students of jesus

Like any writer, the narcissist in me believes you would enjoy a peek into the book I plan to release this fall, The Impossible Mentor. Advance praise for this book comes from my wife, my children, and the stray cat we keep feeding at the back door. They all agree: this will be the finest book on spiritual formation ever to come out of Campbellsville, Kentucky. Just because these witnesses are deeply biased doesn’t mean they are wrong, it just means they will buy the first thousand copies.

This week and next I’ll share the opening passages of the first few chapters. Today, a bit from the opening of Chapter Two:

Chapter One: "I'm Not Jesus!"

Chapter Two: "You're Not, Either"

The class held about thirty students. A class that size guarantees a mix of sleepers, zombies, texters and those rare few who participate in discussion. We had spent the whole hour talking about whether Jesus could have possibly been serious when he said, “Be perfect as your Heavenly Father is perfect.” One student seemed to pay particular attention but hadn’t spoken up once during the period. I decided to draw her into the discussion.

“So we’re just about done for today. Tiffanie, you’ve been listening hard but haven’t offered your opinion. Why don’t you have the last word?”

She shifted in her seat and said, “I don’t know if He was serious, but one thing’s for sure: you’re not Jesus.”

Our inability to connect with Jesus as the model for our lives has two immediate consequences.  First, all other Christian role models pale in comparison to the perfect Son of God.  This means that since no one measures up to the Master, no one is qualified to lead us.  Regarding our own behavior we are tempted to say, “I’m not Jesus.”  When we encounter another believer who could possibly become an example for us the same defense mechanism rises up to say, “You’re not, either.”  Second, because earthly mentors are fallible we have trained ourselves to keep our guard up, to remain at a distance.  There are too many examples of fallen Christian leaders.  We are determined not to be drawn into a close relationship with those who could nurture us into Christlikeness, because they could also let us down.  So we end up with no role models at all.

Beware the pastor who plays on your church-league softball team.  Or basketball.  Or horseshoes.  You will discover that your pastor has character flaws like the Jordan River, deep and wide.  If he is athletic he is likely to be considered too competitive, and if he is not athletic he likely doesn’t take the game seriously enough.  We started a church softball team at our church in order to encourage the value of community--and ended up losing two families by the end of the season!

If we have difficulty embracing the flawless Son of God as our life coach, then an accessible human mentor would seem to be just the ticket.  Unfortunately Christian leaders are at a real disadvantage when compared to Jesus.  Not only is Jesus perfect, he also isn’t here.  That means we are left with imperfect leaders whose flaws are available daily for inspection.  Most people will pay lip service to the idea that there is “no perfect leader,” but when the flaws begin to show through, lip service gives way to disappointment, hurt feelings, and criticism. This is the second challenge to taking the yoke that Jesus offers.  The Christian who hears the call to discipleship is faced with two difficult choices in looking for a mentor.  First, Jesus is the Impossible Mentor; second, most Christian leaders are Unqualified Mentors.  The church is left with no mentors at all.

Over the decades I discovered that most youth leaders and pastors were unwilling to step forward and suggest that they can teach people how to become conformed to the image of Christ.  In church after church the substance of sermon after sermon was either our need for a savior or our responsibilities to live up to the commandments we find in the Bible.  The “how to” of Christian living was strangely missing.

Then, one day, almost by accident, I came across an amazing statement by the Apostle Paul.  It startled me because it was so different from what I was used to hearing in church.  This man, Paul, said: “Be imitators of me, just as I also am of Christ.”  (I Corinthians 11: 1)  Paul seemed to be confident in his relationship with Jesus.  Although he once referred to himself as “the worst of sinners,” he claimed to know what was required to follow Jesus and invited people to imitate his actions.  Instantly I knew I needed exactly this: someone to imitate.  Jesus was still the goal, but Paul was someone who did something more than simply point to the goal.  He told the Corinthians, "Here. I'll show you how."

