Courageous Discipleship, Why Do You Exist, The Person You Become
The Disciple-Leader Newsletter #55
DISCIPLESHIP
“Jesus didn’t teach hate. He washed feet.”
He Gets Us
There was a Super Bowl ad that caused a bit of controversy in the Christian community. Columnist David French gave a summary of it: “During Super Bowl Sunday, a 60-second ad aired about Jesus Christ ... The ad depicts a series of images of one person washing another person’s feet. Each pairing seems unlikely. An oil rig worker washes the feet of a climate activist. A cop washes the feet of a young Black man. An older woman washes the feet of a young woman outside an apparent abortion clinic while abortion protesters look on. A priest washes the feet of a young gay man. As the commercial ends, words appear on the screen: ‘Jesus didn’t teach hate. He washed feet.”
You might think if this ad were to be controversial, it would stir up non-believers. "Jesus during the Super Bowl? Stop preaching at me!" Surprisingly, a segment of the Christian community is who this commercial offended most.
Without naming names, here are a couple of statements from some Christian commentators with large platforms:
1) "Putting out an ad that invites narcissistic, prideful, unrepentant sinners to come and get their feet washed is bad, actually. And also completely un-Biblical."
2) “The Christlike thing to do at an abortion center isn’t to wash an abortion-minded girl’s feet while ignoring their murderous intentions. The Christlike thing to do is to call them to repentance.”
Are these Christian pundits right in their criticism?
French offered his thoughts on the ad, and I’ll share his thoughts below.
“The best explanation I’ve heard for the ad came from Kaitlyn Schiess, a Christian writer and speaker and frequent guest on the 'Holy Post' podcast. She argued that the ad asks, 'Are you willing to be shamed for your associations?' In other words, are you willing to risk shame and isolation for loving those on the other side of the political and religious aisle? Are you, like Jesus, willing to love others even if it causes people to hate you? Are you willing to love others even if they haven’t repented of what you believe to be grievous sins?
“I grew up in a quite fundamentalist religious tradition, and my church placed an enormous emphasis on the 'boldly declaring' model of Christian engagement. Under this model, Christians’ great gift to the world is the Gospel of Jesus Christ, and our fundamental job is to preach Christ to the lost. In other words, when we encountered the 'other side,' our first emphasis was on our words, and our words emphasized repentance. That’s what irritates Walsh and Sey about the 'He Gets Us' ads. Why don’t they call out and condemn sin?
“When I left my fundamentalist church and joined an evangelical fellowship in law school, I learned a different approach. This model says that there is a difference between declaring your faith and demonstrating your faith and that declarations without demonstrations are worthless.
“It’s one thing to possess the courage to say what you believe, but it takes immeasurably more courage to truly love people you’re often told to hate — even and especially if they don’t love you back. There is nothing distinctive about boldly declaring your beliefs. Many people do that. But how many people love their enemies?
“That’s what the Super Bowl ad is communicating. It’s not saying there’s no difference between the cop and the young Black man or between the oil rig worker and the climate activist — or that they shouldn’t speak about their differences. It’s saying something far more radical and valuable: I can love you and serve you even when I disagree with you.
“In fact, while Jesus was obviously a preacher and a teacher, Scripture is clear that when people were suffering or in peril, time and again Jesus moved to relieve their suffering before he asked them to follow him. He immediately demonstrated love and compassion when people were under duress. Kindness was not conditioned on first accepting his teaching.
“That doesn’t mean Jesus stopped proclaiming his message, nor should Christians. But he was actually hated for the amount of time he spent with the despised and the marginalized. In Matthew 9, for example, the Pharisees angrily asked Jesus’ disciples, 'Why does your teacher eat with tax collectors and sinners?”
I love the contrast between these two models. The bold declaration model vs. the courageous demonstration model. We actually need both. Courageous demonstration, without bold declaration, still leads people to Jesus. Bold declaration without courageous demonstration, however, undermines the cause of Christ. It turns people away, quickly.
M. Russell Ballard is a proponent of the courageous demonstration model. When asked how to help those who have left their faith, he taught, “Don't preach to them. Just love them." President Dallin H. Oaks was asked the same question. His response? "When it comes to touching the heart, kindness, love, and patience are the most fundamental things to pursue."
Remember, there is nothing distinctive about boldly declaring your beliefs. Many people do that. But how many people:
Love their enemies?
Bless those that curse them?
Do good to those who hate them?
Pray for those that despitefully use them and persecute them?
Courageous demonstration, much more than mere bold declaration, is what discipleship really looks like.
LEADERSHIP
“To not exist for yourself is a beautiful thing.”
Mike McDaniel
What do you exist for? Have you ever thought deeply about that question?
Each day you wake up, is your purpose on your mind? Do you think about it, consciously? Or do you go through the motions of life?
If you want a beautiful life, don't exist for yourself. One of the most important realizations you can make is that you're life is not about you. Unfortunately, the majority of humans likely never come to this realization.
You waste your life to the degree you make it about you. Not just from a productive output perspective, but from a happiness perspective. I know of a guy who climbed every step on the ladder of career success. He has trophies galore, has been recognized as the best in his industry, and has millions of dollars. Along the way, he got caught up in his "importance". He made some incredibly self-centered decisions that led to his wife and kids leaving him. He now lives in a 100,000-square-foot mansion, alone.
Is that the dream? Is that success? Is that what life is all about?
Stop existing for yourself.
MENTAL PERFORMANCE
“You won’t outperform your self-image. Talk better to yourself. Believe better about yourself.”
Kevin DeShazo
This comes from writer David Perell:
"The American Psychological Association once invited William James to give a talk on the first 50 years of psychology research.
"He simply said: 'People by and large become what they think of themselves.'
"Then, he left."
Disciple-Leadership: Jesus-led. Lead like Jesus.