What HE woulda done... (continued)

As I blogged on Monday, Kirk Cameron and his friends are all-out for saving souls, and they have staked the claim on their site that they "seek and save the lost the way Jesus did." I wondered what that meant, since there were no fish for the multitudes.

Well, weighing in on that exact question this week, a few words from mega-pastor Rick Warren, blockbuster author of the Purpose-Driven Life and leader of Saddleback Church in California. In talking about the huge success of his Saddleback empire, he wrote this weekend, "Jesus is our ultimate model for ministry," and offered a few tips on what that meant. I won't take it too much to task, since it was published in the Christian Post and is less a piece of journalism than a pep talk for pastors, but it is interesting to see what the newest perennial talking head says on how Jesus walked the evangelization walk.

Not surprisingly for the shrewd business mind of Lake Forest, he credits Jesus with what amounts to a Power Point presentation. The first five steps: Identification, Motivation, Dedication, Concentration, Delegation. Here's the more on the first step:

If we’re ever going to be effective in ministry for Jesus Christ, we must know who we are. That involves knowing our strengths and weaknesses – and knowing our limitations. Identify who you are – your S.H.A.P.E. (spiritual gifts, heart, abilities, personality, and experiences). That’s why we spend a lot of time talking about S.H.A.P.E. at Saddleback. (See C.L.A.S.S. 301 for more information.)

C.L.A.S.S., you see, stands for "Christian Life and Service Seminar." That's the four-tiered spiritual growth (tm) series. Cause you know, growth in the life of the spirit of God is like a... well, like a baseball diamond. Here's a graphic to clear things up:



The long and short of it: Jesus was big on acronyms, catchy graphics and four hour seminars (lunch included).

I read the Bible a few times a week. I personally love watching this rich material get updated, reinterpreted and shaped to fit Christians around the world. Jesus as CEO? Sure, why not. The material continues to inspire. It finds new life.

But claiming to be preaching in the style of Jesus has to, objectively, hold you up in some kind of spotlight, right? I mean, it's not hard to characterize the MO that's really at work in those pages. From his attacks on the moneychangers and the Pharisees, to his befriending the prostitutes and tax collectors, Jesus is the champion of humility. And he says that there are miracles possible for those who have faith.

And beyond that he spread the message in the same way that we spread the message today. To borrow a venerated phrase from the history of journalism - he comforted the afflicted and afflicted the comfortable. Basta. Now, who's doing that?