The Musings of an Urban Christian

    A month later, I am still resonating with a sermon at the church I attend. The Bible passage was the one where crowds are following Jesus and he abruptly turns around and says that everyone who wishes to follow him must consider that the cost of following will be that they must hate their family members and take up their crosses. This was, in that cultural setting, a severe statement. To abandon family in that context was akin to abandoning your very existence, social network, and personal identity. And to carry the cross was to literally participate in one’s own public and gruesome execution.  For a modern church fixated on the seduction of growing numbers (or avoiding declining enrollment unto oblivion), it is shocking how confrontational Jesus is, how uncaring he is (and perhaps even actively wishing) about reducing his follower count. Indeed, the crowd likely thinned out considerably when confronted with the need for a radical break from their present lives, l...