globalization of the world to reach the world through the world’s nodal cities.  Here is how he describes his work and that of his guild partners.

I have been mentoring a Mexican believer for several months.  Shortly after we began meeting, he began sharing the Gospel with his neighbors in the South Bronx and his family group back in Mexico.  He is from a small town in the Puebla region, and this town has no evangelical church presence of any kind.  A church is not fully manifest yet, but he is on the phone sharing the Gospel every week.  He also works with African Muslims and is regularly sharing the Gospel with them.  He recently brought a young man from El Salvador to our meeting “to join our team” (that’s the way he put it).  As I gave him a lift home, he expressed how he hopes to return to El Salvador someday.

Chris Clayman (who has worked among West African Muslims and has written ethNYCity) and Brad Wall (mostly working among South Asians) are starting Global Gates to be exclusively focused on unreached people groups.  Kevin King leads a house church network and NY International Partnership and is focused on reaching Internationals through Columbia and NYU.  Kevin, Brad, Chris, and I are partnered together to provide the one-year intensive training which thus far has had a significant Muslim evangelism emphasis.  One of the couples coming up in August will be challenged to reach out among Bangladeshis in the Bronx.  This is a partnership between different missions workers and/or networks.

Chris says that he saw no new disciples while living among an unreached people in West Africa, but because the community gatekeepers live in NYC, there are a number of new believers in West Africa as a result of work being done in & through NYC.  The irony is that his church growth, as far as baptized converts in NYC, would probably be considered pretty low, but there has been dynamic witness among an unreached people group connecting two continents precisely because he is in NYC.  He’s even shared the Gospel (from Harlem) on Mali national television.

Kevin has seen new house churches planted in Mainland China and in Taiwan after baptizing new believers in a bathtub in Harlem.

While these efforts only represent embryonic development compared to what is coming, it appears in addition to relocating in other countries, there is a new way to get the gospel to the nations.  If we can make disciples of immigrants who are well connected back home, they can take the gospel back through their ongoing relationships and communications “back home.”

For this reason, Jared has put all his efforts in working this model and has developed a new ministry called Global City Mission Initiative.  We are convinced this ministry represents the cutting edge of mission and the church needs to invest in this and similar projects in significant ways.  Not only can it result in new churches among the increasingly diverse populations in the US, it is crossing barriers and reaching the rest of the world with an efficiency we’ve never seen before in the history of the world.  Here is a link to an article Jared wrote on transnationalism and church planting a couple of years ago.

Jared says he is increasingly convinced he and his fellow workers are only scraping the surface of what is possible.  The more workers the church can locate in the major international cities (i.e., nodal cities) working among diaspora peoples, the more potential there is for bridges emerging for the Gospel.  The forces of globalization and new communications technologies present both new challenges for old forms of missiology and new opportunities if we can wrap our mind around more fluid forms and approaches to gospel planting.

At MRN, we are partnering with GCMI and the Halbert Institute for Missions at Abilene Christian University to join what God has been doing for decades to prepare the world for a discipling movement that can grow exponentially in ways that were inconceivable just a few years ago.  Jared and GCMI are on the cutting edge, but they are understaffed and underfunded.  If you are interested and able to help, please click on  Global City Mission Initiative and follow up with Jared or call our office.

Overheard on the road…

“Can you believe that?  He just let that guy walk away!” said Matt, shaking his head.  “He was dressed to the nines…obviously has plenty of coins rattling around in that bag of his.  Wouldn’t he have been a good addition to the team?  He probably knows a lot of people in the community, too.  And seemed like a pretty good guy, judging by the checklist of laws he’s been keeping.  Probably good at paying his taxes, too.  Besides that, it wouldn’t hurt to have somebody around with a little extra change…be nice to know where our next meal’s coming from.”

“Yeah, yeah, maybe you’re right,” said Phil.   “But did you notice what the guy was really concerned about?  Sounded like he just wanted another point or two to mark off his checklist so that he could qualify for eternal life.  A little pie in the sky by-and-by.” 

“Okay, so what’s so bad about that?  Aren’t you interested in eternal life?” Matt said.  “You’re right again,” Phil admitted.  “But think back to that day when Jesus dropped by your booth and said, ‘Follow me.’  How did you respond?  I was there and I saw you.  You got up and walked away, no questions asked.  You didn’t even take the time to close up shop. You knew there had to be something better than what you had.  And look how you’ve changed over the years.  Did you have any idea what ‘follow me’ was going to mean?  No more stacks of coins, no more closets full of clothes, just a dusty path … and a totally different way of thinking and living…now, in this life, not just in the by-and-by.  Can you imagine how your transformed life is going to impact every person you meet from now on?” 

“All I can say is, if this king expects to build an army, He needs a better recruiter,” muttered Matt.

Have you ever thought in depth about the wealthy ruler’s question?  About his attitude, his desire to be good, to be right?  What about his checklist of good things he had done?  Sound familiar?  It does to me.  I’ve been there.  It sounds like the good ol’ religion.  The religion that bought into the anemic theology that God is only about getting us to the water, about getting us into the church and about getting us to heaven.

But Jesus wasn’t going to let it go at that.   He added to the ruler’s checklist: a little more justice, a little more compassion.  Really?  Sell everything?  Was it really fair to raise the bar that high?  Could you have accepted that?  Could I?

Like the wealthy man, I would’ve liked to skip from now to the by-and-by.  Give me the checklist, any day… But Jesus tops off the conversation with that stark, insistent phrase, “Follow me.”  “So what do you mean by that, Jesus?”  “I mean, join me on the steep, rocky path of life, the stumbling, the falling down, the getting up again and the pressing on.  Join me in the whittling, the molding, the shaping and the painful transformation into a life like mine … the submissive, the joyous, the abundant life … in the here and now as well as the by-and-by.”