Admirer, fan, or follower?
This message is titled “Admirer, fan or follower?”
I’m going to give it all away by announcing right at the start that the big life question I’m exploring this morning is whether you are an admirer of Jesus, or a fan of Jesus, or a follower of Jesus.
The distinction is vital to your spiritual health.
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If you or someone you know has recently sought admission to college, chances are they had to submit one of those dreaded application essays.
Sometimes you can name your own topic, or choose one from a list. Often, though, you have to write about a certain subject. “Tell us about someone you admire.” Or: “Who are the most influential people in your life?”
Lord, have mercy!
I grew up in Illinois, the land of Lincoln – specifically Central Illinois, where Abraham Lincoln spent most of his life. Lincoln was a constant presence in my life, and a big influence on me.
I’ve often said that I went to school with Lincoln – though, of course, he did not go to school with me.
Years ago, when I first used that line with our two daughters, they scoffed. “Dad, you did not go to school with Abraham Lincoln. You’re not that old!”
It is true, though, that I did grow up surrounded by Lincoln lore and infused with a Lincolnesque sense of right and wrong.
I came to greatly admire Lincoln’s inquisitive nature, his humility and humor; his deeply felt sense of fairness and justice; his pragmatism and willingness to bend; and also his iron will when core principles were involved.
Another big influence was David Crockett. I was at the impressionable age of 6 when Walt Disney came out with his TV series “Davy Crockett: King of the Wild Frontier.” I remember watching it on a tiny black-and-white TV screen that was more round than rectangular.
The real Crockett hated being called “Davy.” But he did love a good yarn, so if answering to “Davy” would polish his image, I imagine he’d go for it.
You may remember Crockett’s motto: “Always be sure you’re right, then go ahead.” Right or wrong, he almost always went ahead – and that’s why he died in the massacre at the Alamo.
I don’t think Lincoln ever had a motto, but he shared Crockett’s “go ahead” attitude. In a speech in 1839, he said: “Let none falter who thinks he is right…”
I spent much of my life in Decatur, a town Lincoln detested even more than I did. He also despised the city of Springfield, where he lived with his family for 24 years.
Someone once asked if he thought Springfield would share in the Second Coming of Christ. He replied: “If he visited here once, I doubt that he’d want to return.”
I admire Lincoln, and to a lesser extent, Crockett. I’m a fan of both. But a follower? Depends on what you mean by “follow.”
Linda and I followed the Royals closely in 1985, when they won their first World Series. After that, they faded from our lives, even when they won again in 2015.
Today we follow the Chiefs, though neither of us is really what I’d call a fan – and we’ll never be caught tailgating at Chiefs stadium, whatever it’s officially called this week.
We are more likely fans of Patrick Mahomes and Travis Kelce. Speaking of whom – what do you think of Taylor Swift?
According to one tally, she has more than 500 million fans. A few literally follow her everywhere on her worldwide concert circuit. I have nothing against her, but I’m pretty much indifferent to today’s pop music, so you can’t count me among her fans.
Generally, you can be a fan – that is, an enthusiastic admirer – at a considerable distance. You may know a lot about Taylor Swift but never gotten any closer to her than a movie or TV screen.
You also can follow someone only in the sense that you “keep up with” them, the same way you “follow” the news. In that case, you may want to keep up but not get too close, for fear of losing your sanity.
The key distinction is whether you know about a person, or whether you actually know the person.
If Taylor Swift walked in here right now, would she recognize you? If not, then no matter how much you know about her, you really don’t know her, do you? Because she doesn’t know you.
If you want to read more on this line, let me point you to a book titled Not a Fan, by Kyle Idleman. Years ago, I used it as a text in an adult Sunday School class. Half the class hated it, and I wasn’t sure why. I paged through it again the other day, and I think I understand now. It’s too-too cheerfully evangelical in a way that has come to feel phony.
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Our scripture this morning comes at the end of a very long chapter 9 in the gospel of Luke.
As Luke sets the scene, Jesus has just “set his face” toward Jerusalem. Echoing a passage in Isaiah 50, some interpreters say that he “sets his face like flint” toward Jerusalem.
That is, knowing that an awful ordeal awaits him, he resolutely goes ahead and does not falter.
Along the way, one fellow cheerfully promises, “I’ll follow you wherever you go.”
Jesus warns him, “Foxes have holes and birds have nests, but I have no place to call home.” The implied question is, “Are you sure you want to follow me?”
Later Jesus flat out tells another man, “Follow me.” It’s the same command he gave his first disciples on the shores of the Sea of Galilee.
They followed him immediately. This man tries to beg off. “First, let me go and bury my father," he says.
