by Stephen W. Smith

The Jesus Life is not a religious life. It’s not the church life either. Let me explain.

The population of the world at present, over 6.6 billion people, practice one of the five great religions  found in the world today: Buddhism Christianity Hinduism Judaism and Islam. There are other religions found across the world but these five comprise the most adherents. Within each of these religions there are many sub-divisions and sects.

Christianity, for example has three major branches within Christian beliefs: Roman Catholics, Protestants and Orthodox. The protestant branch holds over 250 different denominations, which vary in certain beliefs and practices. Protestants do not agree on various forms of baptism, views about communion or the Eucharist, church polity and more. Fights, schisms and splits among particular groups continue to this day where battle lines, doctrinal purity and politics all make fodder for the fire in the heated debates over who is really right.

Drive across the landscape of America on a typical Sunday morning and you’ll find small, medium, large, mega and multi-site congregations who are gathered together to ask the Lord’s blessing.  But what is true is this: despite the efforts to evangelize; publicity to grow, programs to train and techniques to sustain, 80% of churches in America are declining. Something is wrong.

Key findings in the a nationwide survey, conducted in August, 2009 revealed that people in America, age 18-29 are giving up on the church:

•65% rarely or never pray with others, and 38% almost never pray by themselves either.

•65% rarely or never attend worship services.

•67% don’t read the Bible or sacred texts.

One researcher said, “We have dumbed down what it means to be part of the church so much that it means almost nothing, even to people who already say they are part of the church,” [1]

Something is wrong with religion in America. We may not be getting what we signed up for and we are looking for something else. More are turning away from the church than are entering the front doors.

Try Harder!

All major world religions contain various aspects of people trying to do what they are told to do. It is this “trying” that best differentiates the Jesus Life from other major religions. No doubt many of us who are Christians have tried, then tried harder and then signed up again for more classes and seminars and bought more books promising that if we “try this” then we can finally…

Enough already! While religions offer programs, tips and techniques on how to try harder,  follow the rules more passionately,  become better or finally achieve a certain level, the Jesus life I am describing here is not about trying harder.

Read Paul’s words to the followers of Jesus in a place called, Colosse, “My counsel for you is simple and straight forward; Just go ahead with what you’ve been given. You received Christ Jesus, the Master; now live him. [Emphasis NOT mine]. Live him. Live him? What in the world does that mean? Paul goes on to explain, “You’re deeply rooted in him. You’re well constructed upon him. You know your way around the faith. Now do what you’ve been taught. Schools out; quit studying the subject and start living it [Emphasis NOT mine.]

The real call for those who follow Jesus is to live the life we were called to live and continue living it throughout our lives.

On one of my more recent decisions and efforts to lose weight, I joined the Y, again. I was determined this time. Motivated by an ever-expanding waist line, I felt like everything had come together for me to have victory. I bought new shoes, shorts and several T-shirts and started on a supervised regimen, even with a Trainer who weighed me; motivated me and said he was “there for me.” After four weeks of working 30 minutes on the treadmill, the tendons in my ankle began to hurt and ache. I began to take anti-inflammatory, over the counter drugs to help me push through to reach my goal. The pain got so unbearable, I quit going to the gym and finally went to see an Orthopedic specialist to diagnosis what was going on. I had worked my muscles in my feet so much that “severe tendonitis” was what the doctor told me. I had to rest,  keep off my feet as much as possible and take an even prescribed drug which would work better than what I was able to take on my own. Sometimes, our best efforts result in pain and more loss—not of weight but of desire to try again. We give up.

The life we want seems so out of reach that we settle down, sit down and resign ourselves that this may just be as good as it gets.

I’d welcome your comments. This is new writing for a new book to be published in 2012. All Rights Reserved!

