Running free

Posted on May 13, 2014 by jwfisch

62I wasn’t all white, but more white than most horses I knew, and fortunately, in the most important places. Most of my face was white, and the white of my right front leg ran up to my shoulder so that if I stood at an angle … with my good leg out … and my head slightly cocked … all you could see was white.

Being more concerned with how we appear than who we are can make us do some pretty silly things.

I remember one horse that had a beautiful white rump and tail and one white streak between his eyes. His unfortunate fate was always having to present himself backwards – not to mention the strain on his neck from twisting over his shoulder so that the white on his head could be seen.

At the White Horse Ranch, it was all about the pose. There were no real relationships, just a stage with lights, and a way to present oneself in a manner that made you look all white.

I loved the White Horse Shows where we got to see real white horses and I dreamed that one day, I would be all white like them.

“Have you ever seen a white horse?”

The nicker came from behind me, during one of those shows, from a horse that didn’t belong there – a wild dark horse from off the plains. He smelled. He’d never been groomed. I could hardly see him in the night were it not for his bright, shining eyes.

“Have you ever seen a white horse?” he repeated softly, and the ranch horses around us were getting restless.

“I see the white horses that come in the show,” I said. “And some of us here at the ranch are almost all white.”

“Have you ever walked completely around a white horse?”

Now he had me. No, I hadn’t. They never let us get close to the white horses in the shows. They whisk them off in the darkness as soon as we have marveled at their beauty. Suddenly I realized the light only shines on the pose, not the real horse. These “white horses” were no different than we were! They were posing too. We were all posing! I wasn’t going to get any whiter by being at this ranch – only more clever at appearing white!

“Do you mean to tell me … there are no white horses?”

“No,” he replied. “There is one.”

“You mean the White One?”

“Of course. He is the only white horse there ever was or ever will be.”

“Aren’t we to be like the White One?” It was another ranch horse listening in.

“Yes,” said the strange dark horse. “But whiteness is not on the outside. It is in the heart. White isn’t what you look like, it’s what you do when you follow the will of the White One. You cannot change a hair on your body, but he can change your heart and shine his light in your eyes.

“Look … there are thousands of horses out there who have never heard of the White One, and there is an enemy afoot – crouching at the door – while you waste your time comparing your useless whiteness.”

At that he reared back, and his cry was a mighty thing. “If you would follow the White One, then follow me!”

Just like that, he was gone – vaulting two fences and galloping hard toward the open plains.

I watched him and my legs felt like they were filled with lead, but my heart was leaping inside. A new freedom had presented itself. Free to be who we are. Free from appearances. Free from pretense. Free from trying to be something we are not.

And could this wild dark horse, whose flying hoofs had just kicked up dirt in my face, be really following the White One like he says?

I looked back toward the stage and there was no small commotion going on. Four trainer horses were headed our way. I would surely get in trouble for fraternizing with a wild horse. I looked at two of my companions and thought I saw something flickering in their eyes. We looked out at the dark horse fading into the silvery moonlight, and lunging together, we bolted into the night. And with each hoofbeat, my heavy legs got lighter.

Running free in the Spirit, looking for the next adventure. Will you run with us?

Click on the horses in the upper right column and become a MemberPartner of the Catch today.

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When ‘being’ becomes ‘appearing to be’

Posted on May 12, 2014 by jwfisch

th-2“For as long as I can remember, I always wanted to be a white horse.”

The story of the dark horse begins with a horse longing to be white. White represents purity, splendor, righteousness. It’s what we all long to be. It’s an image to look up to. It’s also all about having an effect on others – making a difference with your life.

To some degree or another, we all want this. We long to make a difference, but making a difference requires us to be different, and therein lies the rub. We are not sure we can pull this off.

So we surround ourselves with whiteness. We hold up white horses as examples to us all. We focus on everything white. We send our foals to whited horse school. We go to meetings about being white, we buy books about it, we choose leaders who are whiter than we are and we glory in one day being like them. We put up reminders about being white all around us, and inspire ourselves with incredible stories of those who have, through great difficulty, become white.

So the dark horse who longs to be white devotes its whole life to trying to “be” white, which, because it is not all white, turns into a false and frustrating task of trying to “appear” white.

