Thrive

Do More Than Survive Your Faith

Copyright © 2011 Ben Hardman

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Credits
Author: Ben Hardman
Executive Developer: Nadim Najm
Chief Creative Officer: Joani Schultz
Copy Editor: Rob Cunningham
Cover Art and Production: Riley Hall and Veronica Lucas
Production Manager: DeAnne Lear

Unless otherwise indicated, all Scripture quotations are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living
Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2007. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers,
Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.

Scripture quotations marked MSG are taken from The Message. Copyright © 1993, 1994,
1995, 1996, 2000, 2001, 2002. Used by permission of NavPress Publishing Group.

Scripture quotations marked NIV are taken from THE HOLY BIBLE, NEW INTERNATIONAL
VERSION®, NIV® Copyright © 1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.™ Used by
permission. All rights reserved worldwide.

Scripture quotations marked NKJV are taken from the New King James Version. Copyright ©
1982 by Thomas Nelson, Inc. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

Scripture quotations marked NRSV are taken from the New Revised Standard Version Bible,
copyright 1989, Division of Christian Education of the National Council of the Churches of
Christ in the United States of America. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

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 3 t hi ng s

I rea lly, re a lly, re a lly l ove my w i fe a n d my k i d s . T h ey

tea c h m e eve r y d ay, t h ey g i ve me h o p e , t h ey l ove
m e wh en I a m a t my wo rs t , a n d t h ey b e l i eve i n me
in f in itely m o re th a n I b e l i eve i n my s e l f .

I rea lly, re a lly, re a lly l ove my c h u rc h , T h e Ave nu e

Ch r is tia n Ch u rc h (ave c h u rc h . c o m) . T h e re i s n o
o th er f a m ily th a t I wo u l d w a n t t o j o u rn ey w i t h o n
th e m is s io n o f Go d t h a n yo u . I c a n ’t w a i t t o s e e
wh e re Go d ta kes u s a n d w h o h e ma ke s u s t o b e o n
th e way.

I rea lly, re a lly, re a lly ap p re c i a t e a l l o f t h e s p i ri t u a l

g u id e s wh o s a t d ow n w i t h me w h e n I w a s yo u n g a n d
s h owe d m e th e way. I c a n n eve r re p ay yo u .
D E D I C AT I O N

Ultim a te ly, th o u g h , I a m s i mp ly t h a n k f u l t h a t I a m a
c h ild o f Go d . I d o n ’t d e s e r ve t o b e a p a s t o r. I d o n ’t
d e s er ve mu c h o f a ny t h i n g , b u t G o d h a s l av i s h e d
h is g r a c e u p o n m e ! I p ray t h a t my w h o l e e x i s t e n c e
is h is !

For I de c i de d t hat wh i l e I wa s w i th y o u I w o u l d fo r ge t
ev e r y t hi ng e x c e pt Je s u s C h r i s t, th e o n e w h o wa s
c r uc i fi e d ( 1 C or i nt hi a n s 2: 2) .

3
 Contributing Authors
Aaron Stern pastors theMILL, the college/20-somethings ministry at New Life Church in
Colorado Springs, Colorado. He graduated from Oral Roberts University with a degree
in business and later finished a graduate degree in theology. His first book (from David
C Cook) will be coming out in spring 2011 about secrets and the power of confession.
Aaron and his wife Jossie have four boys.

Andy Tilly serves on staff at Cross Timbers Community Church, a multi-site church
based in the Dallas-Fort Worth area, as the executive pastor of family ministries. He
also is the founder of the Xperience it! Foundation, through which he has authored three
books and speaks at various camps, conferences, and faith-based events across the
country.

Cam Huxford is the director of music, arts and productions at the Downtown Seattle
Campus of Mars Hill Church. His alt-country roots-rock band, Ghost Ship, leads
corporate worship gatherings and plays shows at bars and clubs in the Seattle area.
Cam, his wife Hailey, and their new daughter Riley live in Seattle’s Queen Anne
neighborhood, where they enjoy tending their garden.

Dave Ferguson is a founding pastor of Community Christian Church and the visionary
and movement leader for the NewThing Network. He is the co-author of The Big
Idea: Aligning the Ministries of Your Church Through Cooperative Collaboration and
Exponential: How You and Your Friends Can Start a Missional Church Movement. Check
out the latest from Dave on his blog (daveferguson.org).

