Someone told me of a church sign they saw recently that read, “If you were put on trial for being a Christian, would there be enough evidence to convict you?” What is the evidence that you are a Christian, that you are a believer, that you are a disciple? 

Then there’s the story of a man who went to see his doctor. He said to the doctor, “I feel drained, exhausted, and tired. I don’t have much energy. I have a chronic headache. I feel worn out all the time. What’s the best thing I can do?” 

The doctor knew the man well, and knew something of his wild lifestyle. So he gave him this advice, “I’ll tell you what the best thing is you can do. You can go home each day after work, get a good night’s rest, stop drinking, and lose some weight.” 

The man was silent for a moment and then he said to the doctor, “What’s the next best thing I can do?” 

What’s the best thing you can do as a Christian? As a follower of Jesus?  

Many of you remember Charles Kuralt. Kuralt traveled the country extensively and wrote a number of books about his travels. Whenever I go somewhere on a speaking engagement, people tell me I either sound like Walter Kronkite or Charles Kuralt! Kuralt tells of meeting a man named Hack Bartholomew. Hack was the grandson of a preacher. Hack said to him, “Kuralt, are you a Christian?” Charles Kuralt responded, “Well, more or less.” To which Hack responded, “More is better.”[i]  What is the “more” of being a Christian? 

Red Barber was a great sportscaster. He kept an egg timer in front of him in the broadcast booth. He’d turn it over every time he gave the score of the game. Three minutes later, he’d give the score again. He was asked why he did that, and he responded this way, “The one thing I know is that people need to know the score.” What is the “score” in being a Christian? 

A man came to Jesus one day and asked the question, “What’s the score?” Well, what he really asked was, “What must I do to be saved?” What he was saying, though, was “What’s the ‘more’ of being your follower? How do I give evidence of a life faithful to God?” 

How do you answer that question? Every one of you who have joined this church has probably answered question #3 of the membership vows. Do you remember how it goes? “Do you promise, according to the grace given you, to lead a Christian life?” I have the increasingly uneasy feeling that many people are asking the question as to what that means. What does it really mean to lead a Christian life?  

A tourist was traveling on the back roads of New England. Somewhere he missed a turn and realized that he was hopelessly lost. He drove into a small town where a grizzled old-time New Englander was sitting on a front porch. The driver of the car put down the window and said, “Say, am I on the road to Smithton?” Came the quick reply from the old man, “Yep.” The tourist drove a few hundred feet on his way, but something made him feel a bit uncomfortable. So he backed up to where the old man was sitting again, rolled down the window and asked a second question: “Am I going in the right direction?” With a twinkle in his eye, the old man said, “Nope.” 

What is the right direction for the Christian journey? 

Boston University School of Theology conducted a survey recently. They tried to discover what makes one a “good” Christian. Is it belief? Or is it action? Is it your view of Jesus? Or is it your obedience to Jesus? Is it your view of abortion or capital punishment? Is it your position on homosexuality or the Virgin Birth? Is it your view of the Cross and the meaning of atonement? The research revealed that probably we should substitute the words “practicing Christian” for “good Christian.”[ii] 

Pagan converts to the early church did not absorb Christianity in their heads. They did not decide to become Christians by way of some intellectual exercise. They were not attracted by theology. They were attracted by what they saw of faith and practice in the early believers. I think this is still true. 

Joel Osteen, the pastor of the largest Protestant congregation in America (in Houston, Texas) says this: “I talk about things in everyday life. I don’t get deep and theological.” Now there’s nothing wrong with deep theology. I studied a lot of it in seminary. It is satisfying and it is stimulating. I own my share of books of theology, and I’ve read most of them. But Joel Osteen’s comment is very much like Jesus’ answer in the text. 

The man asks, “What does it mean to be your follower?” And Jesus simply says, “Honor your father and your mother. Practice sexual faithfulness. Do not steal. Do not covet. In other words, practice your faith. 

