This book has quickly become a favorite of mine that I will recommend it often. The central question in the book is, "Are you a fan of Jesus or a follower?" It goes on to define the two using stories of people's lives as found in the Bible and often mixing in his own insights from his life as well. I appreciate his look into not only biblical story but also deeply into the context and background of where the stories took place. I felt myself challenged every time I picked this book up. I was challenged each chapter to ask the thematic question, "Am I more like a fan or a follower?" It's the type of book that you can't read more than one chapter at one time because you need time to really chew on what has just been said.
Kyle says clearly and often that the church has passed on the message of John 3:16 well but we have completely left out verses like Luke 9:23. He says that the church has often "sold" the gospel and misleadingly sugar coated it to make it more attractive and appealing to others. The verse that Kyle keeps coming back to time and time again is this Luke passage,
"Whoever
wants to be my disciple must deny themselves and take up their cross daily and
follow me."
I think it's a great book for people exploring authentic faith and to have real Christianity presented to them. At the same time it's a call to those nominal Christians who are just going through the motions because that's what they've always done. In the same breathe this was a great book to me as a Christian my entire life and as someone with the responsibility to teach scripture it has called me to the high standard of the Gospel. My relationship with God has been challenged and has grown deeper through this book. I have a long way to go. Thank you God that you are patient with me.
A part of the small group material was a bracelet
that you could get. It simply says "not a fan" and it has a double
purpose. The biggest reason why I wear it is to remind me that I am not a fan
of Jesus but a follower. It's a way to continually remind myself of the
decision that I've made to die daily to myself and live fully for God. The second reason that I wear it is so that others can see it. You wouldn't believe the people that have seen my bracelet and asked what it says. I usually tell them pretty simply that it says "not a fan" to which they respond "of what?" I then give them the simple answer of, "I'm not a fan of Jesus." "What? Yes you are." Then I proceed to smile with glee and I define for them what a fan is and what a follower is. I tell them, "I'm not a fan of Jesus, I'm a follower." It challenges many presuppositions of my relationship with Christ. I love it! Very Cleaver!
To close I have an ending quote from the book for you. It is in the last chapter of the book that I just finished yesterday. Pg. 204 reads this:
"When you accept the invitation of Jesus to follow him, you are not just saying that he is a top priority in your life; you are making him the only priority in your life. He desperately wants you, but he won't share you. He will settle for nothing less than your undivided attention and complete commitment. He wants you to invest in him more than you invest in your stock portfolio. He wants you to surrender to him more of your time and talent than the office gets out of you. He wants you to expel more joy and energy in worshiping him than you do watching the big game."
A bold call right before Super Bowl 2012! I could quote so much more that would challenge you but instead just go and read the book for yourself. If you'd like, do it in a small group so you can dialog through it. But do yourself a favour and ask yourself the question, "Are you a fan of Jesus, or a follower." Jesus doesn't need any more fans. What he wants are followers.
Bless you on your journey!
My name is Russ Klassen, and I am not a fan!