Jodi Hickerson and her husband, Mike, have been married and in ministry together for
over 10 years. Jodi served as a teaching pastor and creative contributor at Heartland
Community Church in Rockford, Illinois, for more than four years before moving to
Ventura, California, to plant Mission Church. Jodi describes herself as a very grateful
wife and mom (of three daughters), a crazy Kentucky Wildcats fan, and a believer that
there is hope for everybody in Jesus Christ.

Jon Peacock worked for six years at Willow Creek Community Church in South
Barrington, Illinois. Jon provided leadership to Axis, Willow Creek’s young adult ministry.
Currently Jon is the lead pastor at Mission Church, a brand-new church plant in the
suburbs of Chicago. Jon brings a deep passion to unleash and empower the church
to “be the church” in a world that desperately needs to experience the outrageous love
of God.
Karl Halverson is currently the pastor of spiritual formation for The Avenue Christian
Church, a new church plant in Louisville, Kentucky, reaching the university campus and
old Louisville neighborhood. His experience includes 10 years of cross-cultural church
planting in the Balkans (more than seven years living “on-field”), five years of youth
ministry, and involvement in most facets of church life and leadership since Bible college
and seminary. Karl has been married to Jill for over 17 years, and they have four really
great kids!

Kyle Idleman is the teaching minister at Southeast Christian Church located in Louisville,
Kentucky. He is the author and presenter of the award-winning video curriculum H2O: A
Journey of Faith as well as The Easter Experience and Not A Fan. Kyle’s favorite thing
to do is hang out with the love of his life, DesiRae. They have been married for 15 years
and have four children: MacKenzie, Morgan, Macy, and Kael.

Since 1990 Mark Moore has been a professor of New Testament at Ozark Christian
College in Joplin, Missouri. In September 2008 he was awarded a Ph.D. from the
University of Wales for his work on the politics of Jesus. Mark has authored more
than a dozen books, mostly on the life of Christ (also Acts and Revelation). He is a
speaker noted for his passion for the lost and his participation in completing the Great
Commission of Christ. His life goal is to make Jesus famous. Mark and his wife Barbara
live in Joplin.

Mike Filicicchia and his wife Jessie lead a house church full of ragamuffins in the finest
dorm at the University of Michigan. He likes math and just recently learned how to write.

Mike Hickerson is the lead pastor of Mission Church (missionventura.com) in Ventura,

California. Mike is a gifted leader and communicator and describes himself as a church
planter, lucky husband, outnumbered dad (three daughters), Oklahoma Sooner fan,
coffee addict, rookie golfer, and struggling surfer.

Steve Carter is an associate teaching pastor who now oversees the RockHarbor
Fullerton campus in Southern California. He works with a great team of staff and
volunteers who are committed to helping this young community become an actual
family. Steve lives with his wife Sarah, their son Emerson, and their dog Fenway in
Fullerton, California.

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 Introduction ....................................................................................... i

Section 1: The Gospels ..................................................................1

The Cross in the Center: What Happens When the .........................5

Cross Becomes Central in Our Lives Every Day

The Holy God: God in His Place.....................................................11

The Sinful Me: Me in My Place .......................................................17

The Grace Effect: Grace Changes Everything ...............................23

The Future of Forgiveness .............................................................29

Section 2: Journeying With God .................................................36

Hearing to Doing.............................................................................40

Lament to Hope ..............................................................................45

Distance to Discovery .....................................................................51

Obedience to Dependence .............................................................57

Section 3: Idolatry ........................................................................62

How to Build a God.........................................................................67

Close the Idol Factory.....................................................................72

Religion Is Sexy, and Sex Sells ......................................................78

Contents

Gods at War ...................................................................................84

Chasing Jacob ................................................................................92

 Section 4: Decisions Made Now Affect Your Future .................98

Investing in Others........................................................................102

Where Are Paul and Obi-Wan Kenobi? The Importance..............108

of Finding a Mentor

Standing Still.................................................................................113

The Sins of Our Fathers ...............................................................119

Going Back to Go Forward ...........................................................126

Section 5: Spiritual Disciplines .................................................131

Generosity ....................................................................................135

Light Writers .................................................................................141

Pointing and Staring .....................................................................147

Quiet In a Loud World...................................................................152

