At my home in Ecuador, there are a few book shelves that we can take from and read during our month here. I decided to take a chance and see what books they have, and they have quite the collection! The book that caught my eye was titled “not a fan. Becoming a completely committed follower of Jesus.” I’d never heard of it before but felt drawn to it for whatever reason. I like to think that reason was the Lord.
It took me only a few days to read through it because I was hooked (and because I had some free time in the library). From a writer’s perspective, this book is very well written. The author, Kyle Idleman, is a great writer who really knows how to tell a story and get his point across.
The book is all about the difference in being a fan of Jesus vs. being a follower of Jesus. Believe it or not, there is a huge difference. Fans of Jesus are the people who go to church and call themselves Christians but who don’t have that intimate relationship with him. Followers are the people who walk with Christ and have deep personal relationships with him. They are the ones who surrender all to the Lord even when it’s hard or doesn’t make sense. They are the ones who listen to the Lord’s voice and are completely committed to obeying him.
Before I read this book, I thought I was starting to do this thing right and lean into the Lord. After finishing the book, I know that I was living as a fan of Jesus. I knew of him but didn’t know him. I want to live as a follower of Jesus. I want to listen to him and do what he says even when it makes me uncomfortable. I want to have that deeper relationship with him that most of my peers on the race do such a great job of conveying outwardly. I want those things.
Fans of Jesus appear to know God, but they aren’t willing to surrender all and commit to him. Some are afraid of being judged. Some are just stubborn and don’t want to give up their earthly possessions. Some don’t want to put in the work. Whatever the case may be, you can’t be a follower without putting in work. Everything relationship takes work, and this one is no different.
“We have separated the message of ‘belief’ from the message ‘follow.’”
One of my favorite things that the book talks about is the church’s part in this fan vs. follower business. In specific, some churches are too afraid to talk about following the Lord. They don’t want to talk about the messy stuff. They have this idea that it’s okay to believe in the Lord even when they aren’t following the Lord. This concept is interesting to me because I don’t understand how you can believe in something and not live it outside of the church. You can go to church every Sunday and pray before every meal, but that doesn’t make you a follower. What makes you a follower is when you drop everything to obey something the Lord is calling you to.
My hope after reading this book is that I will start to truly follow the Lord and not just be his fan. I want to believe in him, but I also want to have a deep relationship with him. I don’t want to just know him on the surface; I want to understand him and obey what he has for me. I want to walk out the path that he has set up for me.
My hope for all of you is that you will read this book and see if you are living as a fan or as a true follower. Being a follower is hard. It will require a lot of you, but it’s so worth it in the end. Knowing the Lord and obeying his word is what being a follower is truly about.
Be a follower. Not a fan.
