As Maxie Dunnam was driving one day on Poplar Avenue, in Memphis, Tennessee, he noticed a bumper sticker on the car in front of him. He inched closer and saw that the bumper sticker read in big letters, "I am a Generic Christian." That got his attention. He tried to get closer. Some smaller letters were written beneath the larger ones. He got dangerously close to the back of the car to read the words, "Ask me what I mean." He was intrigued even more. What was the person with this bumper sticker trying to say?
Dr. Dunnam's interest was whetted further by the fact that the bumper sticker was on a $65,000 Mercedes. He wondered how a driver of a Mercedes could be considered a generic anything. A couple of blocks later the driver pulled into a car wash. Dunnam had no intention of having his car washed that day. Nevertheless he also turned in to the car wash hoping to meet and speak with the driver with the intriguing bumper sticker.
The man told him that he was a member of a local congregation. He was so tired, though, of the denominational emphasis in so many churches that he wanted to proclaim a different kind of message. He wanted the world to know that he was a Christian not tied to any label - hence a generic Christian. The man might have had a point, but on further reflection Dr. Dunnam says, "I wonder if we don't have too many generic Christians and not enough disciples." (1)
Jesus was at the height of his popularity. People were following him everywhere he went. It was difficult for him to get away even to spend some quality time alone in prayer or with his disciples. He healed the sick, fed the hungry. And people flocked to him. The disciples were excited. Jesus' ministry was booming. Everything was running smoothly. At least that's what the disciples thought.
The disciples had been with him for quite some time and Jesus felt it was time to bring them up to speed on what would happen next. He gathered them around him and told them that he "must go to Jerusalem and undergo great suffering at the hands of the elders and chief priests and scribes, and be killed, and the third day be raised." Wow! The disciples certainly weren't expecting anything like that. They just looked at each other, too shocked to say anything. They were visibly shaken. They thought Jesus would come to power, and they would hold positions of stature in his kingdom. They never thought he would suffer and die.
Leave it to Simon Peter to speak what the other disciples were thinking. Peter took Jesus aside and said, "God forbid it, Lord! This must never happen to you." Peter spoke harshly to Jesus. He rebuked Jesus.
Has anyone ever said something to you that reminded you of someone else, or of some other experience? When Peter rebuked Jesus, Jesus heard the voice of the tempter once again tempting him as he had done in the desert at the start of his ministry. Jesus turned to Peter and said, "Get behind me, Satan! You are a stumbling block for me." Ironic that Peter the Rock was a stone Jesus stumbled over. Jesus told Peter his thoughts were not from God but man.
Then Jesus told Peter, "Get behind me." It sounds as if Jesus is saying, "Get lost, Peter!" He is not. Instead, Jesus is once again calling Peter to be his disciple. "Get behind me," was a call for Peter to assume his proper place following Jesus. THAT'S A CALL JESUS STILL ISSUES TODAY. That's the first thing we need to see. Jesus says to us, "Get behind me. Follow me."
Tony Campolo was preaching in West Virginia one night. Two young lawyers were part of the congregation. Compolo's sermon was on the cost of discipleship. At the conclusion of the service the invitation was given for people to commit themselves fully to Christian service. The two young lawyers did not come forward. However, they did accept the challenge to change their lives and seek ways in which they could more fully serve Christ.
The two men practiced law together. As a result of the call to discipleship these lawyers decided to offer free legal services to poor people in their county. This was a decision that went beyond the amount of free service that most law firms provide. These lawyers would help anyone in the county who needed their help - without cost. People responded to their generosity.
Their commitment to helping the poor, though, changed their lives in ways they did not expect. They soon gained new paying customers. Even more surprising a number of people who had been delinquent with their bills suddenly paid them in full. "I suppose they didn't want to cheat lawyers who helped the poor," one of the lawyers explained.
These men have taken the first step in becoming disciples of Jesus. They still have their BMWs; they still vacation in Bermuda. They still have a lot of the things that "worldly" people make the essence of their life. They haven't given it all up. But they're headed in the right direction. They are doing something significant for Christ in their everyday lives. (2) They are no longer generic Christians. They are on their way to being disciples.
This brings us to a second important truth. Jesus said, "If any want to become my followers, let them deny themselves and take up their cross and follow me." THERE IS A COST INVOLVED IN FOLLOWING JESUS.
William Hinson tells about a breakfast he had with a man who had a very prosperous business. The businessman recently had become a Christian. It did not take him long to discover how costly this decision would be. He told his pastor of a very real dilemma he was now facing. "I have been engaged in price-fixing with some of my supposed competitors," he said. He went on to tell his pastor about rigging bids and how he and his friends profited from this scheme. "We have been putting our competitors out of business by keeping them from getting the big jobs," the businessman confessed.
