Starting with #1...

I’ve been doing some thinking about lessons Ihave learned in life . Like many of you I have several hats I wear - Pastor, Husband, Dad, Old Man, Young Whippersnapper, and the list goes on. In the complexities that are me, I have found a few things that I think are incredibly important lessons I’ve learned (or am learning) so I thought I would jot them down. I’ll try to expound a little on each one in the weeks ahead. I’ll give you the whole list and then give you some more insights into #1 to begin with. (#1 is always a good place to start, even though Three Dog Night taught us all that “1 is the loneliest number”... ok I saw those words come across my computer screen too, and I’m as troubled by the reference as you are... let it go... somewhere along the way I turned old)

Here is my list (at this point in history)

1. Being a disciple of Jesus Christ is always better than being a Christian.

2. Joy and happiness are not the same thing

3. Tell your kids they can be and do anything they dream of.

4. Never underestimate the power of the negative voice.

5. Original sin is alive and well

6. Wesley’s entire sanctification isn’t just a theory

7. Being involved in something bigger than yourself is important.

8. if your involved in “ministry” don’t let it destroy your family

9. ”Be excellent to each other”

10. I’m not responsible for someone else's spiritual life or relationship with God



1. Being a disciple of Jesus Christ is always better than being a Christian.

In resent years this has become an important part of my call as an ordained minister. I find myself talking more and more about being a disciple of Jesus, or a follower of Christ, rather than being a “Christian”. I also must admit that the amount of strange and confused looks i get has increased since coming to this belief.

In my mind there is a difference between the two: the main difference is see is that one can be a “Christian” w/o being a disciple. I’m finding that an increasing number of us in the “Christian church” are finding our identity in a belief system and a prescribed set of behaviors rather than being disciples of Jesus and allowing the Holy Spirit to transform us and the world. I’m not convinced that what Jesus meant when he was talking to Nicodemus in John Ch 3 about belief meant that we we merely check a box at the end of the apostles creed that says “agree” like we are loading Mac OS10.4 on our iBook, and therefore get a reward. We can rejoice in John 3;16 but forget to read vs 21 when Jesus gives Nichodemus some insight into what “belief” really means - “But those who do what is true come to the light, so that it may be clearly seen that their deeds have been done in God.” The word “Phaneros” that is translated “clearly seen” in the NIV and “made manifest” in KJV has a sense of being real, provable, - not just a check in a box. When Jesus is asked about the kingdom of God he responds with stories like the good Samaritan, or an image of sheep and goats - (Matt 25;34-40 - “Then the king will say to those at his right hand, ‘Come, you that are blessed by my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world; for I was hungry and you gave me food, I was thirsty and you gave me something to drink, I was a stranger and you welcomed me, I was naked and you gave me clothing, I was sick and you took care of me, I was in prison and you visited me.’ Then the righteous will answer him, ‘Lord, when was it that we saw you hungry and gave you food, or thirsty and gave you something to drink? And when was it that we saw you a stranger and welcomed you, or naked and gave you clothing? And when was it that we saw you sick or in prison and visited you?’ And the king will answer them, ‘Truly I tell you, just as you did it to one of the least of these who are members of my family, you did it to me.’ ) Jesus repeatedly gives us stories and images that model for us tangible actions that flow from a changed heart.

Believers who merely subscribe to a belief system, or a set of behaviors are more prevalent than germs on my son’s shirt sleeve during cold and flu season (and have roughly the same effect.... oops was that in my outside voice??) What I’m convinced God is calling us to, is to be people so transformed by God’s grace and hope that we can’t be satisfied with anything less than being tools in the hands of the holy spirit to transform our world and see God’s kingdom come. That requires us to be disciples of Jesus, to take seriously what scripture tells us about love and justice and mercy, to question our ideas about power and wealth, to ask the question “what would Jesus do” rather than make it a bracelet or a bumper sticker.

My call as a man set apart as an ordained minister, and even more importantly as a man transformed by God’s grace, is to be about the work of being a disciple of Jesus, and that road is always better than checking the “I agree” box.