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[1] http://www.usatoday.com/news/religion/2010-04-27-1Amillfaith27_ST_N.htm. Accessed April 28, 2010.

by Stephen W. Smith

The Jesus Life is not the American life.  Perhaps every people group, in trying to understand God and the truth of the Scriptures might ere in making Jesus apart of their own culture. It’s not just Americans who do this. Recently when travelling to Ethiopia, I discovered some artwork drawn by Ethiopians showing their version of “The Last Supper.” Jesus, along with all twelve of the disciples were Ethiopian, bronzed skin with distinct Ethiopian facial features. The single loaf of flat bread was placed on a brightly woven and multi-colored flat basket, not the silver or gold trays I was use to seeing as a Southern Baptist boy raised in North Carolina. Seeing Jesus as a dark skin man, made me stop and think. Sometimes, thinking is good for us, you know.

Re-Thinking Jesus

Let’s face it. It’s hard to re-think Jesus; to let Jesus return to who he really was; be the man God made him to be. Perhaps we’ve made Jesus into our own image; made him fit a culture that isn’t really him.  This is how many missionaries got into trouble by exporting their American and European ways–their music–their customs–their lifestyles and called it the Jesus way which would lead the heathen to the Jesus life–they hoped. There are countless sad stories about this evangelism of culture in the name of sharing the Good News.

Every culture around the world may import and export their own values, rituals and traditions—their way of doing life and faith into a blended, homogenized view of how Jesus looks, acts and lived. Christian art, down through the ages has typically viewed Jesus as a white man, with long, straight dark hair. He looks a lot like John, my editor. when I spend time with my editor, it’s like spending time with JEsus cause John has the right hair; right demeanor; the right everything in many ways. But John is not Jesus. My mind has formed a trench where I have made up an image of what I think Jesus looked like and probably acted like but how do I know the Jesus that really live; that really taught; that really died and rose again offering me life?

As we have been reminded here, Jesus was not a North American or European. He was a Jew. He would have had a distinct Jewish look, making him look normal, ordinary and usual. His Jewishness would have permeated in everything he did: customs, food, rituals and traditions.  Jesus would not have celebrated the American Easter nor would he have opened gifts at Christmas. He would not recognize Santa Claus, Rudolph and its doubtful he would have ever been ‘dreamin’ of a white Christmas.’

If I am to find the Jesus life, I must first find the Jesus who really lived. I  need to re-think Jesus from my American, German or Spanish ways. Only then can I have my best shot at living the Jesus Life–which is simply not the American life nor does the Jesus life have anything to do with the American dream or even the American constitution. Jesus preceded it all. Jesus was before Abraham Lincoln, before George Washington and before Christopher Columbus. I need, no, we need to go all the way back to find the Jesus who really was so that we can hear the Jesus who really has a message for us today–not just for the Jews in his own space and time in the first century but for right here, right now and in the right way.

I’m afraid we have super-sized our image of Jesus to make him into something he is not. In doing so, we have perhaps cut his tongue out so that we can’t hear his words penetrating into a sex obsessed, money driven, church worshipping–not God worshipping community of followers. Oh, we need such help these days. May the help come before it’s too late. I need the Jesus life. How about you?

To be continued…. I’d welcome your comments!

By Stephen W. Smith

Friends, I’ve started my new book–the fruit of much of my research, private thinking and reflection for this past couple of years. It’s called, The Jesus Life. In the book, I’m going to focus on some, not so talked about parts of Jesus life as an example of how we need to reconsider our own lives.

But I’m posting here…cause I’d like to invite you into the process. If you can read this; then give me some feedback. What part did you like? What seemed lame and weak. Leave it in the comment section…and oh, by the way, consider subscribing to the blog that way you can keep up and have it send directly to your email. Thanks so much.

This week, I’m focusing on three aspects of Jesus Life: obscurity, hiddenness and isolation. This trinity of shaping forces, really shaped Jesus life in a big, big way.  See what you think. This chapter is not finished here. I’ll add another section later on this week.

Again, I WANT and need your feedback.

Thanks, Steve

“…be content with obscurity, like Christ”  Colossians 3:3, the Message

Living in obscurity runs counter-cultural in a world that is hyped by the thirst for fame; the lust for recognition and the drive to become a celebrity. The quick and amazing rise of social networks such as  Facebook, Twitter and other growing social media networks make notoriety and fame instantly available for even the average person to go online and write a blog, upload a movie clip and have a following.  Here, one person connects with another person and forms a cyber community. Social networking is the phenomenon of providing a way of connecting people through the socialization of the Internet and electronics. This fast, growing and pervasive phenomenon is growing exponentially.