When do our efforts at “being” turn into efforts at “appearing?” When we realize that we aren’t what we are trying to be. It’s a subtle but dangerous shift that happens to anyone who genuinely wants to better themselves or make a difference with their life. It’s a shift from a focus on being to a focus on appearing made necessary by the fact that not one of us is all white. It happens to all Christians at some point, and the underlying tragedy in all of this is the falseness it engenders.

In longing for the right thing, we become wrong. The temptation is always to present a false image of ourselves, and since the false image is actually good – it represents all that is good and true and right – we assume the goodness will compensate for its falseness. It doesn’t. It never does.

Here at the Catch, we are committed to being, not appearing to be. Being like Christ is a true and proper goal, but not at the expense of being who we are. Honesty is a much higher value than anything white. In fact, whiteness is not anything we can create or control. What we are trying to be is not up to us, and herein lies our freedom.

Being and following is all that is required.

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Freely received? Freely give.

Posted on May 9, 2014 by jwfisch

th-2

 

He’s a dark horse in the night time
Heading straight for the enemy camp
And he has no fear ‘cause his eye is clear
Throwing light like a burning lamp
And maybe sometime, at the right time
You may see him galloping by
A simple man with a single plan
And the Spirit in his eye
– from the song “Dark Horse” by John Fischer

 

Do you have anyone like this in your life — someone with a decisive word from God that provided bold leadership right when you needed it? My guess is that you do, or at least you did, because often people like this play a role in our lives when we are at a crossroads, and then they gallop on by.

A simple man with a single plan
And the Spirit in his eye

Sometimes God’s will is as clear as a bell, but it takes someone to ring it — someone with the simplicity of belief, the singleness of mind and the courage to speak it into your life.

Dark Horse is the story of such a man in my life who gave me the example and the courage to offer that same decisive leadership to someone else.

There is a boldness to being aware of God’s will that those who walk closely with God have a way of knowing. Often they know it for other people better than they know it for themselves, which is usually the way it is with spiritual gifts. They are for others, and rarely work on the giver of the gift; indeed, that person often has a deficit in the same area in which they provide strength for someone else. It’s the way God has us all interrelated with each other. No man is an island. What I provide for you, I’m going to need from someone else.

For the next couple weeks we are going to explore the Dark Horse story as an opportunity to discover how God leads us, and how He directs us to provide that same leadership for someone else. And I make no bones about the fact that this discovery will also be part of our ongoing Simply Brilliant membership campaign begun so brilliantly by our membership committee.

We want more of you to think of the Catch not just as something good for you, but something you can provide for someone else. A MemberPartnership does just that. It says, “Here. This has been valuable to me, and I want to support it, because I want to provide that value to someone else.”

Dark Horse is the story of leadership received and leadership given. It is always the way of the Lord that what you receive, you also give. We don’t get to keep anything for ourselves; if we try, it turns bad in our hands.

Heal the sick, raise the dead, cleanse those who have leprosy, drive out demons. Freely you have received; freely give. (Matthew 10:8)

To become a MemberPartner and give the Catch to others, click on the Simply Brilliant logo right here:

Click now and become a MemberPartner

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Simply Brilliant

Posted on May 8, 2014 by jwfisch

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It’s Simply Brilliant

Posted on May 7, 2014 by jwfisch

Here is what is Simply Brilliant:

We have met
Across time zones, countries, and continents with invisible borders,
We have met
And we continue to meet
Every day.

We connect
Over being human, day by day,
And part of God, forever.

We share
Our longings, our failures, our questions, our doubts, our joys and our sorrows
And we do this as if we were right next to each other
Because we are.

We rejoice
Over God’s grace that fills every emptiness
Over forgiveness that erases our guilt and shame
Over love that covers over a multitude of sins
Over mercy that pays our debt
Over the tie that binds us all together
And the hope that makes people run to Jesus
And not away from Him.

We learn
What God is doing in the world around us
And what we can do to be a part of it.

We embark
On the adventure of discovering
What God wants us to do
Every day.

We are so different;
We are so much alike
And that is what makes it so much fun.

I will be here for you
Day by day
(I can do no other);
You can be here for me
Month by month
With support that matches your ability.

It’s a simple plan to keep us solvent
And creating new tools
To help us do (and remember) all of the above.