Picking and Choosing ...................................................................157

Contents
 I’ve never written a book before, so when it was time for me to
write an intro, I started looking at other books’ introductions. I know
that’s lame and I probably should not admit that, but it’s the truth.
I N T RO

I drive a minivan and sing Thomas the Train® songs to my kids all
the time, so I am fine with being called lame. If you are reading
this introduction, you are probably already an overachiever; most
people skip the intro and jump to the “good stuff.” I usually skip
them myself, but as I read these introductions I realized something:
Each of the intros I read came with a promise. Some told me of
how the book would change my life! Some told me of some secret
knowledge I could find within the pages that would unlock some
area of my life that I had never found before! Some promised
growth, some promised knowledge, some promised peace, and
some promised success!

I want you to know that this book doesn’t come with a promise. In
fact, it is written by a bunch of my friends who are very ordinary
men and women. I love them and think they are very bright, but I
think I speak for all of them when I say we really don’t have any
promises to make except maybe one! It’s the thing that we all have
in common, and it’s one of the things that make each of these
contributors my friends.

All of our lives have been changed by Jesus. All of our hope is
found in him. The only promise we make is that you won’t find
anything life-changing in the devotional thoughts that await you
unless you read them searching for him.
D o n ’t S k i p T h i s !

Our culture is filled with information about God. New books are
published each day, books just like this one. We can download
information at a faster pace than any other culture in the history
of the world. Yet in the midst of all of this information, we lack
transformation. In the middle of our learning, we aren’t changing.
The problem is we have been educated beyond our obedience and
we have for way too long searched for a principle or a truth or an
idea that will make our lives better, instead of searching for God.
i
 I think sometimes we become the central figure of our faith! It’s you!
It’s me!

The very first thing learned in Jewish culture by first-century Jewish

children was the Shema:

“Listen, O Israel! The Lord is our God, the Lord alone. And you must love
the Lord your God with all your heart, all your soul, and all your strength.
And you must commit yourselves wholeheartedly to these commands
that I am giving you today. Repeat them again and again to your children.
Talk about them when you are at home and when you are on the road,
when you are going to bed and when you are getting up. Tie them to your
hands and wear them on your forehead as reminders. Write them on the
doorposts of your house and on your gates” (Deuteronomy 6:4-9).

The very first thing we learn in our Christian culture?

The verse: “For God loved the world so much that he gave his one and
only Son, so that everyone who believes in him will not perish but have
eternal life” (John 3:16).

The song: Jesus Loves Me.

Can you see the slight difference?

Jesus does love us, with great deep affection, but he loves us for his glory
and not for our own. He loves us so that he will be known, so that our very
lives will proclaim his glory to the nations.

As Paul said:

Clearly, you are a letter from Christ showing the result of our ministry
among you. This “letter” is written not with pen and ink, but with the Spirit
of the living God. It is carved not on tablets of stone, but on human hearts
(2 Corinthians 3:3).

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And as Peter said:

And you are living stones that God is building into his spiritual temple.
What’s more, you are his holy priests. Through the mediation of Jesus
Christ, you offer spiritual sacrifices that please God (1 Peter 2:5).

Let’s be honest: We live in a me-first culture, and that attitude seeps into
every area of our lives, including our learning, our attempts to grow, and
our goal of living life to the fullest.

Paul says your life is God’s letter to the nations; Peter says that our lives
are monuments that point constantly to our great redeemer!

So here is my fear: I think you can read this book and find some new
ideas, some new ways to look at Scripture, and some new learning to
“show off” to your Bible study group next week. You may find some
principles to help you get through the challenges of this week.

If that is what happens, you missed the point!

Our prayer is that in these pages you search for God—a God who is
infinitely rediscoverable, a God who desires all of you, a God who not only
loves you but also has a mission for you!

What we do promise is that God is worth it!

That God will change your life!

That in God you will find the answers!

So do me a quick favor—I know this may not be typical—but would you

take a moment and pray before you read any further?

In fact, each day before you open these pages, would you ask God to
reveal himself to you? Not so you can know more about God but so you
can know God!

iiiiii
 I’m not kidding; right now wherever you are, please spend a few moments
asking the Holy Spirit to guide you, asking God to reveal himself to you,
and asking God to change you not for your sake but for his!