Does this mean that his father has just died and needs to be buried quickly? Or, more likely, that he has to care for his father until the old boy dies – and who knows when that will be?
"Let the dead bury their own dead,” Jesus says – and if that sounds harsh, I think that’s because it is. Jesus has another priority for this man: “As for you, go and proclaim the kingdom of God.”
A third potential follower offers a similar excuse. “First, let me say farewell to my family.”
Again, Jesus harshly replies: "No one who puts a hand to the plow and looks back is fit for the kingdom of God."
Jesus is strict because he has one clear and overriding priority – and that is proclaiming God’s kingdom on the way to his destiny. He has a goal, and he will plow directly toward it.
He knows that in plowing, as in a lot of other things in life, you must head resolutely toward a clear mark, and if you ever look back or to one side, you are likely to go astray and plow a very crooked row.
These three men are admirers of Jesus. They are fans of Jesus. They think they want to be followers of Jesus, but when they count the cost, it’s just too high. They want to follow at a respectful distance and not get too close because then they’ll have to give up something they just don’t want to give up.
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I mentioned earlier that Linda is preaching today at the United Methodist Church in Spring Hill, where we live. I almost said that she is preaching at Spring Hill United Methodist Church, but she is not. Spring Hill United Methodist Church closed May 19. It will reopen Sept. 8 as Resurrection Spring Hill.
We are part of a core group preparing for the launch of the church as a new location of Church of the Resurrection. We are meeting temporarily in the education wing while the main building is being remodeled. This is an exciting and scary time. We are certain that great days are ahead of us, just as 165 years of great days are behind us.
We are losing a few members in the transition. I do not want to tarnish their memory by identifying them with the three guys Jesus encounters on the road to Jerusalem. No, these are faithful people who just can’t quite adjust to such a radical change and doubtless would prefer that their beloved church not change at all, rather than change to better face the future.
Linda worked out of Resurrection Leawood for a year in its pastoral care department.
Until now, I have been associated with it mostly from a distance – though we have both known Pastor Adam Hamilton since his first appointment, as associate pastor of what is now Resurrection Brookside, in 1988.
One of the things we are excited about is the Resurrection purpose statement. I’m sure that many Rez members have heard it so often that they know it by heart. I’ve heard it many times over the years, but I’m still working to memorize and internalize it.
“Our purpose is to build a Christian community where non-religious and nominally religious people are becoming deeply committed Christians.”
Here is perhaps another way of putting it: Our purpose is to build a community where Christ admirers and Christ fans are becoming Christ followers.
Resurrection’s way of doing things is often criticized because, though its principles are portable, the how-to specifics of embodying those principles may not be. That is, its principles are adaptable to churches of all sizes and circumstances, but they need to be adapted according to the size and circumstances of each local congregation.
As the newest Resurrection location, we’ll be learning how to adapt those principles in southern Johnson County – just as others will be adapting them soon at another new Resurrection location in Lee’s Summit, Missouri.
That church will replace the former Lee’s Summit United Methodist Church, which defected to the new Global Methodist Church in our recent schism.
Resurrection Lee’s Summit is starting because the Missouri Annual Conference invited Resurrection to start a new church there for the 300 loyal United Methodists who were left without a church when their former church abandoned them.
Cheers to both the conference and Resurrection for responding so quickly!
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It’s easy to be an admirer or fan of Jesus. One of the reasons Christianity is faltering in our country right now is that our churches have taught admiration and adoration of Jesus, but we have failed at teaching discipleship. We have failed to create new followers of Jesus.
What does it mean to be a follower of Jesus? It doesn’t mean humming sweet Jesus music all day. It doesn’t mean being equipped a Bible memorization “sword drill.” It may not even mean showing up at church every time the doors open.
It does mean committing to become more and more like Jesus every day. It does mean opening yourself to the work of the Holy Spirit using the classic Wesleyan means of grace. These include daily prayer and frequent if not daily Bible study, weekly worship, frequent Holy Communion and the close sharing of your lives with other followers of Jesus in Christian conference, usually in a small group.
What it essentially means is declaring your allegiance to Jesus above all else and finding the ways to move closer to him that are best suited to your personality and circumstance.
Though you may continue to be an admirer and even a fan of Jesus, following Jesus is so much more than either of those postures. Following is vital to your spiritual well-being.
Here’s one way of expressing the three attitudes we’ve explored this morning:
One: God is homeless unless invited in by you.
Two: Knowing Jesus is your top priority.
Three: Go ahead knowing and following him. Do not falter. Do not look back.
Now let me ask you again: Are you an admirer of Jesus, or a fan of Jesus, or a follower of Jesus?