It’s simple
And it’s brilliant;
It’s …

Click now and become a MemberPartner

Click now and become a MemberPartner

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Never Alone

Posted on May 6, 2014 by jwfisch

thThen Jesus came to them and said, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And lo I am with you always, to the very end of the age.” (Matthew 28:18-20)

The last part is the best part of this very important commissioning of the disciples. First Jesus tells them what to do; then He tells them how they’re going to do it. And just to make sure they don’t miss this part, He sets it off with an exclamation: “And lo …”

And lo … (Heads up! I have something very important to say …)

And lo … (Pay attention, please …)

And lo … (Get ready for an amazing surprise …)

And lo … (You’re not going to believe this …) I am with you all the time, from now until the end of anything you can think of. You will never be separated from Me. I know I’m asking a lot of you, but don’t forget, I am right there with you the whole way.

The present tense form of this verb makes an important point in and of itself. You would have thought He would say: “I’m going to be with you …” because He hadn’t left yet. Earlier, He told them, “it is for your good that I am going away. Unless I go away, the Advocate [Holy Spirit] will not come to you; but if I go, I will send him to you” (John 16:7). And we know that the Holy Spirit came with a bang at Pentecost, just as Jesus had told them to wait in Jerusalem until He came. Yet here He says, “I am with you.”

I believe He made this promise in present tense because that’s what it is – a present tense promise. He is with us right now. He has always been with us. He will always be with us. We will never be alone. So when we seek to fulfill this Great Commission, Jesus is right there with us, enabling and empowering us to do His will.

How’s that for a wonderful piece of comfort? As far as I’m concerned, Jesus saved the best for last.

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Walking and talking

Posted on May 5, 2014 by jwfisch

th-15Then Jesus came to them and said, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age.” (Matthew 28:18-20)

This is discipleship, pure and simple. This is what makes discipleship, according to Jesus, simply brilliant. Jesus wants us to personally pass on everything He has taught (and is teaching) us so that we are always teaching what we know. The curriculum is always being developed, so it is always fresh.

What makes teaching difficult is when you are expected to teach what you don’t know to someone unfamiliar. That’s when we err by faking it – by acting like we know more than we really know, and if we’re with people we don’t know very well, our ignorance can go undetected. Whereas teaching someone you know is much more revealing. You can’t fake it with your wife or your own kids.

(Ask any pastor to tell you about their toughest audience, and if they don’t say their wife and kids I would wonder if they are telling you the truth.)

Teaching is not about imparting information; it’s about imparting a life. I keep wanting to do the former. Give me a curriculum and an appointed time to teach it and I can do that, but tell me you want me to impart what I know to someone as we walk and talk, and that is something else entirely. Yet that is the method Jesus used. They walked and they talked.

  • The disciples left Jesus at Jacob’s well and went into town for food, only to find Him talking with a Samaritan woman when they returned, and upon her departure back to town, Jesus proceeded to teach the disciples all about the great harvest of souls He was predicting.
  • They passed by a fig tree and Jesus taught the disciples about bearing fruit.
  • They passed by a vineyard, and Jesus taught them about abiding in Him.
  • They faced a storm at sea and Jesus taught them about faith.

Class was always in session because the lessons were all from and about life.

If we can teach someone at an appointed time and place, but not as we walk and talk, the question must be asked as to how well this teaching has been integrated into our own lives. Compare what you teach out of a book to what you impart over dinner, and ask yourself which experience of learning is most likely to stick.

I have always struggled over this with my own kids. The Old Testament tells me I have a responsibility to teach my kids and train them in righteousness, but I’ve never been able to get them to show up for Discipleship 101 taught by Dad. In fact, that’s when they seem the least teachable – when I’m trying to teach them! No, they show up for life, though, and that’s what it’s all about.

Lord, teach us to walk alongside and talk deeply with, not just disseminate information. Anyone can do that. Teach us to disciple by being disciples. Teach us to impart how to live by living openly. Not perfectly, but openly.

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No towels provided

Posted on May 2, 2014 by jwfisch

th-14Then Jesus came to them and said, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age.” (Matthew 28:18-20)

Baptism is proof that you mean business about believing in Jesus. You can’t be a casual Christian and be baptized.

Baptism is final. It is irrevocable. Once you’ve been “placed into” Christ, you can’t “unplace” yourself.

Baptism in conjunction with the Gospel of Welcome seals the deal. Jesus includes this in His commissioning address to His followers because it is vital to the process of transformation. You can’t be casual about following Christ when you include baptism as the outward sign of an inner decision. And in the New Testament, accounts of baptism in the Book of Acts happened immediately upon placing one’s faith in Christ. There’s something real and compelling about that.