How many Christians (or even leaders in the church) make such statements today?  I suspect that many people would consider Paul’s words boastful if they heard someone else say them.  Yet this is exactly what Jesus instructed his followers in the Great Commission when he charged his disciples with making more disciples, and to “teach them to observe everything I have commanded you.” (Matthew 28: 20)  I believe this is the second challenge for those who want to become followers of Jesus.  We have a gospel that promotes forgiveness and exalts Jesus as Savior.  We have Biblical language that exalts Jesus as Lord.  We do not, however, have much of an idea about how to make disciples who will actually become like Jesus.

Like any writer, the narcissist in me believes you would enjoy a peek into the book I plan to release this fall, The Impossible Mentor. Advance praise for this book comes from my wife, my children, and the stray cat we keep feeding at the back door. They all agree: this will be the finest book on spiritual formation ever to come out of Campbellsville, Kentucky. Just because these witnesses are deeply biased doesn’t mean they are wrong, it just means they will buy the first thousand copies.

This week and next I’ll share the opening passages of the first few chapters. Today, a bit from the opening of chapter one:

Chapter One: "I'm Not Jesus"

I knew it was a mistake as soon as the words left my mouth. Sitting in my office was a young man who had been cheated out of $200 by someone else in the church. Both men attended our church, and one guy really did owe the other $200. But the guilty party wasn’t in the office, the other guy was--and he was full of anger and frustration because of his loss. That’s when I made my hasty suggestion:

“You could forgive him his debt,” I suggested. “Jesus told us to do just that.”

Big mistake.

“Well I’m not Jesus!” he nearly shouted back at me.

End of discussion, end of ministry time, end of opportunity to take the yoke Jesus offers. It was my mistake. Not for suggesting a perfectly Biblical remedy to his anger and frustration, but for expressing the solution in such a way that he would consider it impossible.

It’s impossible to be like Jesus, isn’t it? Jesus was perfect. He led a sinless life. He was God-come-to-earth and his life sets the bar impossibly high for any of us.

I believe that the central problem in nurturing followers of Jesus in North America is our view of Jesus as the Impossible Mentor.

It’s a paradox: nearly everyone is willing to acknowledge Jesus as a worthy role model, but almost no one seriously believes it is possible to live up to his example. Our esteem for Jesus’ life of obedience to the Father and our desire to be “just like Jesus” does battle with the deep-seated notion that it is impossible to be like him. Who would choose a mentor who is impossible to imitate?

Some passages in the Scripture inspire fill us with confidence. Some light the fires of hope in our hearts. Other passages seem too idealistic, too fantastic to find their way into even our dreams, much less our daily lives: “For those God foreknew he also predestined to be conformed to the likeness of his Son, that he might be the firstborn among many brothers.” (Romans 8: 29) Is this possible? Does God really look at each one of us and see a destiny in which we look like Jesus?

Whatever our theological foundations regarding this passage we should all recognize that it is about God’s intention for each of one us--to become “conformed to the likeness of his Son.” Simply put, God desires to have more children like Jesus. Jesus is God’s only begotten Son, but we become his sons and daughters by adoption. The destiny of those adopted into the family of God is that we, too, should bear the family likeness. That is: we will look just like Jesus.

In a conversation with a dozen young Christians this week, I asked them if they felt it was possible to live a life without sin for even one day. No takers. So I rephrased the question and asked if it is possible to go for an hour without sinning. Only one of them thought it was possible to stay within the will of God for a single hour.

These questions are not academic. They go to the heart of our life “in Christ.” If our intuition tells us that following His example is impossible, for one day or even an hour, how can we have the confidence to pursue his vision for us? The bottom line is that God has a greater vision for what is possible in our lives than we do. Perhaps the reason the Apostle Paul instructs us later in Romans to “be transformed by the renewing of your minds” is so we can see the possibilities of a life lived in harmony with Jesus. A practical, day-to-day moment-by-moment harmony capable of generating the rest and peace he promises.

Let me encourage you to ponder the foundations of your commitment to be a disciple of Jesus. Here are a few suggestions for meditation and prayer:

• Is it possible to learn from him?
• If Jesus is my mentor, have I committed myself to failure with no possibility of success?
• What kind of Master would invite me to be his apprentice if he thought there was no possibility to follow in his footsteps?

The answers spoken from our heart will determine whether discipleship is possible.