Ordinary Radicals: A Return to Christ-Centered Discipleship
“My prayer is that people will see that following Jesus costs everything you are and everything you have”
The evangelical church is thirsting for true discipleship.
This is evident from not only the many sermons, lectures, articles, blogs, and social media posts written in the years following 2000, but also the conglomeration of recent publications surrounding discipleship. Clearly, evangelicals have recognized a need to go beyond mere emotional attractions to gain converts for Christ, but actually “teaching them to observe all that” Christ has commanded.
It is the 43rd of 52 books in the Tim Challies 2020 reading challenge, and I have the pleasure of reviewing my former classmate, Jonathan Hayashi’s book, Ordinary Radicals: A Return to Christ-Centered Discipleship.
Jonathan and I were fortunate to attend the Moody Bible Institute together in Chicago, Illinois. I was blessed to have his acquaintance there and can speak to his genuine love for Christ and dedication to glorifying God in the local church.
Jonathan concludes his introduction by stating, “My prayer is that people will see that following Jesus costs everything you are and everything you have” (p. 6).
Jonathan identifies an incredibly simple concept, that when properly understood, changes the lens by which the Christian sees and engages with the church and world. Before introducing this concept, consider Jonathan’s opening remarks regarding the American Church decline.
North American Church
“Nearly 4000 churches close every year in North America” (p. 9)
The majority of evangelical churches in America are either declining or stagnating. Jonathan believes the root of this issue is a lack of intentional discipleship in our churches.
Perhaps, the other factor is the phenomenon of the American Mega Church and the Christian Consumer mentality. This is where large churches with significant resources to provide exceptional music, kids programs, and other community entertainment are planting more and more satellite sites that draw in Christians from other less exciting and entertaining church cultures.
However, if Jonathan’s initial analysis is correct, these churches will soon become stagnate or die as well if they do not cultivate a heart of discipleship. But should this be a strategy the church employs to retain members or should this be a natural essential component of what it means to operate as the Church?
The Meaning of Disciple
“So is discipleship a choice for the Christian, or a necessary part of being a Christian?” (p. 15).
Jonathan answers his own questions, “In essence, by definition, a disciple is a Christian. So, if you would, discipleship is Christianship or Christformity” (p. 18)
This same critical definition is what I argue for in SOLD: Marks of a True Disciple. For it reveals the stunning realization that while it costs nothing to become a Christian, meaning no amount of money or moral work could earn your salvation as it is a gift of God, and yet, it quite literally will cost you absolutely everything.
Jonathan Edwards calls this the change of religious affections. When someone is truly changed from the inside, it manifests itself externally. The heart begins to shift to desire God’s glory rather than its own. So while clearly, Christ calls his disciples to pick up their cross and come after him, this cross is not a cost or even a burden of destruction, but a treasure of delight.
It is this mentality that afforded Paul to write words that seem utterly insane to the unchanged heart.
“But whatever gain I had, I counted as loss for the sake of Christ. Indeed, I count everything as loss because of the surpassing worth of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord. For his sake I have suffered the loss of all things and count them as rubbish, in order that I may gain Christ and be found in him, not having a righteousness of my own that comes from the law, but that which comes through faith in Christ, the righteousness from God that depends on faith— that I may know him and the power of his resurrection, and may share his sufferings, becoming like him in his death, that by any means possible I may attain the resurrection from the dead.” – Philippians 3:7-11
Jonathan Hayashi has provided a superb discipleship primer and worth the several short hours it will take you to engage with its material.
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John Owen came from Welsh descent, was educated at Queens College, and became a renowned Puritan theologian, Oxford professor, and passionate pastor who lived from 1616 to 1683. In 1647, he wrote the exhaustive treatise The Death of Death defending Limited or Definite Atonement against the Arminian view of Universal Atonement or Unlimited Atonement.