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 Section 1:

The Gospels

Living Things Grow

My 4-year-old son never sleeps. His tiny body is full of
energy, sweat, laughter, and pure innocence. Every night
it’s the same routine: We’ll sing a song, read a story, say
a prayer. We’ve tried everything, but as soon as I leave
the room, I hear the Thomas the Train® theme being sung
from his bedroom.

At least an hour will pass with no crying, no

complaining—just the sounds of a young boy finding joy
in life past his official bedtime. Eventually I go back into
his room and sit on the edge of his bed. Oftentimes, I
have to remove action figures and battery-operated toy
cars from underneath his pillow. But this has become my
favorite moment in the day because the conversations
we have reflect an innocent heart and mind that is so
precious to me.

We talk about the things little boys talk about: cars,

wrestling moves, why we don’t hit our brother, our love
for ice cream, and sometimes even God. At the end of
each of our talks, I tell him that I have a secret. I lean in
close to his ear and wait for the silence to break with a
little giggle. The waiting is worth it, because this is quite
possibly my favorite sound in the entire world.
1
 “I love you,” I whisper to him. He giggles some more and then leans into
my ear.

“I wuv you, too, daddy.” He has a little trouble pronouncing the letter “L”,
which could be due to the fact that he’s my only son born in Kentucky and
has picked up a little Southern twang.

But soon, the whispering won’t be as funny. The discussion on which

superhero is best will have lost its intrigue. The Thomas® songs
won’t be as catchy (which wouldn’t be THAT bad). The small little
mispronunciations will be gone. And I’m beginning to mourn the fact that
his sleepless nights will no longer be caused by an overflow of energy,
but an awareness of the weight the world carries with it and his own
experiences with pain and disappointment and heartache. It’s not just
about the late-night talks. It’s the fact that I know he is turning into a “big
boy”—a boy that will, before I know it, become a man. I pray that each
step along the way, we will still have talks, even though the topics of
discussion will change. But I will always remember my little boy who never
wanted to sleep and whose lone act of defiance is humming a song about
a blue train that fell off the track, when he’s supposed to be sleeping.

The other day, with all of this on my mind, I simply asked him if he would
stop growing for daddy. I told him I felt like he was getting too big and that
I wanted him to be my little boy forever. He thought about it for a while,
and then looked at me with a very solemn face.

“Daddy, living things have to grow!”

I’m not sure how my boy has grasped this early on in his life, but it’s a
profound truth. Maybe Dora the Explorer® taught him along with other
important Spanish phrases like, “I love my backpack.” Or maybe it’s just
instinct. Either way, the implications of this simple statement spoke to me.

I long for a living faith—a faith that inspires, a faith that calls others to
action, a faith that challenges, a faith that breathes life into those around
me. But there have been many days in my past when my faith has been,

2
for lack of a better word, dead. There was no growth in my heart, no
movement in my spirit toward loving God more, and no pouring out of love
to those around me.

In Luke 13, Jesus is faced with a firestorm of tough questions about the
news headlines during this time. In the middle of ritual sacrifices in the
temple, Pilate had ordered his soldiers to take up arms and fight. To make
matters worse, a tragedy happened as 18 people were killed when the
tower of Siloam fell on them. People everywhere were wondering how
to reconcile the brokenness and pain that come with this world. Jesus
responded with these words:

“Do you think those Galileans were worse sinners than all the other people
from Galilee?” Jesus asked. “Is that why they suffered? Not at all! And
you will perish, too, unless you repent of your sins and turn to God. And
what about the eighteen people who died when the tower in Siloam fell on
them? Were they the worst sinners in Jerusalem? No, and I tell you again
that unless you repent, you will perish, too” (Luke 13:2-5).

I think it’s obvious that we live in a culture that demands answers to a

world filled with hurt. Many times, people’s questions are directed toward
God, or a god of their choosing. Why do natural disasters happen? Why
do good people suffer? Why can’t everyone just get along?

This wasn’t the first time Jesus spoke to the major social issues and tragic
events of his time. Every time, there was a common theme: personal
repentance. He points us back to our own hearts, to our own holiness, and
to our own personal transformation—and he calls us to repent.

And in this, we see that Jesus was teaching us the reality that when
the people of God fail to bear fruit, the world goes hungry. He knew the
truth before my son did: that living things grow! Therefore, someone who
isn’t being transformed by his love and grace is, quite simply put, dead
or dying.

