Review:
In Not A Fan Kyle Idleman starts the book with a D.T.R. – Define The Relationship. The distinction
he makes throughout the book is between a fan of Jesus and a follower of Jesus.
A fan is an “enthusiastic admirer” (Kyle Idleman, Not A Fan, Becoming a Completely
Committed Follower of Jesus, Zondervan, 2011, p. 24). A follower of Jesus “comes with a high price tag.” Idleman
says,
“There’s
no way to follow Jesus without him interfering with your life…Following Jesus
always costs something. For Nicodemus (John 3) it
would cost him a powerful position. It would cost him the respect of his
coworkers…It would cost him friendships; it would likely cost him some family
relationships. Most of us don’t mind; Jesus making some minor changes in our
lives, but Jesus wants to turn our lives upside down…Fans come to Jesus
thinking tune-up but Jesus is thinking overhaul. Fans think a little make up is
fine, but Jesus is thinking make-over. Fans are thinking a little decorating is
required, but Jesus wants a complete remodel” (pp. 30-31).
Idleman describes the
distinctions between a fan and a follower with a plethora of examples. The book
is an easy read and very helpful for those Christians who have not yet
surrendered fully to Jesus or are in a serious discipleship program.
- M.L. Codman-Wilson, Ph.D. 4/2/14
Excerpts:
Are You All-in?
Luke 7 describes a woman of
ill repute who comes to Jesus, pours a flask of oil on his feet and kisses them
over and over. Idleman asks: “When is the last time you had a moment with Jesus
like this women in Luke 7 had?...When was the last time the tears streamed down
your face as you expressed your love for Him?...When was the last time you
demonstrated your love for Him with reckless abandonment? I’m not asking if you
know about Him, I’m asking if you know Him” (p. 51).
“Are you following Jesus or
following the rules?...In Matthew 23 Jesus tries to get the attention of a
group of fans, known as the religious leaders…They had a mastery of the
scriptures…They were especially known for their strict observance of the law…Following
the rules kept them focused on the outside, but who they were on the inside is
what Jesus paid attention to…Like many fans, who they were on the outside
didn’t match up with what was on the inside” (pp. 69-70).
“Some fans are like the Sadducees.
Their faith was something they were born into…Maybe when you were born your parents
handed you a mask, and you grew up acting like Christians act, talking how
Christians talked, listening to the music Christians listen to; but you never
fell in love with Jesus…On the other hand some fans are like the Pharisees,
they would measure their faith by their hard work at learning and following the
law…Even though you say the right things and do the right things, that’s not
enough for Jesus. He wants all of you” (p. 71).
“When these religious leaders
put rules over their relationship with Jesus, they were so caught up in keeping
the letter of the law, they didn’t show love to God’s people…Fans who follow
the rules instead of following Jesus find they’re weighed down with guilt…The
key word for fear and guilt is ‘do.’ We try and do enough to make up for our
mistakes and earn God’s favor…The key word for grace is ‘done’…Fans are all
about the ‘do,’ but followers celebrate the ‘done’ (pp. 78-80).
A Follower Chooses to be Filled with the Holy Spirit
“You cannot be a follower
unless you are filled with the Holy Spirit…You keep doing what you don’t want
to do, and you don’t do the things you really want to do. You promise others
that you will change…It just doesn’t work. When we try to follow Jesus without
being daily filled by the Spirit, we find ourselves frustrated by our failures
and exhausted by our efforts…We become overwhelmed by life circumstances…When
something in life goes wrong, we don’t have the power to overcome it” (pp. 88-89).
“Being filled with the power
of the Holy Spirit begins with an honest acknowledgement of our own weakness.
The truth of it is that most of us go to great lengths to disguise our own
weakness…Paul understands that living in the power of the Spirit means shining
a light on our weaknesses. This is what fans find so difficult. Most fans have
learned to make sure that everyone knows about their strengths, but that no one
finds out about their weaknesses” (pp. 93-94).
“Being filled with the Spirit
requires ‘Spiritual Breathing.’…The moment you become aware of sin in your life
you exhale. When you exhale, you breathe
out and repent of your sin. Repentance becomes a natural response, and clears
out space in our hearts for the Spirit to fill us…The only way to be filled
with the Spirit is to empty myself of me…And then you inhale. When you inhale, you breathe in and pray to be filled with
the Spirit, and you surrender control to Him…Followers live with a continual
awareness of the Spirit’s presence and a constant prayer to be filled with His
power” (pp.
95-96).
“Does your life reflect what
you say you believe?...A fan may say, ‘Lord, Lord’ but a fan doesn’t live
‘Lord, Lord.’…A belief is more than what we say…It is more than a feeling…A belief,
no matter how sincere, if not reflected in reality, isn’t a belief; it’s a
delusion…The journey from fan to follower begins by identifying the fan within
us…The truth is that John 3:16 [which emphasizes believing] and Luke 9:23
[which emphasizes following] must necessarily go together. There’s no believing
without following. There’s no John 3:16 without Luke 9:23” (pp.104-106, 115-116).
Denying Oneself
“There’s a fear among fans
that by going all-in, they’re going to miss out. Fans want to have just enough
of the pleasure without having to risk any pain. We want to enjoy what’s
available to us without having to sacrifice for it. Instead of ‘come after’ we
‘hold back’. It’s not that we don’t want a relationship with Jesus, we do. We
just don’t want it to cost us very much” (p. 134).
“One of the greatest
motivations of our love and passionate pursuit of Jesus, is a better
understanding of how great His love is for us. Being loved causes us to love (1 John 4:19)” (p. 137).