I was “baptized” during a church service when I was nine years old. It was pre-arranged. At the designated time in the service, I went forward and the pastor dipped his hand in water, placed it on my head and baptized me “in the name of the Father, and the Son, and the Holy Ghost.” It was called being “sprinkled.” It may have been good enough for the church, but it wasn’t good enough for me.

Thirteen years later when we were preaching the gospel and baptizing people on the spot in Lake Lagunita at Stanford University, I went into the water and got dunked. I felt like Peter when He objected to Christ washing his feet, and Jesus said, “Unless I wash you, you have no part with me,” to which Peter blurted out, “Then, Lord, not just my feet but my hands and my head as well!” (John 13:8-9)

Lord, I don’t want to remember a little water sprinkled on my head as a sign of my commitment to you; I want to get all wet. I want to go down under the water and come back up. I want to die and be born again, and even if I don’t fully know what that means, I want it to happen to me, so that some day, I will.

In the New Testament, when you got baptized, you didn’t bring a towel and change of clothes to the baptismal service in brother Bill’s jacuzzi. You found the closest body of water and got dunked. They put you down under and brought you up in the name of the Father, the Son and the Holy Ghost. And you went home wet.

There’s something pure and simple about this, but something also real and gritty and downright inconvenient. Something you can always remember as happening to you. Something you can’t go back on. Something humbling, and maybe a little embarrassing, especially in a public place when you weren’t planning on having this happen to you.

And there were no towels provided.

From Mark, a MemberPartner of the Membership Committee – Day 8

Another reason why John and Marti are not the perfect pitchmen…

You will not hear John list the reasons why you come to the Catch, because every citizen has a different reason for drawing closer. I can promise you, John is not going to discontinue his direct approach nor polish up the Gospel of Welcome with hype or sensationalism; nor is he going to unnecessarily cut corners, reduce his Biblical studies, or look to make the shareholders happy. The Catch does not have shareholders. The Catch has a God-fearing Board of Directors and the Catch has you — our readers, our contributors … our MemberPartners.

As a MemberPartner of the Membership Committee, I ask you to assess for yourself what we have done, what we are rolling out over the next few months, and what it means to the furtherance of the Gospel of Welcome, and decide if it is worthy of your support.

No, you cannot save the Catch; John would tell you the Catch is not worth saving. But what the Catch is doing is everything John lives for: teaching the Word, equipping individuals in their faith, identifying with the poor, embracing one’s sin in order to offer forgiveness, redefining faith for the 21st century — all toward the furtherance of the Gospel of Welcome to everyone, everywhere.sb123

If this makes sense – read on…

Catch MemberPartnerships offer a pain-free way to help further the Gospel of Welcome.  It is a Brilliant idea whose time has come. It is simple to enroll. It is an uncomplicated approach to achieve a vital ministry.  It is Simply Brilliant.

Every time a new MemberPartner is activated, the Gospel of Welcome message extends farther beyond the 139 countries we are presently serving, new enrichment programs are added, and our services are expanded to members, contributors, and readers.

What’s more, a real, tangible economic advantage is offered to all Catch citizens, irrespective of financial capacity:

  • To keep it simple, rich or poor, if there is a “readiness” to give – a built-into-the-heart desire to give, “the gift is acceptable, according to what one has, not according to what one does not have.”(2 Corinthians 8:12).

  • For those without the capacity to give, MemberPartner sponsorships are available.

  • Together with this, opportunities exist to register friends and family tax free MemberPartnerships or honor a loved one through an honorary PartnerMembership in his or her memory.

Here is how to sign up:

The easiest way to become a MemberPartner or find out more about becoming one, is to click on the Simply Brilliant logo. 

 

 

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Discipling a ‘nation’ of soccer moms

Posted on May 1, 2014 by jwfisch

Then Jesus came to them and said, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age.” (Matthew 28:18-20)

Think about it: all the authority in heaven and on earth and what is He doing with it? Curing cancer? Stopping global warming? Bringing an end to all conflict? No. He is enabling us to make followers of Christ.

I just saw a seven-story rendering of thousands of photographs from the Hubble Space Telescope, where all that power and authority in the universe is on incredible display, and what does God do with all of this? Send you and me out into the world to make followers of Christ? Yes. Apparently, making followers of Christ must be God’s number one priority for us. Way more important than fixing things, is getting things rightly aligned with Christ.