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 Many of you live in communities that need God’s restoration. You are
surrounded by people who think that living is as simple as waking up in the
morning and following what their hearts want. They are so busy chasing
the American dream and living in the luxury of independence that they
miss the reality of God’s abundant life that he desires for each one of us.
As a Christian, it can be overwhelming and often can lead to compromise
or discouragement. In this, many students decide the grass is greener
on the other side and enter into a place with so many rules that they lose
their effectiveness in communicating with the world completely! Others
compromise altogether and give up all God has for them, and they pursue
a life of comfort and chase all the world has to offer.

But wherever you are, I think Jesus has one message for you: Change.
Become. Obey. Follow. GROW. We are called to a living faith.

The next few pages will focus on the hope of the gospel, even when you
are surrounded by broken and sinful people. Be encouraged that you have
a Savior who knows your struggle as you learn to grow closer to him and
breathe life on those around you.

4
 CHAPTER 1 by Mark E. Moore, Ph.D.

Jesus said a lot of important things, but he seldom said important

things a lot. He just wasn’t prone to repeat himself. Hence, when
he does, we better have ears to hear. So here is his single most
frequently cited saying: “If anyone wants to be my disciple, he must
take up his cross and follow me.”

We get that. Jesus calls us to a life of sacrifice. However, if you put

on a yarmulke and listen as a first-century Jew, the terror of this
t h e C ro s s B e c o m e s C e n t r a l i n O u r L i ve s E v e r y D ay

saying becomes transparent. During the first half of the first century,
the Jews lived under the oppressive domination of Rome. Though
Jews previously had implemented crucifixion as a mechanism of
T h e C ro s s i n t h e C e n t e r : W h a t H a p p e n s W h e n

social control, they weren’t doing that during Jesus’ day. They had
lost legal jurisdiction. According to the Talmud, capital punishment
had been stripped from the Jewish authorities just about the time
Jesus began his ministry. Consequently, it was only the Romans
doing the crucifying. Furthermore, Romans considered crucifixion
so degrading that they banned crucifixion of their own citizens
except in cases of extreme sedition. Bottom line: If you got crucified
as a Jew, it was by Romans who considered you a debased beast
deserving of the most humiliating death through excruciating
torture.

So when Jesus invited his Jewish disciples to take up a cross, it

was not an invitation to valiant sacrifice or noble service. It was
an invitation to raw degradation, to abject failure, and to ultimate
death. Taking up a cross was not giving up your rights or putting
others first. It was not sacrificing your preferences or being willing
to suffer. It was waving a white flag—an admission that you were a
revolutionary who had failed in his vocation. This is hardly the kind
of invitation that naturally would have swarming adherents.

For those of us who love the cross, who cherish it as a symbol of

salvation, it is hard to hear with Jewish ears what Jesus’ demand

5
 implies. That’s because for us the cross of Christ is our means of
salvation—a favor he did for us. It was that, indeed. But he didn’t merely
offer us his cross as a sacrifice for our sin. The cross is not a mere offer
of forgiveness; it is a demanding way of life. Everyone who accepts the
cross of Christ must also take up his own. The cross of Christ strapped
to your own back is a lifestyle or, perhaps better put, a death-style. We
don’t merely receive the grace of Jesus through the cross; we submit to
imitating his suffering and sacrifice. If you are not ready for that, Jesus
says, “You cannot be my disciple.”

Fast forward: What does this mean for a modern Christian? First, at bare
minimum, it demands that we are revolutionaries. After all, those are the
people who got themselves crucified. Jesus’ movement was a full frontal
assault on the systems of the world. It was a radical reconceptualization of
what it meant to be Jewish. It was a complete rejection of the economic,
military, and social machine of the Romans. Hence, for us, Christianity
must also confront the systemic powers of our age. It is not a noble
appendage we tack on to a balanced life so that we live symbiotically
between work, leisure, and worship. It’s not like a yoga class you take
at the end of the day for health or stress relief. Christianity is a totalizing
commitment to the kingdom of God. Though this has obvious implications
for individual eternal salvation, there is no way to be an authentic Christian
and not engage the world’s systems that thwart the reign of God in the
lives of those he so desperately loves.

