Suffering is not an Option.

One of the first things I noticed in the bible was that it doesn’t end well for the prophets. From Jeremiah to Zacharia to the most liked prophet John the Baptist who’s head wound up on a platter, this always confused me, men who are following after, abiding to the commands of God, why would things go so epically wrong for them?

Abraham Herschel says, “To be a prophet is both a distinction and an affliction.” Meaning be follower of Christ’s is going to set you apart from others, and in doing so you will face trials.

The fact is, being a servant of God’s, following Jesus, it’s simply not easy.

We can so easily forget that 12 out of the 13 apostles (including Paul as the thirteenth) died of unnatural causes… the only one to not die of unnatural causes was John of Patmos who was exiled onto the island of Patmos to die alone… my point being we’re going to suffer, we’re going to be persecuted, we’re going to struggle as disciples. And if you’re not or haven’t in the last few years as a follower of Christ, one needs to question whether or not they’re following Christ… 

I’ve always been confused by the American pastor, in the sense that many don’t look like or resemble in many ways the biblical disciples that would have been following and walking with Christ 2000 years ago.

I mean we can easily be great event planners in ministry and gather thousands of people into a building, but being a Christian and follower of Jesus is a whole other playing field.

What is it to be a follower of Jesus in America?

In what ways should we be set apart from the rest of the world?

How “radical” should we be?