Are you a fan or a follower? The dictionary defines a fan as "an enthusiastic admirer." Fans want to be close enough to Jesus to get all the benefits, but not so close that it requires sacrifice. Fans may be fine with repeating a prayer, attending church on the weekend, and slapping a Jesus fish on their bumpers. But is that really the extent of the relationship Jesus wants? Jesus was never interested in having admirers. It's not the fans he is looking for. Not a fan challenges you to consider what it really means to call yourself a Christian. With a frankness that you're not likely to hear in a Sunday school class, Kyle invites you to take an honest look at your relationship with Jesus. His call to follow may seem radical to us, but Jesus desires it for every believer. ~Not a Fan synopsis Not A Fan by Kyle Idleman (and yes I realize his last name is ironic)tackles this subject of fan vs follower and I will be sharing excerpts from his book over this 7(?) part series. Today I would like to start off with the simple challenge of are you ready? This is not going to be easy. This is not going to go smooth. This is going to challenge who you are as a person and Christian. If you stop reading this blog because of this mini series, I'm ok with that. The choice is yours. Let's begin. The excerpt below is the prologue of the book that can be found online for free(along with the first chapter at: www.pressvillage.com/notafanbook/files/pdf/Not_a_Fan_prologue_and_chapter1.pdf It’s a Thursday afternoon and I am sitting in the church sanctuary. It’s empty now, but Easter is only a few days away. More than thirty thousand people will likely come to the weekend services. I have no idea what I’m going to say to them. I can feel the pressure mounting. I sit there hoping that a sermon will come to mind. I look around at the empty seats hoping some inspiration will come. Instead there’s just more perspiration. I wipe the sweat off my brow and look down. This sermon needs to be good. There are some people who only come to church on Christmas and Easter (we call them “Creasters”). I want to make sure they all come back. What could I say to get their attention? How can I make my message more appealing? Is there something creative I could do that would be a big hit and get people talking? So, are you ready? Again, this isn't gonna be easy. It won't be a cheap path. You can turn off at any point but it's your choice. Are you just here for the free meals? There's no more past this point.
Next Week: Not A Fan: Part Two, DTR.
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