Gotta story for you. It’s from the Book of Acts chapter 12. And it’s all about the wacky world of being a disciple. I love this story because it’s so human and so God. It’s so raw and real because it’s what life as a disciple is really like. No fake plastic halos. No holier than thou attitudes. No name it and claim it thinking. No “We got this, God” mentality. No committees or strategic plans. Nope, just the opposite. Real people facing a real challenge, wondering if, when or how God is going to intervene while, at the same time, desperately hanging on to Jesus hoping he’ll do something—anything— to get them through it. It’s an awesome story because it’s an “us” story. It’s a story about “us” living in the real world where real challenges, trials, and lots of bad things happen—things that are part and parcel of real life. This story is about the real world of real life where real disciples are always walking that thin line between faith and doubt. So, if you’re feeling like you’ll never measure up as a disciple, that you just ain’t got the faith, this story is for you.

Jesus came to serve the world. Not just churches. Not just church people. He came to serve the world in all of its messiness and brokenness. Disciples are part of Jesus’ continuing mission to the world. Matthew puts it this way, at the end of his Gospel where he recounts what Jesus says to his disciples and their successors regarding what they’re supposed to be doing until he returns. Listen to what Jesus says. It applies to us too—every bit of it. Here goes: All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me (Jesus). Therefore, go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age.

So, according to Jesus, disciples exist to create more disciples. They don’t exist just go to church on Sunday and sit in a pew with a halo above their heads. And being a disciple isn’t about sitting safe and comfortable in your Christian social circles talking about the Bible, about Jesus, and Sunday’s sermon. And being a disciple isn’t about attending church programs and events. It’s about going out there, out into the wilds of the world with God’s Story, with the Good News of Jesus the Christ and sharing it with others through your words and your actions. Being a disciple is about bringing comfort to those who are suffering. Peace and joy to those who have none. It’s about bringing freedom to those in chains. It’s about feeding the hungry and clothing the naked. It’s about fighting injustice and oppression. It’s about standing up for those who can’t stand up for themselves. It’s about loving the unlovable and serving those whom world has ignored and has pretty much left for dead. It’s about showing mercy and compassion like Jesus did. It’s about everything and anything BUT hiding behind church walls, hanging out with your church friends, singing hymns, and thanking God that you’re not out there, in the wild, with all of those people who don’t go to church and/or don’t know Jesus.

Impossible mission? Yes, if we rely on ourselves. But disciples are the body of Christ empowered by and enabled with spiritual gifts. What am I talking about? Check it out!

So, you want to be a disciple. You want to put your faith in action. No couch potato, sub par spiritual zombie existence for you. You’re ready to train your spiritual muscles, grow strong roots, crush the weeds, and take a stand against the schemes of the devil. You want to know Jesus, really know Jesus. Know him as a person—up close and personal. Know him as your Lord and accept his agenda over all the other agendas out there. You want to connect your story to God’s Story. You want to make a positive difference in the broken world we live in.

This is not an undertaking for the faint hearted and you can’t do it alone. You need Holy Spirit power. The Holy Spirit is resurrection power. He’s the power that raised Jesus from the dead. The Holy Spirit is God-size powerful because he is God and he’s a big deal. He provides Jesus’ disciples with the power to persevere, to overcome the schemes of the devil, and to make a real difference in the world. How do you connect with him? See for yourself. Pick up your cross and let’s go!

Faith, the size of a tiny mustard seed is all that’s needed to start down the road with Jesus. But following Jesus is neither easy nor is it popular. Truth is, it’s counter-cultural. Because Jesus is the ultimate disciple-maker, I’m going to get us going by using a story, a parable, that Jesus used to explain what you need to do if you want to go the Kingdom of God way, the Jesus way, in a world that’s still waiting for him to return and is still full of all kinds of human kingdoms ruled by the prince of this world, the Satan. This is the world that disciples live in—a world full of rocks and weeds and sabotage. Disciples get this and they train for it. They get who Satan is and how he operates. They know he’s out to sabotage God’s plans. And they know how to take a stand.

So, remember how I said in the last podcast that Jesus wants you to follow him more than you could ever want. And that all you need is faith the size of a tiny mustard seed for Jesus to take you by the hand and get you started down the road? Well, three things. One, the road is long. And two, it’s rough and full of obstacles. Which means, three, you can’t go it alone. You can’t rely on yourself, you can’t rely on positive thinking, and you can’t rely on religion. You’re following a person who’s bigger than any personal or even corporate system of beliefs. Following Jesus is more than just believing or having faith that he exists and that he’s God. It’s about being in relationship with him. It’s about being in relationship with a person who’s all about transformation. Jesus is all about transforming you and all of creation from brokenness to wholeness—if you let him. And if you do let him, he’ll work in you like he’s working in the world. In fact, he wants to work through you and he invites you to partner with him in creating patterns of forgiveness, reconciliation, and justice-making in a broken world full of broken people. Yes, you, he wants you to be his hands and feet. And to do that you’ll need more than just to believe that what I’m telling you is true. You’ll have to put that belief in action.