"Now that I am a Christian," he said, "I cannot do that anymore, and I have told them I can't do it. They say that if I squeal, they will get the law on me because they have proof of my past involvement. They tell me that if I drop out, they will put me out of business, too." It was a real dilemma for the man. What should he do, change his business practices and risk going out of business or continue doing what he knows is wrong?
This man was convinced that his business practices went against Christian principles. He no longer went along with his friends' scheme and they were true to their word - they put him out of business. He eventually went broke. (3) Tough decision! What would you have done? Take up a cross or work out a compromise? Be satisfied with being a generic Christian or a disciple?
Two West Point cadets had very different abilities and talents. One was athletic and intelligent, while the other was an average young man without much athletic ability. The second young man had a problem which the first did not. To graduate from West Point, seniors must be able to pass a physical fitness test, which includes push-ups, sit-ups, and a two-mile run within a set period of time. The two cadets took the test on the same day. For the first cadet, the test was absolutely no problem. For the second, however, it was not only a problem, it was the problem of his life. If he failed the test, he would not graduate from West Point. He did pass the first part of the fitness test. The two-mile run was the problem. He had never run the event within the allotted time, and he had no reason to believe that he could do it now. As he was running, he was not full of confidence or hope. And it showed. The further along he went, the more he felt sapped of energy and strength.
Just about the time he was ready to give up, the first cadet noticed what was happening to his friend. He decided to help him. This was not an easy decision, because it meant that he would lose valuable time, and that would cost him points in his overall standing in his class. The young man concluded that his friend was worth it. So he slowed down, waited for the second cadet to catch up to him, and then proceeded to encourage him down the track with shouts of, "You can do it." "Go for it." "You're gonna make it."
The second cadet did not respond with any great burst of speed but he didn't give up either. With the first cadet running alongside him, he continued to plod along, pushing himself for all he was worth. The first cadet kept yelling. And he kept running. And with all the energy he could muster, he finally crossed the finish line with the first cadet at his side. The second cadet was totally exhausted. It was a great moment for both men. There was only one thing wrong - both of them failed the test. (4)
This wasn't the conclusion we expected was it? We expected a nice ending where both young men succeeded. The first cadet, though, discovered the cost of discipleship. He gave his all to help his friend accomplish something he could not have done on his own. And it cost him. Discipleship always costs.
But we need to see one thing more: IT'S WORTH THE PRICE. Jesus offered his disciples a paradox: "For those who want to save their life will lose it and those who lose their life for my sake with find it." The disciples wanted Jesus to establish the kingdom on earth without any sacrifice. They thought of the good times they shared with Jesus and hoped that those good times would continue indefinitely. Jesus tried to tell them he was going to Jerusalem to suffer, die and be raised again. They were visibly upset. "This must never happen to you," Peter told Jesus. They misunderstood.
What they failed to understand was that Jesus was a model to follow. Jesus would suffer and die, and in dying he would have life. When we give of ourselves for Christ's sake, when we witness to our faith, and even place ourselves at risk, we will find life. That's the Gospel.
Valerie Place isn't a name you will recognize. According to worldly standards she is a nobody. Last year, though, twenty-three-year-old Valerie Place went to Somalia to work as a nurse. She wanted to help people who had nothing. She wanted to offer them a better way of life. Valerie was concerned about her safety, but nothing would stop her from doing her work.
She was in charge of a feeding center in Mogadishu. Through her life-saving efforts, children who had been near starvation were fed. Valerie even established a school so the children could learn and have some hope for the future. Valerie was fortunate to see some of the fruits of her labors. Earlier this year Valerie made the national news. She was killed by armed bandits outside the school she had started. Valerie was willing to risk her life to help other people. Jesus tells us that in losing her life she actually found it. (5)
She was no generic Christian but a disciple. How about you? In which category would you place yourself? Jesus calls us to follow him. Discipleship always costs, but the price is worth it. "Those who want to save their life will lose it and those who lose their life for [Christ's] sake with find it."
1. Maxie Dunnam,CONGREGATIONAL EVANGELISM, (Nashville: Discipleship Resources, 1992), p. 25.
2. Tony Campolo,WAKE UP AMERICA! (San Francisco: Harper, 1991), pp. 83
3. William H. Hinson,TRIUMPHANT LIVING IN TURBULENT TIMES, (Nashville: Dimensions for Living, 1993), pp. 95-96.
4. Stan Gaede,SURPRISED BY GOD, (Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan Publishing House, 1993), pp. 101-102.
5. "Can We Learn the Mystery of Crossing Over to Love?" Barbara Reynolds. USA TODAY, February 26, 1993, p. 13A.