I want to drop back a few years and address a question that my mentor asked that really rocked my world and should yours. I was dropping some big theological thing on Cecil Bean, my mentor, and he asked; “Chuck, what does that have to do with Jesus?” I WAS TICKED! I thought to myself, “Of course it has something to do with Jesus! Connect the dots man!” But as I cooled down and meditated on the question for a few days, I thought, “Yeah, what does that have to do with Jesus? In fact, what did most of what I talked about have to do with Jesus?” I was doing an inventory of my “discipleship” and I was coming up with a very disturbing realization; Jesus was conspicuously absent from most of my ministry. I was wrecked! I would later find this passage perfectly fitting for my situation;
You search the Scriptures because you think that in them you have eternal life; it is these that testify about Me; (John 5.39)
The only thing I had missed was the boat! I took drastic measures to correct this very glaring error. For the next year, I read four chapters in the gospels daily and nothing but the gospels to get reacquainted with my King. I developed a strategy to include Jesus in my discipleship;
- I will mention Jesus every time I talk to another disciple
- When asked a question, I will answer with a saying or example of Jesus first
- When reading other books of the Bible besides the gospels, I will look for Jesus
- When confronted with a dilemma, “I will ask what would Jesus do?” and do it!
- I will not talk about Jesus as if He isn’t in the room
- When talking about God, I will address Him as the Father, Jesus His Son, and/or the Holy Spirit
- When engaged in discussions I will let people know that I am a follower of Jesus upfront
- I will read some of the gospels daily as I read the rest of the Bible
- I don’t have disciples. I make disciples of Jesus
- My goal in life is to master the Master
Does this seem extreme to you? I have an exercise for you whether it seems extreme or not. Read Colossians chapter 1 out loud and time yourself. Now count the number of times Paul refers to Jesus (Christ, He, Him, Whom, etc…) If I mentioned your name that many times in that short time frame, what would you think of me? You would think I was obsessed! And based on His love for me and Who He is in the Chain of Command, shouldn’t I be? Is Jesus the center of our life, our ministry, our everything? How often does the name of Jesus cross our lips? Do we have any other Bible characters that rate higher on the “Hero List” than Jesus?
How Deb and I joined the NoPlaceLeft Vision (NPL – Part 1)
The Perfect Storm (NPL – Part 2)
Some Nagging Questions (NPL – Part 3)
The Most Important Question (NPL – Part 4)
It was a Set-Up (NPL – Part 5)
The Book that Changed My World (Again) (NPL – Part 6)
Change Happens When Enough is Enough (NPL – Part 7)
Drinking the Cup (NPL – Part 8)
From a Wife’s Perspective – Interview with Deb (NPL – Part 9)
Was it Worth it? (NPL – Part 10)
ToBeLikeJesus 