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| Brad, age 13, livin' the life with new guitar, long before he discovered the ukulele. |
A few years ago I officiated at a wedding that was held on a country club golf course in Northern Arizona. A young man from the church in Turlock, California where I was a pastor for 11 years had asked me to "do" his wedding. He, like we (Cheryl and me), had moved to Arizona. And we reconnected. Tom is now a part of our new church plant in the Phoenix area and he and his new wife have purchased a home less than a mile from where we live.
Anyway, I was standing around waiting for Tom and Karen's wedding rehearsal to begin and I overheard two country club members -- obviously wealthy men (they belong to the country club!) -- greet each other along a path.
"Bob, it's been a long time! What have you been up to?"
Bob responded, "Hey George -- not much -- just livin' the life." And with those words he swung his arms around to highlight the beautiful golf course setting.
If it were not rude to overhear and then interrupt two old friends, I would have jumped into the conversation. I so wanted to interrupt them. I wanted to yell -- "What makes you think you're livin' the life -- that this is the life -- that this is what life is all about?"
I mean, it is a nice place. And there is nothing wrong with being a member of a country club. But if that's THE life it's a pretty shallow life -- at least by Jesus' standards.
Jesus defines "the life" as welcoming him and following him. This is what Jesus was talking about in John 14:6 when he said,"I am the way, the truth, and the life."
He is not just talking about what happens when we die, go to heaven, and then eventually experience the resurrected life. That is indeed a part of it. But it is a only a part of it.
"The life" in Jesus is the essence of both evangelism and discipleship. We will eventually work on some definitions of those two terms but for now let's think of discipleship as livin' the life and evangelism as telling about the life. I grew up in a fine Christian home and a wonderful evangelical church in San José, California. I heard Bible stories throughout my childhood, belonged to the children's Trailblazer Club, and went to a great Bible camp every summer from third grade through high school. I heard thousands of sermons and youth talks inviting me to receive Jesus as my personal Savior.
When I think about it, I'm pretty sure that I had faith in Jesus Christ as my Savior. But I wasn't ready to be nailed down. As a matter of fact, I remember sneaking out of our tent and climbing a tree to hide-out during our group's daily Bible study at camp.
I wasn't particularly rebellious but I couldn't sit still or focus as long as the other children. As I look back on my childhood I'm fairly certain that I had some form of Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD). It wasn't until my early 20's that things started to settle down -- but even now there are times when I have great difficulty focusing. Anyway, enough of that bunny trail -- for now.
There came a point, however, when I was nine or ten years old, and I was sitting in my room at home -- in the dark -- and just thinking. And I remember having the thought that I had never formally invited Christ to be my Savior. It dawned on me that I should probably do that. It wasn't that I was afraid of going to hell. But it just seemed like unfinished business. So I asked Jesus to be my Savior with a simple prayer that I made-up on the spot.
There was no one else there. There was no evangelist. There was no plea to come forward -- no invitation song -- no fireworks -- no voices -- no great emotion -- no sense of relief. It was just God and me talking again in a dark room.
Was that the moment I became a Christian? I don't know. Again, looking back on my early years I had faith in Jesus prior to that point and becoming a follower of Jesus is really a matter of having faith in him. It's just that prior to that point in my retarded cognitive development I had been unable to articulate my commitment to Christ. So, when people ask, I prefer to say that turning to Christ and the life was really a protracted process.
That is, the moment of decision was in there at some point but I'm not sure when or where it was. But I do know that there were many different influences leading me to trust Christ -- parents, peers, teachers, youth group leaders, special events, personal Bible reading, cute girls. It was all in the mix somewhere at various points in the process.
Now, I realize that everyone has a different story.
- I know some people who have turned to Christ from Islam and others from Hinduism, after having a dream where Jesus appeared to them during their sleep.
- I've heard enough testimonies from our German Libenzell missionary friends (the founders of PIU) to notice a pattern in that group. Almost all of them have turned to Christ after having a personal crisis of some sort that more or less forced them to "make a decision" -- to choose Christ over something or someone else.
- For many of my Southern Baptist friends, turning to Christ is almost a rite of passage. At the age of 12 or 13 they feel the pressure to "come forward" at an altar call -- and then to be baptized.
- Many Lutherans would say that while they were baptized as infants they really turned to Christ during the rite of confirmation where as young teens they confessed him and personally embraced him for themselves.
What we have in common is that by the grace of God we've discovered and embraced the life that is in Christ Jesus.
What is true of our turning to Christ is also true of our personal development as followers (disciples) of Jesus. I could point to a long list of Sunday School teachers who have invested in me -- both in the classroom and out. There were a couple of really good youth ministers who had an impact in my development.
My colleagues, Elmer and Jean Hiebert, with whom I worked in campus ministry at Arizona State University back in the '80s, taught me how to enjoy a more laid back style of ministry and still get it done. They also imparted to me their vision for ministry with internationals and immigrants.
During my high school years there were several Young Life club leaders who showed me that ministry is more about relationships than programs. I still believe that.
Another important dimension of my development as a follower of Jesus was seminary. I actually attended three different graduate seminaries -- New College Berkeley ("a seminary for laypeople"), Fuller Theological Seminary, and North Park Theological Seminary. They were all different from each other but they were all good for me because I tend to live a good portion of my life in the world of ideas. Ideas matter to me -- a lot -- and the seminaries gave me the mental structure for thinking through the theological aspects of discipleship. And they equipped me for pastoral and educational ministry.
How about you? In this assignment I would like you to share your story ("testimony") in two parts. In the first part explain how it is that you became a follower of Jesus Christ. For example:
- What were the circumstances?
- What actually happened?
- What did it feel like?
- What did it sound like?
- Where did it happen? (Why is the "where" important to your story?)
- Who were the people who influenced you? How so?
- Was it a struggle for you to turn to Christ or did it seem like the most natural thing in the world?
Your essay should be no fewer than 750 words. Embed it in an email (That is, no attachments. Just write it in the email itself or paste it into the email). Tell me if you prefer to keep the details of your story private. There are times when I will share what others have written as fodder for discussion. While at times I inadvertently embarrass myself I will never intentionally embarrass you -- except maybe on your Facebook page. If you're smart you'll unfriend me now! :-)
This assignment will be worth 50 DE points. Points will be assigned according to the amount of personal refection you do and how well you tell your story.
While this is technically an essay you are welcome to be as creative as you'd like -- as long as the two parts are clearly present. If you are inclined, you may do the whole thing as a big long poem. Or you can format it as a movie script. Or you can do it in narrative form with an outside voice describing your story in the third person. In other words, there is freedom and flexibility.