Second, a cross-bearing life is an admission of defeat. This does not

mean that we will fail in our revolutionary vocation. It means that the
means of our victory will be through failure. Our self-denial and sacrifice is
the mechanism of defeating Satan’s agenda in our world. How does that
work? Jesus explained it when James and John came and asked for seats
of honor (Mark 10:35-45). They were bearing down hard on Jerusalem
for what would be Jesus’ final visit. They knew that their political agenda
was coming to a head, and if Jesus pulled off the whole Messiah gig,
there would be chief seats to be had. They asked for a pre-appointment

6
to the highest administrative positions. The other disciples were livid, not
because of their self-serving actions, but because the brothers beat them
to the punch. Surely Peter had a thing or two to say about their claim to
primary honors. One suspects that Simon the Zealot joined the chest-
thumping and that Judas Iscariot put in his two cents’ worth. They all
wanted social significance.

Jesus’ replay took their breath away, and we hardly understand it any
better. He said, “You know that those who are regarded as rulers of the
Gentiles lord it over them, and their high officials exercise authority over
them. Not so with you. Instead, whoever wants to become great among
you must be your servant, and whoever wants to be first must be slave of
all. For even the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and
to give his life as a ransom for many” (Mark 10:42-45 NIV).

There are two important observations that are not readily transparent in
this passage. First, the high officials who “are regarded as rulers” literally
means “regard themselves as rulers.” That’s a strange way of putting it,
but the idea is that they give off the air of authority. Rightly so, actually.
They have guards and garments that tell of their power. With a pass of
their pen or an off-handed comment, the lives of their subjects can be
tragically molested. Though their “underlings” do, indeed, recognize their
authority, the impetus for leadership begins with the leaders who project
themselves as important people.

The other important observation of this text is that the “rulers of the
Gentiles” in the Gospel of Mark is a very shallow pool. Only two men fit
that category: Herod and Pilate. Herod’s tragic tale has already been
told by Mark. He arrested John the Baptist at the prompting of his illicit
witch of a wife and beheaded him against his own good sense due to
the salacious dance of his teenage stepdaughter. In short, the dude got
played! By whom? By his second wife and her junior high daughter. The
audience is acutely aware of the irony: The ruler was ruled by his craving
to be seen as a ruler. This is the inevitable truth of worldly rulers. The

77
 other Gentile ruler in Mark’s Gospel didn’t fare any better. Pilate, a known
anti-Semite, got played by the chief priest, who deceived him into agreeing
to a crucifixion he knew was unjust. How did that work? They blackmailed
him. “If you don’t crucify him,” they said, “we will report that you are no
friend of Caesar.” The particular Caesar in view was Tiberias, the paranoid
megalomaniac who had already assassinated Pilate’s mentor, Sejanus.
Pilate’s future was in jeopardy and he knew it. So, in order to save a petty
political career (which would end in exile in three short years), he washed
his hands and threw in the towel. Again, the ruler was ruled by his desire
to be seen as a ruler.

Jesus knows how this works in the world. If you want power, you are a
slave to that lust. The only way to successfully carry out the kingdom of
God is to abdicate worldly power and position. A cross strapped to your
back is a shortcut to such a venture. Once you have shed all indications of
self-protection and self-promotion, then there are no longer limits to your
influence. Notice what Jesus said to his disciples: “If you want to be great,
you must be the servant of all.” That’s what he meant by carrying a cross.
Sometimes that results in literal death, but it always results in humiliation.
It always results in association with sinners, and that is inevitably messy.
But it also always results in honor in the kingdom. For when we serve the
lowest on earth we attract attention of the highest in heaven.

Jesus never rebuked James and John for their desire to be significant.
That drive may, in fact, be God-honoring. Rather, he gave them the
shortest route to greatness in the kingdom. It is the heavy steps to the
site of execution with a cross strapped to your back. Before you pick it up
be warned: No one ever picked up a cross and then turned around to tell
about it. This is a one-way journey with an inevitable end.

8
five questions

What have been the ways you have considered the cross and its place in
your life with Christ?

How willing are you to fail, be degraded, and/or be humiliated in the worst
ways possible for Christ’s sake?

How have you let the safety of cultural, American Christianity define your
life with Christ?

9
 Has your life in Christ been defined by a search for social significance? If
so, in what ways?

Do you agree with the last paragraph of this chapter? What will you do
about it either way?

10