In several other places Jesus makes the same point. He says, “Not everyone who says to me, ‘Lord, Lord…’ will enter the Kingdom of Heaven, but those who do the will of my Father who is in heaven.” And a little later he said, “Every person who hears these words of mine and does them will be like a wise person who builds a house upon a rock.” (see Matthew 7) 

So what does it mean to be a practicing Christian? I want to suggest two things to you. Actually these are two things that I see modeled clearly in Jesus’ earthly ministry. They are clearly related. 

BUILD A RELATIONSHIP WITH GOD 

First, we build a relationship with God. Jesus demonstrated this over and over again for his disciples. Jesus had his quiet times, his down times, his prayer times. How often do the Scriptures mention that Jesus got up early in the morning and went out to a lonely place to pray? I doubt that this would have been mentioned in the New Testament if the writers did not believe that it was a very important detail.  

For you and me, being a Christian means building a relationship with Jesus. We do so through reading the story, by singing hymns, by prayer, by meditation. We do it through reading books about Jesus, even seeing movies about him. Spend some precious time building a relationship. 

I like Leslie Weatherhead’s comments about this. Leslie Weatherhead was an early 20^th century British Methodist preacher. He said that Jesus was the transforming friendship of life. It would seem that in order to know that kind of transforming friendship, you have to build a relationship. 

I recently read an article in the Christian Century about the Taizé community in southern France. Thousands of young adults come from all over Europe in a steady stream to spend a week at Taizé each year. The appeal crosses denominational and confessional lines. What they find at Taizé is haunting music, lots of silence, meditative chants. There is nothing fancy, nothing postmodern, nothing complex. There are no theological arguments or issues. They learn that the purpose of Taizé is “to establish community with Christ” and “to listen to the Christ who whispers in our hearts.”[iii] In other words, to build a relationship, to build a friendship. However halting, however feeble, build that friendship! What kind of priority do you give to building a relationship in your own life? 

PRACTICE WHAT YOU KNOW 

Secondly, you practice what you know to be essential. That means some immersion in the Scriptures, which are the stories of our faith. It means some times of prayer and meditation—something that is increasingly difficult to find in the present age. It means some action that is Christ-like in the world. Immerse yourself in some sacrifice of time and energy to practice your faith. 

In one place in the Book of Acts, the Scripture says “Jesus was one who went about doing good.” (Acts 10:38) For us that means simply to live up to the highest and the best that we know. 

During the latest revision of the questions that I ask the new members, we began using this question this past fall. The final question had always been this, “Will you support the church with your prayers, presence, gifts, and service?” I still think that’s important, but I have revised the question to read this way: “Will you do all in your power to connect with God, to grow in your faith, to give as God makes possible through you, and to serve in some significant way?” I hope the import of the question is, “This is the way God hopes you and I can live out our days.” Practice, practice, practice! 

Here in this congregation we have several ways of helping you do this. The primary ones right now are the CBS groups. CBS stands for care, Bible and service. In addition, there are some Emmaus reunion groups and some covenant discipleship groups, which essentially serve the same end. I happen to belong to all three groups. I need a lot of help. I need a lot of practice. 

We offer you a small group connection to practice being a Christian. If you are ready, you can sign up for a CBS group today and we will connect you within a week or two. 

Some churches want you to sign a faith statement. Some churches want you to subscribe to a creed: “This is what you must believe to belong here.” Sort of like the sign I saw recently that said, “A man’s best friend is his dogma.” 

Michael Riddell writes,

Faith in Christ has often been reduced to a set of propositions… This is about as far away from the story of Jesus of Nazareth as it is possible to get. 

We do not place a strong emphasis upon creeds in this church. Creeds can sometimes seem dry and dusty in a digital age. Yes, creeds are helpful. They are part of our tradition. And creeds keep you in touch with your faith story. But Jesus did not put much emphasis on creeds. Rather, he called us to discipleship; he called us to follower-ship! 

So if you believe that Jesus is somehow at the center of it all, welcome. If you are trying to make Jesus the center of your life, welcome. But start with some practicing. I need to keep practicing. I need to explore new ways of practicing. I need to be challenged to practice more deeply and more regularly. I need to be a practicing Christian. And so do you.  

I call you this week to build that relationship with Jesus. And I call you to practice, practice, practice—the highest and the best that you know from Him.