Jesus Loves the Church

Just in time for the book's release (today), I finished reading Jesus > Religion. I will admit that I wanted to be on the "street team" to review it because I love to read and wanted a free copy!  However, with each chapter, I realized that Jefferson Bethke had really written something that will awaken the church and go down in history as one of the "greats" in Christian literature. 

Not only that, but his ideas and concepts in this book are right in line with what stirred in me to feel passionate about discipleship and create the Disciple Us space to promote building God's kingdom.  This final chapter was no exception.

He begins by sharing the excitement and anticipation of his own wedding, that took place during the writing of this book.  In the beautiful experience he detailed, he parallels his wedding to that of Jesus and the church. "That is the beauty of marriage. Every time you go to a wedding, you are seeing something deeply reflective of something else. The splendor and beauty are just shadows, a mist of what is to come for those who trust in Jesus. At every single wedding, Jesus is pulling back the curtain on eternity and whispering, 'That’s me and you!'" (Page 182 & 183).

And to further illustrate who Jesus' bride is, he shares, "The Greek word for church is ekklesia, which means a 'people called out.' What I love about that definition is it has nothing to do with a building. Church in America is viewed as a brick building with a cross on top. Church in the New Testament is a group of people with the power of Jesus in them unleashing grace on anyone and everyone they encounter" (Page 183).  

He points out that the bad experiences we may have had with "church" aren't indicative of what "the Church" really is all about.  "I saw that the church wasn't a museum for good people; it was a hospital for the broken. Jesus wasn't trying to create a place to show off his shiny employees; he wanted a place where his children could be healed" (Page 186). 

He detailed a time, after he began his relationship with Jesus, where he reached out to a mentor - a discipler.  This person accepted his weakness, his mistakes, his authentic self - and helped him grow closer to Christ in the process.  THAT is the church.  

While there are many buildings full of people, claiming to be the church, and some of them are following Jesus to the best of their awareness, my most amazing experiences within the body of Christ have been outside of an official brick and mortar building and on a day other than Sunday.  The Church is not limited to a building and a day.  

It has to be church when the only thing that is bringing

diverse people into the same room is their love for Jesus.

Not their jobs. Not their socioeconomic statuses. Not their races. 

But their mutual love for Jesus. 

That’s when you know

it’s the church  

(Page 189).

May we BE the church.  May we know that Jesus loves us, his bride.  May we learn to seek HIM.  

Thank you, Jeff, for this amazing book! I would encourage everyone who wants to grow deeper in their relationship with Jesus and in their awareness of what it means to follow Him, to read this book.  (I saw Jeff say that if you couldn't afford it, he was willing to send you a PDF copy for free!)

Thanks for following the journey of reading this book... stay tuned...