It’s profound that the initial followers of Jesus were never called, “Christians.” They were called, “followers of the way” (see Acts 9:2, 19:23; 22:4; 24:14, 22). Evidently the new ways Jesus offered were so significant compared to their own futile ways that their name even reflected the direction in which they chose to travel in life. They followed the Jesus ways. The followed, the Jesus ways because the Jesus ways led to actually experiencing the Jesus Life.
Today, in our tolerant, afraid to offend anyone at any cost way of living, we have lost the way that leads to life. We’ve become the tired ones; the weary ones; the burned out on religion ones that Jesus came to help. Over the next several days and blog entries, I’m going to give you an overview of each of the ways I describe that we need to live—to return to actually reclaim and recover what we’ve lost. If it’s life we want and most desperately need, then we will need to return to the one and many ways that Jesus lived his life. First, let me address the obvious question I’m getting: Are there just eight ways we need to follow in order to live the abundant life you describe in your book? No, there are many ways that Jesus lived his life out for us to see as a model—as a way for us to live. In my book, I do not discuss some of the most obvious; most written about or sung about ways. For example, I do not talk about reading your Bible or praying or witnessing or going to church. There’s a plethora of books and sermons on such things I simply did not want to add my voice to this already crowded bookshelf. What I did in my new book, The Jesus Life was to explore eight ways that I ‘ve not seen written about, rarely talked about or spoken about—yet they are as obvious as the nose on your face. It does not take a degree in rocket science to be a follower of Jesus and to actually start living a better life than you’re living at the moment. But it will require a course correction. In the book I talk about the easy goal of simply trying to improve your life by 25%. Think of this way, what letter grade would you give your marriage, your closest friendships, your family life, etc. ? What if it was possible to improve your life from a “D” to a “B”. That’s what I’m talking about in the book. Get the book. Start reading it and let’s have a discussion about it on the blog. Along the way, I’m going to offer a few incentives to encourage us to begin to follow the ways of Jesus. For example during April, we’re offering $50 gift certificate to a grocery store to be best written or video story that explains having a family meal together and what happened in the meal time. The rules are explained on our homepage www.pottersinn.com under “buzz.” Throw your questions to me and I gnaw on them and give you some feedback—the best I can about the life I think we’re all so desperate to live. But first, you have to get the book. Why don’t you order a few extra right now during the book’s release at Amazon.com and give them away to a few people you like and one or two you’re struggling with right now (the honest chapter on difficult relationships will help you here). And let’s get started living a life that is more in the way Jesus lived than how we’re doing it at the moment. --------------------------Here's the Amazon link to buy your copy now and get started:http://www.amazon.com/The-Jesus-Life-Authentic-Christianity/dp/143470064X/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1332966572&sr=8-1
Day One: The Gift of the Sea
“The sea does not reward those who are too anxious, too greedy, or too impatient. To dig for treasures shows not only impatience and greed, but lack of faith. Patience, patience, patience, is what the sea teaches. Patience and faith. One should lie empty, open and choiceless as a beach—waiting for a gift from the sea." -TGOTS, p.11 I am not so sure that I have come so much to be rewarded as I have come as a pilgrim. Perhaps, though, all who come searching come longing for a reward. Since I have come searching, then, yes, I have come wanting the reward.The mountains can teach one many things: glory, wonder, awe and humility and since I live in the high ranges of Colorado, my soul is needing something else—something that the beach offers. Yet, what it offers, I do not yet know.I have come vacant in my soul, tired in my bones and longing in my heart. I have come needy I suppose; a beggar, perhaps. I Here the rhythm of the tides will be my teachers. The ebb and flow of the waves my constant reminders. The wide, empty beach mentors.On Day One at the beach, I am wondering how to exchange the greediness of my time; the impatience of my mind as well as all of my soul’s anxious things for the peace of the sea this morning.This morning, the sea looks as calm as it looked when Jesus, himself spoke into it and the waves died down and the calm took over. I want to be taken over. Yes, that is what I long for this morning. I want to be taken over and in saying this, I confess on day one that I acknowledge my need. I would not have come at all if I were not in need! -----------------------------------We are on a pilgrimage of both work and rest--exchanging the glory of the mountains of Colorado for the quiet of a barrier island off the coast of North Carolina. We have a week before our first ministry happens with a couple coming here for a soul care intensive and we await these quiet days before the full release of The Jesus Life. In the Chapter 1, I describe our need for a different kind of life and why this is so important! Join us in the book's invitation to experience The Jesus Life.