“We talk a lot about the
truth that being a Christian means believing in Jesus – but we don’t say much about
denying ourselves. That is such an unappealing message. How do you deny
yourself in a culture that says it’s all about yourself?...One way fans try to
follow Jesus without denying themselves is by compartmentalizing the areas of
their lives they don’t want Him to have access to. They try to negotiate the
terms of the deal. I’ll follow Jesus, but
I’m not going to sell my possessions. Don’t ask me to forgive the people who
hurt me, they don’t deserve that. Don’t ask me to save sex for marriage, I
can’t help my desires…They say, I
really like Jesus – but I don’t really like serving the poor – I’m not real big
in the idea of going to church – my resources are spoken for…The collision
of Christianity with American capitalism has created a culture of consumerism
in our churches. Instead of approaching their faith with a spirit of denial
that says, ‘What can I do for Jesus?,’
they have a consumer mentality that says ‘What
can Jesus do for me?’” (pp. 144, 146, 148).
“The Bible would describe a
follower as a slave. That is the exact opposite of a consumer. The image of a
slave provides a picture of what denying yourself looks like. A slave has no
rights. A slave has no possessions to call their own…A slave doesn’t get to
negotiate, but ‘slave’ is the way many of the followers of Christ introduced
themselves…Slave is a common word used for followers, so it only makes sense
that Jesus is often called Lord. The word translated as Lord in the New
Testament is often the word Kurios.
Kurios is a slavery word. Kurios is the word given to the master or the owner
of the slave…You can’t call Jesus Lord without declaring yourself His slave” (pp. 149, 151).
“We think of slavery as
something you’re forced into, but Jesus invites us to deny ourselves…In
the Old Testament people who chose to be slaves were called ‘bond slaves.’…A
bond slave gave up all their rights to their Master…A bond slave loves his Master
and realized that he’s better off as a slave (Deuteronomy 15). So out of love we become a slave to Jesus. When you finally surrender
all you have and all you are, you will discover…it’s only by becoming a slave
to Jesus that we only ever truly find freedom” (pp. 152-153).
“The slogan for followers of Christ
could accurately be captured this way: ‘Come and die’…A decision to follow
Jesus is the decision to die to yourself. Contrast the symbol of the cross with
our love for comfort. Most of us are by nature comfort seekers, not cross bearers.
We are the people of the Lazyboy, the country club, the day spa and the snuggy
(a blanket with sleeves)…Unfortunately, many churches have developed Snuggy Theology,
where they try to make sure everyone is as comfortable as possible. The Snuggy
Theology promises health and wealth to all who follow Jesus…When you win people
with a Snuggy Theology, they are not going to be happy when they are told to
take up a cross” (pp.
158, 163, 164).
“Each morning by the grace of
Jesus, I’m invited to take up a cross and die. That’s the only way I will follow
him that day. Every morning we crawl back on the altar and die to ourselves.
That’s Jesus’ invitation in Luke 9:23, but look at what he says in the very
next verse: For whoever wants to save his
life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for me will save it…when we
finally let go of our lives, we find real life in Christ” (p. 170).
Wherever, Whenever, Whatever
“If you say to Jesus, I’ll
follow you wherever, you can be sure that where he points will be out of your
comfort zone. ‘Out of your comfort zone’ could be defined this way: ‘The places
where saying yes to God, means saying no to me. I sent out an email to some
friends and asked them to finish this sentence for me: Saying yes to following Jesus meant saying no to…
…My
kids growing up in a comfortable home in America (from my friends who are
missionaries in Africa)…
…Continuing
to live with my boyfriend…
…hanging
out at the club with my friends I grew up with…
…a
quiet life of privacy…
Saying yes to following Jesus
meant saying no to comfort” (pp. 182).
“In Luke 9:59-60, Jesus
invited people to follow Him…One man seemed willing…The first word out of his
mouth was ‘Lord’...But the second word out of his mouth was ‘first.’ He wanted
to follow Jesus but now wasn’t a good time…When fans are asked about when they
will get serious about their commitment to follow Jesus, the most common answer
is tomorrow…The answer Jesus is looking for from his followers is
‘immediately.’…The most dangerous part about following Jesus tomorrow isn’t
what you’ll lose between now and then…The worst thing that might happen is that
tomorrow might never come. The truth is that the longer you put him off, the
more unlikely it is that following him will ever happen” (pp. 190-191, 195).
“In Luke 9:61, still another
said, ‘I will follow you Lord, but first
let me go back.’…This man, like so many others we’ve studied, wants to
follow Jesus, but not with everything he has. He’s not willing to go all-in.
There’s something else that has his attention, and he keeps looking back…Many
fans say to Jesus, ‘I will follow. Anything and everything I have I give to
you.’ But Jesus points to what you are hiding behind your back and says, ‘What
about that?’ For Nicodemus it was a religious reputation. For the rich young
ruler it was his stuff. For this young man it seemed to be his family
relationships…They’re willing to follow Jesus but their relationship isn’t
exclusive. They’re holding onto some things from the past” (p. 202).
Competition for our Allegiance
“The reason Jesus is so
adamant about followers surrendering everything is because the reality is this:
the one thing we are most reluctant to give up is the one thing that has the
most potential to become a substitute for Him. Really what we’re talking about
here is idolatry. When we are to be following Jesus, who is the head of us, but
find ourselves looking behind us, we are revealing that we are substituting
something or someone for Him…What is it that is competing for your allegiance
to Christ?…Until you have really surrendered anything and everything over to
Jesus and truly put him above all else in your life, you will not know the joy
and satisfaction that finally comes when you go all-in” (pp. 205, 207).