And He wants us to do this by nations. This was always confusing to me — why He put this on a national level — until Marti researched it and found out the word doesn’t refer to nations as we have them today, but to any and all people groups.

Any group.

th-12The Catch is a group. Firefighters are a group. Soccer moms are a group. A group is a bunch of like-minded people. That, then, would include groups of homosexuals, buddies at the local bar, neighbors on the block, coworkers at the office, etc. Go, get people to follow me, just like you followed me with all of your warts and smelly fish clothes and all of your personal issues. Go to the groups around you, do this, and I will be with you. That is it. That is what my power is for. Who would have thought?

Every one of us is in at least one group (family) and most of us in many different ones. We all have “nations” to disciple. Time to get going!

To our dear Catch Citizens:

I am giving the Membership Committee a day off – but, first let’s put our virtual hands together in a collective “Thank you” for their coming together to make this campaign possible.

In the early morning, I am in my study, Marti is greeting someone on the phone who is a Catch citizen experiencing a personal hardship. Hours later at the end of day, you can hear my steps, and Marti’s wound-up chatter coming together like wayward drum beats. A voice breaks out in laughter, and muffled speaker-phone voices float through the air. It’s another day at the Catch, but because I hear these sounds daily from my desk, I can tell you it is so much more than just another day. 

The old adage ” Communication is Key” stands true. Through a multidimensional approach, our focus continues to be on figuring out how to turn the unique ways the Catch Ministry is changing the world into content that can be used by you. 

Our Catch citizens rely on communication with the Catch for empowerment and encouragement to further their faith efforts. Conversely, we rely on communication with our Catch community to determine the overall value of our ministry and the services it provides. Is the community satisfied with what they are receiving in exchange for engagement with the ministry? Are its citizens gratified with the value and levels of service being provided – and is it in conjunction with their generosity? 

As we continue to stretch our resources and maintain a perspective on our citizens’ joys and concerns, we will also continue to find the answers to the questions above. We will continue to ask you to share your stories through audio and video resources published to our YouTube channel. Go to the membership page and hear what you and others are saying about us. The conversations change every day. 

The Catch is the telling of its Citizen’s personal stories. This is a value of the Catch: to tell stories of those within the Catch community, add depth to the day-to-day news, and relate how we walk with the Lord throughout the day.

What a basis this gives us to speak of the Gospel of Welcome to men and women everywhere! As fear increasingly grips human hearts, as despair spreads widely at the failure of man to accomplish the great dreams that he is continually having, as the terrible weapons of destruction increase in the arsenals of the nations, as pollution and corruption spread widely around the earth, and people’s hearts are indeed trembling with fear in looking at the end of things coming on earth, what an hour this is to declare the mercy and the grace of God, that in Jesus Christ there is a new humanity being formed!

As the Catch continues its BlogTalkRadio show each week, there are more stories of musicians, thought leaders, survivors, pastors, teachers, and worldwide spokespersons that are broadcasted and preserved at the Catch for years to come, thanks to you. 

Hundreds more stories, about connecting faith to life, about connecting family to other families and friends, and about connecting all of us to the Gospel of Welcome, are Catch community treasures written each day because your dollars fund our Catch Ministry. 

Through your MemberPartnership, 
  • You are building a center of support for the arts, lifelong learning, and insights into the core of our being here in our community,
  • You are helping us highlight issues facing our worldwide community and what’s happening in our own backyards, and
  • You are keeping the Gospel of Welcome expanding to everyone, everywhere.
Will you continue that work with us by becoming a MemberPartner today with a gift most favorable to your pocketbook? 

We have a lot in store for the future. Read on to learn where your gift will make an impact for your Catch …

Our programming is growing. The first ever international Bible study is being readied for you and will be launching mid-September. The study series includes teaching by John, interactive study guides and exchanges between all study partners.  Your contributions help make for a more vibrant community.

Your MemberPartnership will help us prepare for our expansion plans including updating our ‘corporate building’ (website) by investing in its infrastructure, which includes rewiring of its technology to strengthen the foundation, making it easier for you to navigate, and providing opportunities to take advantage of our new applications.

Toward the goal of expanding the Gospel of Welcome to everyone, everywhere,Rebooting the Mission will be offered to all citizens of the Catch in mid-August. It is a 3-part study designed to involve you with easy access to the Internet and its media platforms, so that you can understand for yourselves how to be one of the first to use social media to expand the Gospel of Welcome to everyone, everywhere. 