The Life and Death of Marriage
We are about ready to lead 85 couples into the greatest mystery of life and that is the relationship between a man and woman in marriage. Marriage is a sacred tool used by God to revolutionize the human heart--the heart of two people who join together in marriage. There are issues for the single person to work through, but the issues of marriage brings to single souls together and in the mystery of the journey, the two become one.Tonight, we will give a talk focusing on this theme: Closing the Gap. In every marriage gaps form which widen and separate the two thirsty souls and there are no exceptions. I'm going to outline five forces which seem determined to push couples apart rather than bring them together. The five I will explore are:
- The busyness of life and the residual affect on marriages.
- The unresolved issues of the past. Every person in the marriage brings dirty laundry to the marriage and when the baggage is big, the problems are bigger!
- A common but profound mis-understanding about what authentic intimacy is and looks like. True intimacy is defined this way: INTO-ME-See. And because of our fear of letting this happen. We live isolated, disconnected and alone in the marriage.
- The fact that most couples live out their marriage only with a horizontal understanding of each other and void of a vertical one. Marriage is sacred and their is no secular space within any marriage.
- Our tendency in marriage is to forget that the human heart has four chambers and all four chambers need to be opened in marriage. The fourth chamber is where the secrets of the past, the lies of the present and the longings of the future reside. As my mentor poet, Mary Oliver has told us, "The Heart has many dungeons. Bring the light. Bring the light!" How we need the light of Jesus to help a marriage really function the way that God intended.
We'd appreciate the prayers of our all of our readers and friends as we lead these 85 couples into the great mystery of their relationships and as we descend into the fourth chamber of the husband's heart and the wife's soul.It's an noble task we're about to undertake and it's not an easy assignment at all!We are in Baltimore, MD at Central Presbyterian Church.
In Search of the Undivided Life by Stephen W. Smith
“Give me an undivided heart that I might praise your name!”—Psalm 86:11 It was the cry of David to live with an undivided heart. I understand his plea and lately his petition has become my petition. I find myself wanting more and more to live a more simple, integrated and meaningful life. Let me explain.By simple I mean less complex. I mean smaller than larger. I mean slower than faster. I mean guileless—how’s that for resurrecting a very old fashioned word? The more meetings; the complex demands; the pressure to be successful have taken their toil and I feel threadbare. It all makes me feel divided and to throw in a few more feelings—I feel guilty when I let myself down and others--whose opinions really matter-- express disappointment in me, in life and in faith.By integrated, I mean this. I’d like to find a small band of pilgrims who could unite to have a regular time of fellowship where the conversation was honest, the prayers were heartfelt and the thirst was deep. I would like for these same friends to be a part of my church where I could see them on Sundays and hug them and be loved back by them. I want to be the church, more than I want to go to it. There, I’d like to think of serving my true neighbor and living out the matters of faith that are genuinely important and vital. I tire of the buffeteria approach to life which says, “Take what you want—as much as you want and then move on.” Sometimes, I feel like I am living my life on a merry-go-round passing by people, places and events without ever really being able to get off the damn ride and sit a spell with someone you basically just like and enjoy and have an ice cream cone with—a sort of communion between soul mates.By guileless—I mean to be real, transparent and for this to be lived out in a reciprocal way. I mean to be the same on the inside as I attempt to live my life on the outside. I mean to be anchored to truth and integrity and decency. That kind of thing.This is a deep stirring in me. All the travel—all the speaking—all the ministry events—all the mega-ness of so many places and people. It simply wears me thin. Do you know what I mean by thin? I mean it’s where you live your life in such a way that there’s no sustainability—no vitality—no real life—only the motions of life.I want the things that Benedict wanted in the 5th century. He said that living in a sustainable rhythm of life and faith is the ONLY way to really live. I so want the rhythm he described and lived. It's good to engage but we must also dis-engage. It's wonderful to have meaningful work, but then there simply must be rest. There is a season for everything. I want to live in seasons not demand that everything must happen now.I'd like to plant a garden this year because there are so many lessons in the soil. I”d like to grow a few tomatoes and then invite a few good friends to join me to feast on them one summer day not too far from now. They might bring the bread. One might bring the wine and there we’d sit in the shade of quaking Aspens saying quietly to ourselves, “It doesn’t get any better than this.”It is precisely the “this” that I find myself wanting right now.We stand four weeks away from my elaboration of this great them in the soon to be released, "The Jesus Life." I hope you'll join me soon in getting the book, reading it and joining me in the eight ways I explore to re-discover life--and how to really live!