Consider these statistics:

• · By 2010 Gen Y will outnumber Baby Boomers…. 96% of them have joined a social network
• · Social Media has overtaken porn as the #1 activity on the Web
• 1 out of 8 couples married in the U.S. last year met via social media
• Years to Reach 50 millions Users:  Radio (38 Years), TV (13 Years), Internet (4 Years), iPod (3 Years)…Facebook added 100 million users in less than 9 months…iPhone applications hit 1 billion in 9 months.
• If Facebook were a country it would be the world’s 4th largest between the United States and Indonesia (note that Facebook is now creeping up – recently announced 300 million users)[1]

The fastest growing genre of media entertainment on television is called, “reality shows.” These inexpensively made; eager to be exploited “stars” in the making, and most importantly real, and live stories reveal the most mundane events to the more absurd. It’s all for a world eager to watch and become obsessed by what is going to happen to this family; this child; this dog, this –anything by the next episode. You better watch it or you’ll be left out.

Parents faked a flying saucer scenario for their young son to supposedly be kidnapped by aliens and televised and watched by millions of Americans who were transfixed on what was going to happen. It was a ploy to gain momentum to begin their own reality show. One newspaper in Denver, called it, “One Minute of Fame Gone Bad” because it was discovered to be a hoax. A woman has octuplets and grabs the next tier of fame by being on entertainment shows and conducting interviews with some of the most respected newscasters in the world. In a recent interview “Octo-Mom” as this woman has come to be known is considering her own “reality” show where the lives of the eight new children will be new TV stars in their own rights.

In December 2009, a glamorously dressed couple made headlines when they supposedly “crashed”—came uninvited—to a White House State Dinner. Within moments, this couple had uploaded pictures of themselves standing next to the President of the United States and the Prime Minister of India.  They had somehow gone through several layers of protection from the Secret Service, Marine Guards and the White House’s own Social Secretary who managed the guest list. In one photograph uploaded to their own Facebook page, the woman has her hand on the chest of the Vice President of the United States. Everyone is smiling. Everyone is famous. Everyone seems happy.

Fifteen minutes of fame and notoriety can propel a previously unknown person into book deals, television appearances and the glamorous lifestyle of the rich and famous.

We are lured into the private lives of ordinary men and women who might be living an unordinary moment in the timeline of their lives and watch with addictive impulses and scared to miss an episode to find out what is going to happen next. Who will share the secret, stories and scandals that will boost ratings, increase wealth and give even more visibility around the world? Could it be you? Would anyone be interested in your story?

People who live anonymous and obscure lives must be boring—we are led to conclude. People who seek obscurity must be uninteresting because if there was anything interesting or important to know, surely they would have been “discovered” and already have a following. The condition of being unknown—be it in athletics, music, business, politics or even in church seems like a total waste of one’s life. Leaving a legacy of obscurity and anonymity seems so wasteful; so inefficient; so incompetent in our fetishes for recognition and fame.

The temptation to be famous and great is as old as the cunning enticement of Satan when he lured Jesus himself to the top of desert peaks promising Jesus grandeur, greatness and glory if he would only bow to a lesser god. In Matthew’s account of the temptation, we see Jesus being tempted in three major areas of life:  Jesus was challenged to meet his own needs first (turn the rocks into bread, Matthew 4:3-4); do something spectacular (throw himself down from the spire of the Temple, Matthew 4:5-6); and to do something powerful (the enticement of kingdoms and splendor, Matthew 4:8-10).

Jesus faced the pull and lure of power and fame just as we must. However Jesus did not live in a day where social networking venues of Twitter, Facebook, blogs, television, internet accessibility, texting and “instant messaging” made the promise of recognition so possible; so quick; so immediate and so instant. Some may surmised that Jesus should have waited until the twenty-first century to make his grand appearance—crashing the party being enjoyed on earth. If he had waited till now, imagine how much more famous Jesus could have been?

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