Mid-June and into July we will involve everyone in an interactive 21 Day Challenge, where we will examine the challenges we face in living together respectfully, and joyfully on this small planet, and, at the same time, recognize the greater part we can play as members of the marketplace.

Our password protected MemberPartner site is being made ready for launch at the end of May and will offer a monthly newsletter, challenging and encouraging articles written by John and other thoughtful thinkers, ‘Ask John & Marti’ an on-going exchange of ideas page, and access to exclusive resources and online events designed to give MemberPartners a greater role in shaping the future of the Catch Ministry.

Presently, responding to our Board’s direction to see our funding made sustainable over the year, the Catch is in the membership committee-driven seventh day of its MemberPartner campaign. It is a no nonsense – no bells and whistles campaign, attempting to point out how you are making the difference in the lives of many people through the Catch.

Your investment in the Catch is necessary for its vitality and accessibility. The Membership Committee set a goal for 9 new MemberPartners a day. We are behind on our daily goal, but we believe this goal is still doable. Help me help you to encourage their efforts by acting now. It is your MemberPartnerhip that will make the difference. 

How to give: The easiest way to become a Member Partner is to contribute securely online by clicking on this link:

Or calling me at 949.315.5533

Or mailing your commitment to our offices at: 

Catch John Fischer
Attention: Accountant
1278 Glenneyre 
Laguna Beach, California 92651

Thank you so much for considering to become a MemberPartner of the Catch. Your tax-deductible monthly contribution will help cover nearly half of the funding used to bring you the Catch, its services and programs. Thank you in advance for your support! 

Yours for the journey,
John (and for) Marti

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‘Follow me…’

Posted on April 30, 2014 by jwfisch

Then Jesus came to them and said, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age.” (Matthew 28:18-20)

I was an old fisherman of Galilee Laketh-11
I’d fish for my keep, not for fishing’s sake
I’d take what I could and I’d get what I’d take
I’d sell my fish for a living to make
I looked and I saw a man by the shore
He spoke to me and asked me if I wanted more
More riches than I’d ever dreamed of before
Weary and empty, I listened for more
He told me of life, of what it could be
He told me a man was born to be free
He was given his eyes so his eyes could see
He said lay down your past; “Follow me”

So I laid down my nets and I walked from the shore
Like a weathered soldier who’d walked from a war
He turned and I followed, not questioning why
I knew he was right by the truth in His eye

This song, about the calling of Simon Peter, is a remnant of the 1960s, torn from some distant mooring in my brain that no longer recollects its origin. It was one of my favorites, and the favorite of a man I was following at the time, who was carrying out Matthew 28:18-20 with me. Like Jesus calling Peter, this man asked me to drop what I was doing — which at the time was getting ready to go to seminary — and follow him, and he would “teach you everything I know.”

He didn’t promise me the moon; he didn’t show me the path, the program, and what I would look like when it was done; he merely said, “Follow me as I follow Christ.”

“I’m not sure what I’m doing,” he went on to say, as best as I can recollect, “or where we’re going, but something’s up … the Spirit is moving, and we’ll go where He goes, one step at a time. Something’s happening, and I promise you, we will be a part of it, and if you cloister yourself in a library with a bunch of books right now, you might miss it. We’ve already got the most important book right here,” he put his hand on his Bible, “and we’ll learn from it as we go. I don’t know everything, but I’ll teach you everything I know as we follow Christ.”

That was the essence of it: “Follow me as I follow Christ.” This is what discipleship really is. There isn’t a manual for it. It’s not a twelve-week program or a ten-step plan. It’s asking people to follow you as you follow Christ. That’s it. It’s simple and it’s brilliant. The simple part is us; the brilliant part is Christ in us.

Doesn’t mean you have it down. Doesn’t mean you have it right. Doesn’t even mean you won’t blow it, because you will. It only means that in everything that happens with you, Christ’s presence and power will be made evident. It won’t be something you manufacture; it will really be Him, in you, through you, and in spite of you.

In this regard, the man I followed had flaws; he never pretended not to. In fact, he didn’t try to hide anything from me. He simply let me into his life. “Come go with me,” he said. “Follow me as I follow Christ.”

Can you do this? Can I do this? I don’t know why not. It requires only two things, neither of which are inaccessible to any of us: availability and trust. Availability means to make your life accessible to someone; trust means to believe the Holy Spirit will show up. That’s it. I can’t think of anything more.

Brilliant … simply brilliant.

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