[rating:3]
( Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 2011 )
215 pgs
Kyle Idleman has written this enjoyable, yet challenging book. Idleman is the teaching pastor of Southeast Christian Church in Louisville, Kentucky. It is listed as the fifth largest church in America. On a side note, this church for many years held the distinction of ordering more Experiencing God workbooks every year than any other church in America. Being a mega church, it faced a common problem. It had numerous people attending church but not necessarily following Jesus. The temptation for the pastoral staff was to continue offering programs that would convince people to attend their church instead of the church down the street. But, as many churches, especially larger ones, have discovered, when you cater to consumers, you build a church of consumers. When you build a church with Christ-followers, you end up with New Testament Christianity.
Idleman’s fundamental point is that the church has too many “fans” and not enough followers of Jesus. He defines “fan” as “An enthusiastic admirer” (24). He notes: “And I think Jesus has a lot of fans these days. Fans who cheer for him when things are going well, but who walk away when it’s a difficult season. Fans who sit safely in the stands cheering, but they know nothing of the sacrifice and pain of the field. Fans of Jesus who know all about him, but they don’t really know him” (25). He concludes: “The biggest threat to the church today is fans who call themselves Christians but aren’t actually interested in following Christ” (25).
Overall this is a pretty simple, straightforward book. In the beginning, you sense the author is simply pounding on the same drum as many Christian writers and pastors today, denouncing shallow, lukewarm Christianity. I don’t know that I read much that was “new” in the book. Nevertheless, it does address an extremely relevant subject. Idleman also can be quite funny and has some great “asides” that keep you chuckling even while he is stepping on your toes. Finally, he does offer some fresh insights into several Scriptures that I found refreshing.
Idleman makes the important distinction between “believing” in Jesus and “following” him (32-33). Too many assume that mental assent to certain doctrines and church teachings make them a disciple of Jesus. Yet a disciple is someone who follows Jesus. Idleman has some great questions too, such as, “If following Jesus cost you everything, would it still be worth it?” (66). He also uses some great illustrations, such as the Olympic rifle event in 2004 in which Matt Emmons was almost guaranteed a gold medal until in his final event, he made a perfect shot, on the wrong target (69), and the story of John Akers, CEO of IBM who was told by a rules-conscious teller that his parking pass could not be validated unless he conducted a transaction. In response Akers withdrew 1.5 million dollars and closed down his account, so he could then save money on parking (79).
I enjoyed Idleman’s discussion of the difference between “God with us” and “God in us” (91). He has an interesting point when he speculates about Old Testament heroes such as Moses meeting Christians in heaven and asking what it was like to have God the Spirit swelling “In” us. I also liked his point about people who claim to believe in something but whose life doesn’t demonstrate evidence of that belief. He claims: “A belief, no matter how sincere, if not reflected in reality isn’t a belief; it’s a delusion” (106). I also liked his observation about Jesus’ disciple, Matthew, also known as Levi. He notes that if you named you son Levi, you expected, or hoped, he would one day become a priest (118). Yet instead, Matthew had become a despicable tax collector. After having so utterly failed to meet his parent’s expectations, what a surprise it would have been for the famous Rabbi Jesus to invite him to become one of his students!
I also liked his discussion of flexetarians (vegetarians who don’t eat meat except when they make exceptions!) (147). He notes that is often the way Christians live, following Christ until it is inconvenient. He also notes: “It’s much easier to speak about following Jesus when you are making a general statement without any specific commitments” (176).
I also liked his “Not a fan” segments where people gave testimonials about how they had become a devout follower of Christ. It helped to demonstrate how life-changing, these truths are.
I recently began hearing people talking about this book. I try to keep up with trends and popular thinking among the Christian community, so I picked up the book. It is an easy read and, doesn’t necessarily explore deeply profound, new ground. But it does offer a fresh look at an ongoing problem for the church. It is enjoyably written and does offer some good insights. It will encourage any Christian but may especially be good for those who need to be encouraged to leave the shallow end of the Christian pool and to launch out into the deep.