I hope you’re catching on that this is a whole different way of looking at what it means to be a Christian—to be a disciple. It’s definitely not just about going to church on Sunday. And it’s definitely not just about believing—well at least, not how we typically think of believing. Whoa! What am I talking about? Don’t Christians believe in Jesus? Yes, they do, but believing is much more than something that goes on in the private spaces of your head.

“Who do you say I am?” Jesus asks. Everybody’s personal story connects to God’s Story with that question. How will you answer? A myth? And if not a myth, than the “Fabio” Jesus? The “Burn in Hell” Jesus? The “Everything’s Cool” Jesus? The “Churchy” Jesus? Or the “Real” Jesus? Will you answer the question like the crowds did, and think of Jesus as a genie in the bottle? Or like King Herod did—who just liked to talk about and listen to the latest ideas, but who chose to do nothing about the real Jesus standing in front of him? Will you see him like Pontius Pilate did—an irritating inconvenience, an obstacle to his own political aspirations? Will you see Jesus as a threat to your ego, like the religious establishment did? Or will you be like the disciples—who loved him and wanted to follow him though they couldn’t quite wrap their minds around him and his ways.

That question—Who do you say I am—is a question that Jesus will keep asking you as you walk with him. Why? Because the real Jesus is a mystery. He’s a mystery because he’s bigger and more beautiful than any idea we can have of him. He’s a category buster. Like any other mystery, the only one who can reveal Jesus to you is Jesus himself. He’s God and he’s God in flesh and bone. Like the Gospels tell us, he’s way too much to take in all at once—I’m talking from experience here—he won’t reveal more of himself than you’re able to receive. But as you walk with him he’ll reveal more and more of himself to you and you’re understanding of and your love for him will grow deeper and deeper. But there’s a cost to this. You see, each time, just when you think you’ve got Jesus figured out and you’re getting a little comfortable, he’ll blow all of your expectations of him out of the water.

So, you want to follow Jesus. Great! Which one? First, there’s the popular and ubiquitous “Fabio” Jesus—the supermodel Jesus who walks around like he’s floating on air. Rippling blond hair cascading to his shoulders, blue eyes aglow with an inner holy light, muted halo floating above his perfect head—barely brushing that fabulous hair—he stands aloof and apart from us and the messiness of human life. He’s totally ethereal and totally unapproachable. In sharp contrast to the “Fabio” Jesus, there’s the “Burn in Hell” Jesus—dark, stormy eyes ablaze with righteous indignation, arm extended, finger pointing in judgment of you and the rest of humanity. Standing there, he mouths the words, “Are you going to heaven or to hell?” He’s totally serious and totally scary. Most people don’t like this Jesus. So, as a result, we have the “Everything’s Cool” Jesus. This is the “I got this,” “life is good,” Jesus who goes along with just about everything and doesn’t really care what we humans do or don’t do as long as everybody’s chill. Finally, we have the “Churchy” Jesus. This is the Jesus who came to earth to die for our sins so we can go to heaven.

There may be other versions of Jesus out there but these are the big four and you may have seen, heard about, or experienced one or more of these versions. Here’s the truth. Even though all four versions have at least a grain of truth in them, none of them captures the full Jesus because none of them considers Jesus within the context of God’s Story, all of God’s story. So, let’s go—Will the Real Jesus please stand up!

Look, before you run away—I’m not here to preach against the “live and let live” view of sex. I’m here to make a case for a counter-narrative where it makes perfect sense to say that the only kind of sex conducive to human flourishing is that between a man and a woman joined in a marital relationship. Neither the” live and let live” view of sex, nor the Christian view stands alone. Both are a part of larger narratives about what it means to be a sexual person, in a real body, living in an imperfect world, and longing for real connection—real love and intimacy. So, all I’m asking is that you give a listen, whatever your views on pre-marital, casual, and same-sex sexual relations are. You decide—is Christianity a straightjacket when it comes to sex?

Got a story for you. I’m at my in-laws’ fiftieth wedding anniversary bash. At this point, I had been a Christian for about a decade and I had come back home for the party. Out of nowhere, this vaguely familiar woman comes toward me. One of those ingrafted members of the family tree whom I had met briefly at my own wedding years ago when I definitely was NOT a Christian. Hadn’t seen her since and she must have somehow gotten the word that I had found Jesus. So, she approaches me, says “hello” and immediately launches into this: “How can you be part of a religion that’s so degrading toward women.” Her face told me everything. She was hungry for God but wanted no part of religion or the church. She was hurt, she was angry, and she really DID want to know why in the world I wanted any part of that. Maybe you do too. Take a listen!

No, going to church doesn’t make you a Christian. And yes, going to church can definitely be boring and irrelevant, if you think that walking into a church building will magically turn you into one. That’s like thinking you’ll become a loaf of bread or a gallon of milk when you walk into a grocery store!

Ok. So, what is church? What’s the point? Why bother? And what about all the rotten stuff the church has done in the past and more recently? How do you square all that immoral, unjust, and indifferent behavior with what Christianity is supposed to be about? Great questions! Let’s go!