Not a Fan
(Becoming a
Completely Committed Follower of Jesus)
by Kyle Idleman
Reviewed by Pat Beaty
As many of you know, I do not like to use adjectives like
superb, colossal, marvelous, tremendous, etc, etc. often, if at all (and
certainly not magnificent - that’s reserved for our Lord). I may have to use one or two of those
adjectives…maybe three, about this work. This book deserves a great deal of
praise, and certainly intent reading, if not study, by everyone who professes
to be a Christian. But let me warn
you: many or most of you will be convicted. You will find you are not the Christians that Jesus wants
you to be…or that you thought you were!
The point that the author wants to make abundantly clear
throughout this work, by using allusions to true modern-day stories and the
Bible is that: a large number of believers are fans, not followers of our
Savior.
Do you what Creasters are? Or what DTR stands for? This
author says, “When you heard the Gospel, someone talked at great length and
passion about you making a decision, a decision to believe, but said little
about the fact that this commitment would necessarily change the way you live.
I call this selling Jesus.” He says further: “Following Him requires your whole
heart.” And later, “you may say the right things and do the right things, but
that’s not enough for Jesus. He
wants all of you.”
One of the most striking parts of this work is a section
entitled, “Do I know Jesus and does he know me?” Another is the entire chapter – “Anyone, An Open Invitation.” The reader will be fascinated by some
of the actual meanings of some of the biblical words that you often read
(particularly the word follower or the word servant).
The author says, “a decision to follow Jesus is a decision
to die to yourself.” And later he punctuates this with the fact that we must do
this daily. This gifted
preacher/writer places small stories from Christians with whom he is familiar
throughout the book – and each one ends with the blunt statement “Not a Fan”. He refers continuously to figures and
happenings in the Word of God.
This work is very clearly written and the reader will enjoy
it “tremendously” (adverb not an adjective).
By the way, Creasters are people who come to church only on
Christmas and Easter. DTR stands
for Define the Relationship, something each of us should do with the Savior.
“I am the bread of life, whoever comes to me will never go
hungry, and he who believes in me will never be thirsty.”
More reviews can be found at: http://patbeaty.blogspot.com/
