Has "Christ Follower" jumped the shark?

Once in a while in our mens bible study we manage to raise an eyebrow or two. I say an eyebrow or two because some of us only have one anyway . At Renaissance a mens bible study is made up of 6-8 guys who wrestle with scripture and try to help one another live what we have pinned down or what has pinned us down. Nothing flashy just speaking truth to one another and yes we even pray for one another. So what raised our eyebrows ( or monobrows ). The fact that the term Christ Follower has probably jumped the shark.*  

So here's what our group stumbled upon when looking at Mark 8's words: 
 " ³⁴ Then he called the crowd to him along with his disciples and said: “Whoever wants to be my disciple must deny themselves and take up their cross and follow me. ³⁵ For whoever wants to save their life^[b] will lose it, but whoever loses their life for me and for the gospel will save it. ³⁶ What good is it for someone to gain the whole world, yet forfeit their soul? ³⁷ Or what can anyone give in exchange for their soul? ³⁸ If anyone is ashamed of me and my words in this adulterous and sinful generation, the Son of Man will be ashamed of them when he comes in his Father’s glory with the holy angels.”

There seems to be a whole lot of submission involved in Jesus'  ideas about following (it's almost as if a follower is not really in charge of the direction things are taking). You see in the last few years it's become pretty hip to avoid all self identification that has any connection with any form of "institutional flavor" of Christian community ( I don't call myself a "Christian" or a "Baptist"  or a "Presbyterian", "I don't really follow any formal religion", I just consider myself a Christ Follower". 
It sounds pretty airtight and oh so "authentic" but in our conversations this week we made the observation that is is probably most often being used in some kind of "free agent" , "I reserve the right to do things my way when it comes to faith issues", attitude.  Not very Mark 8 follower like.
I'm not trying to establish some kind of infallibility to my own tribe within the varied flavors. But if you do think you are following Jesus on the highway of life ( probably the narrow lane actually) and when you look around and you are completely on your own most days you may want to run the plates on that car in front of you. There's a good chance that whoever is driving, it is pretty likely that Jesus did not "take the wheel"! * *

* For those of you who are too young to understand a Happy Days reference , or were busy being productive during the 70's the phrase is explained here.
** While I never really liked the song "Jesus take the Wheel" By Mrs Fisher I love the song/video " Cletus Take The Reel".

The gift of self doubt...

I was reading a small e-book by one of my favourite Profs from back in the day ( Douglas D Webster ) he drew my attention to a great quote by Chesterton I supposedly have read before but have no memory of ( story of my reading life!).
Good old GK wrote:
 “What we suffer from today, is humility in the wrong place.” Humility has moved from ambition to conviction. “A man was meant to be doubtful about himself, but undoubting about the truth; this has been exactly reversed. Nowadays the part of a man that a man does assert is exactly that part he ought not to assert—himself. The part he doubts is exactly the part he ought not to doubt—the Divine Reason.”*

Meant to be doubting about himself, but undoubting about the truth...I like that a lot, I see less and less of it all the time.

Two other books have me thinking along the same lines one being Tim Kellars e-book " The Freedom of Self -Forgetfulness" Which I just read Buy It Here) and Don Carsons book " Memoirs Of An Ordinary Pastor" about his late Father which I have on deck to read.
This excerpt from a review has motivated me to buy a copy this morning :
"Tom Carson never rose very far in denominational structures, but hundreds of people ... testify how much he loved them. He never wrote a book, but he loved the Book. He was never wealthy or powerful, but he kept growing as a Christian: yesterday's grace was never enough. He was not a far-sighted visionary, but he looked forward to eternity. He was not a gifted administrator, but there is no text that says "By this shall all men know that you are my disciples, if you are good administrators." His journals have many, many entries bathed in tears of contrition, but his children and grandchildren remember his laughter. Only rarely did he break through his pattern of reserve and speak deeply and intimately with his children, but he modeled Christian virtues to them. He much preferred to avoid controversy than to stir things up, but his own commitments to historic confessionalism were unyielding, and in ethics he was a man of principle. His own ecclesiastical circles were rather small and narrow, but his reading was correspondingly large and expansive. He was not very good at putting people down, except on his prayer lists.

"When he died, there were no crowds outside the hospital, no editorial comments in the papers, no announcements on the television, no mention in Parliament, no attention paid by the nation. In his hospital room there was no one by his bedside. There was only the quiet hiss of oxygen, vainly venting because he had stopped breathing and would never need it again.

But on the other side, all the trumpets sounded. Dad won entrance to the only throne-room that matters, not because he was a good man or a great man--he was, after all, a most ordinary pastor--but because he was a forgiven man. And he heard the voice of him whom he longed to hear saying, "Well done, good and faithful servant; enter into the joy of your Lord.""

Oh, that each ordinary pastor and each ordinary Christian may be so faithful and enter into that same reward. I can only hope that many young pastors will commit to reading this book. But it is not just they who can benefit. Any Christian will appreciate reading about this ordinary man who somehow seems so much like you and me. Though it is good to read about Calvin and Edwards and Whitefield, men who had extraordinary ministries and who continue to exert a worldwide impact through their writing and preaching and evangelistic efforts, it is good to see as well how God has more commonly used ordinary men to do His work. Tom Carson was an ordinary pastor, a man who struggled with depression and who saw his ministry bear visible little fruit, but he was a man who remained faithful and who served the Lord with all his heart. More aware of his faults than his strengths and more prone to humility than pride, there is much we can learn from this man. (From a Tim Challies Review On Amazon)

All in all this seems to have been one of those weeks when everything I am reading, conversations I have been having, all seem to be pointing toward the same conclusion.
I think this week that single idea may be a conclusion  that another famous Baptist named John came to a long time ago:

"He must increase, but I must decrease.”

John 3:30

English Standard Version (ESV)

*( G. K. Chesterton, Orthodoxy (New York: Image Books, 1959), 31 Quoted In

Webster, Douglas D. (2012-07-16). An Interview with the Gospel Writers plus Heart-Scripted Theological Education (Kindle Location 624).  . Kindle Edition.

Update August 21st started reading the Memoirs book, it's all it was advertised to be. Not sure if it is helping me battle discouragement or making me feel bad that I'm not discouraged enough! It did remind me of an old favorite tune of mine from my former life as a Youth Pastor and could serve as a satirical soundtrack! Crank it up if you occasionally work for frustrated incorporated too!