Kyle Idleman is "the teaching pastor at Southeast Christian Church in Louisville, Kentucky, the fifth largest church in America." If his sermons are delivered in any similar way to his writing style, his congregants must spend a lot of time laughing, after all, a merry heart is good medicine. But as soon as the laughing would die down, Kyle would hit them with a zinger, like: "Fans often confuse their admiration for devotion. They mistake their knowledge of Jesus for intimacy with Jesus" (p.27). And the purpose of this book is to help you "define the relationship" (p.22) between you and Jesus. Are you a fan or a follower?
At the end of each chapter is the story of someone who had something happen to them which catapulted them from being a fan to being a follower. Some of these stories are truly heart wrenching, heart warming stories of what God can do in someone's life. However, not one of these stories is about an ordinary Christian living an ordinary life - that won't sell books will it? But that is the story of my life. I'm an ordinary woman who has not been called by God to start a ministry to strippers or who tried to kill herself. I'm a woman who has been a fan at times in my life, but I am certainly not going to find my life story in a book like this. Does that mean God hasn't worked in my life? Goodness no! I can look back over yesterday and see His care and protection. I can look back over my past and see where He was there, preventing so many bad things from happening to me that could have changed the course of my life dramatically. I guess I'm a little put out with a book that subtly seems to say you have to have an excitingly horrible thing happen to you for your life in Christ to matter. Idleman says "[if] you find yourself measuring your relationship with Jesus by comparing yourself to others, that is likely a self-indictment" (p.26) yet Idleman holds up all these people as examples, as people for the reader to compare themselves to, fan or follower.
Lest you think I didn't like anything in this book, there were several places where Idleman explained some cultural contexts of Jesus's time which helped me understand Jesus's words better. For example, when the man ask Jesus if he could bury his father before following Jesus, that really meant "when my parents die, I will follow you" (p.190). Idleman contrasts this with the response of Peter and Andrew, who drop everything to follow Jesus right then. His explanation on the definition of the Greek word doulos was instructive: "It is a word that is most accurately translated as slave . . . [but it] is usually translated as 'servant'" (p.151). I would be most interested to know why that is because a servant, to someone who loves Downton Abbey, is in no way anything like a slave!
What I really like is when one book I'm reading highlights or emphasizes something I've read in another book. This happened with not a fan and Abundant Simplicity, which opens with a discussion of two things I had never really known or thought about. As a Christian, we can practice "disciplines of engagement, such as study, prayer, service, worship and fellowship. . . . . [which] help us take in the life of God. Disciplines of abstinence, however, such as fasting, solitude, silence, chastity, secrecy. frugality and simplicity of speech and time, help us let go of life-draining behaviors" (p.11). The purpose of this book is help the reader begin to practice the disciplines of abstinence in ways that will simplify life, making it easier to be in a position to hear and obey God.
Abundant Simplicity intersects with not a fan in the area of "'impression management' - controlling what other people think about us. Disciplines of simplicity reveal the self-serving motives we thought only other people had: pride, greed and desires to control" (p. 16). Idleman hits on this in the chapter "Self-Empowerment or Spirit Filled?" He confesses how he used to move the stopper on the weight machine so the next guy after him would think he lifted way more weight then he really did (p.94). I have really been convicted in this area, even to the point where I was able to see my own self misunderstand and then get defensive about something because I was trying to manage someone's perception of me!
The two also discuss how living in America, the land of plenty, can effect one's Christian journey. Idleman writes, "Instead of approaching their faith with a spirit of denial that says 'What can I do for Jesus?' they have a consumer mentality that says, 'What can Jesus do for me?'' (p.148). Johnson says, "Consumerism is an attachment to materialistic values or possessions because we think they're required for our happiness" and quotes Evy McDonald: "A theology of consumption . . . Slowly, almost imperceptibly we['ve] wondered away from the foundational teachings of Jesus-sharing our wealth, identifying with the marginalized. . . and [have begun] to identify our worth with how much money we made or how many possessions we owned . . . . " (p. 89).
Abundant Simplicity is designed with experiments to try at the end of each chapter. Some suggestions include mediating on Scriptures discussed in the chapter, journaling, discussing with a trusted friend some topic, taking a retreat, and trying not to talk for a certain period of time <gasp!>. There are also discussion and reflection questions, which would be perfect for a group setting.
If I had to pick one of these books to recommend to you, it would be Abundant Simplicity. It will probably be a book I read every year, with a new highlighter color to mark my journey through it each time. I found the topics much more pertinent to my life and where I am in my spiritual journey. It has already had an impact on my life.
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