Dallas Notes: What Jesus Said About Following Him (Day of Discovery, May 6, 2012)

What Jesus Said About Following Him
May 6, 2012


The New Atheists don’t major on arguments but are mostly sick of what they see in professing Xians
We should be reproached for this. In a sense, they’re beating us with our own stick and it’s legitimate.
Instead of looking at Xians (which you are free to do), it is better to look at the substance of Xian faith that has made it a movement of such proportions.
If you obsess about Xian weakness you won’t find anything good and your own condition will get worse. But if you look for the good in X and Xians who have made the movement vital, you will find something worth looking into.
Example: Bertrand Russell. People who knew him and loved him thought he was a failure as a person. What does atheism give you to help you live your life?
[Or is it to some degree an excuse to do what you want?]
Most people don’t know what Xianity is and don’t associate with followers who are demonstrating life in X
Our culture views Xians as ex-bullies who are still unkind and judgmental.
People think Xianity is obviously bad, boring or wrong and don’t feel any need to inform themselves, particularly about X. Indeed, He is the source of many things they hold dear. The root of diversity as a value is in neighbor love like J taught
Misunderstanding: you can have justice w/o love
The ideal and J and that’s what we measure people against.
Many of our Xians don’t understand the Xian faith much better than nonXians
There’s a gap b/t what people believe and what they say they believe. We bring them in to our churches based on professions.
The best thing to do is to base our beliefs on knowledge when we can.
We always live up or down to our beliefs. We rarely live up to our professions.
You don’t have to be a disciple to be a Xian.
You don’t have to be a disciple to be a church member.
We are learning from Jesus to live our lives as He would if He were we.
Is the KoG real? Can I depend on it? Can it make a difference in my life?
The KoG is just God at work, what He’s doing.
You can become a good person in d’ship to Jesus.
Having a category for Xians who aren’t disciples is a curse upon the earth
Walking with Him is what makes the calling easy and the burden light.