The Jesus Life new website and special offer of a FREE e-book!
I'm excited to announce that today, we've launched the new web page: myjesuslife.com This new website will anchor the book on the web. Effective in the launch is an offer to receive a FREE E-book of The Lazarus Life. The Jesus Life is really the sequel to The Lazarus Life! I go further in my explaination of what's gone wrong with the offer Jesus made to us about living the abundant life. While The Lazarus Life explains the process of spiritual transformation, The Jesus Life helps the reader with practical and doable ways to live the Jesus Life. I'm so very thankful to my publisher, David C Cook for offering the e-book to everyone. The offer expires March 31, 2011. So go ahead and download for free the book. You can't beat that offer!Also, on the new website you'll be able to download the first chapter of The Jesus Life. We've developed two retreats in 2012 based on the new book. One will be at Holden Beach, NC--a wonderful island escape for a spring weekend and the other weekend retreat is at our retreat, Potter's Inn at Aspen Ridge later in the year. Click the "2012 Retreats" on the side bar for all the details.There's a great message in this book! This book took me 2 1/2 years to write. I actually wrote it twice after my editor rejected the first submission. I'm so glad he did that because it forced me to go back; do the hard work and research that is now embedded in the book throughout the pages! I think you'll agree with me when you read it.But I need your help to help spread the word about the book being released. In the book, there's a study guide making it ideal for small groups, men's studies/women's studies and classes to use. I was honored to receive this endorsement from Dallas Willard:“Steve Smith cuts through the religious paraphernalia and daily clutter that obstructs our path to lives of purpose and power, and he clearly explains the simplicity of The Jesus Life in the Kingdom of God. He has deep insights into how we have come to live the way we do, in church and out. With refreshing realism and wide-ranging knowledge, he helps us identify dear illusions that bog us down and introduces us to simple steps and arrangements that enable eternal living. The directions he gives are self-validating. We have only to ‘just do it.’ The Jesus Life would be ideal for real spiritual progress in small groups in church and in community. Serious individual engagement with it will bring assurance that the life praised in our songs and scriptures can be ours.”
Dallas Willard, author of The Divine Conspiracy
I need your help! Can you spread the word? We're sending out bookmarks to all on the snail mail list of Potter's Inn which contain a memorable way to remember the 8 ways I explore. We'll send you one if you email and ask: resources@pottersinn.com
In this blog, you'll be able to read excerpts, leave your ideas on the 8 ways and we'll be offering special opportunities to readers as they practice the eight ways! It's going to be excited to launch the new blog, new website and the new book to help readers everywhere know how to live the abundant life Jesus promised! The whole idea of the blog and the new website is to give us a platform of how to find each other; leave comments; offer suggestions of the progress we are making in living into The Jesus Life!
I'm excited!