THE TWELVE LIES DISCUSSED in this book are the core beliefs that keep the idol of white American folk religion in place. These lies dominate dinner conversations and induce anxiety and stress during the holidays. These twelve underlying assumptions keep critique at bay, shush dissonance, and lead to the destruction of our planet and the death of people who are downstream of our misuse of wealth and power.
Fortunately, there is a space for prayerful, sustainable resistance and emotionally healthy activism that includes community and freedom through full adoption into the family of Jesus. It must be said that if we decide to follow the Jesus of Scripture and live differently, we will stand out and be opposed. After all, Jesus promises persecution for his disciples (Mark 10:30), and Paul warns, “Woe to you when everyone speaks well of you” (Luke 6:26 NIV). Family members, friends, our community, and American Christian culture will ask questions, and some will push back to varying degrees. Few will question our desire to build a bigger home, move to a safer neighborhood, or pursue higher pay for the sake of comfort, stability, and security because it is consistent with the WAFR and the culture they know. But we are called by God to bear witness to his kingdom, not our culture or country.
In Luke 9 Jesus calls us to take up our cross daily, deny ourselves, and follow him. Therefore, it is not radical or drastic to confront these twelve lies, remain prayerfully resistant, and obey our good shepherd in word, deed, and power. This is what it means to be a disciple and follower of Jesus.
Jesus paid the ultimate price for resisting the cultures of the day, as did many of his apostles and many martyrs yet today. Jesus invites us, just as he did the first disciples, to put down our nets and pursue a life with him (Luke 5). This invitation and the Great Commission have not changed.
Leaving your nets to follow Jesus requires childlike faith. You might wonder, What do I do now? I’ve asked that question as well. And if everyone who flipped through these pages took the same three action steps, we would be missing the point. Following Jesus is about engaging the messiness of this world with the beauty of the risen King, not creating structures to avoid feelings of discomfort, powerlessness, and uncertainty.
Every Christian has access to the living God, and can hear from him and respond to him. Every person is made in the image of God to flourish, work, rule, and create. And through Christ we can receive healing and freedom, and then reflect that shalom in community and bear witness to him. So my sincere desire is that like Peter, after you have already fished, you would push your boat out to deep water to fish again at a time of day that makes no sense. That you would be faithful and obedient because Jesus isn’t just Savior but Lord. And then, sitting in the presence of God, filled with the Spirit, wait and see the cross he has for you to bear.
My longing is for you, individually and in community, to have an encounter with Christ that leads you, like Isaiah, to confession, repentance, cleansing, and sending—over and over again. My deep hope is that you would fast like Esther and mourn like Mordecai when you hear of the vulnerable being violated, and go to the king like Nehemiah because your city must be restored.
Remember that Peter did not put down his nets because he received a detailed proposal of what the kingdom of God was offering in comparison to the business plan of the Pharisees and Romans. He left his job because he found abundant life. Peter decided to stop trusting what he could see and put faith in a kingdom that had not yet come because Jesus showed up. Deep down, he longed for the liberation of the Jewish people from the oppression of Rome. Peter and the Jewish people of the day were looking for a Messiah to lead them in political liberation. Ultimately, though, he was given a freedom that neither the religious authorities nor the Caesars could take away.
When he left his boat, Peter did not know his mother-in-law would be healed of a fever by Christ. He did not know that Lazarus would be raised from the dead. And he certainly didn’t know that he too would cast out demons and heal the sick. Yet he still put down his nets to learn from and live with Jesus.
I don’t know what God has in store for you when you turn away from pursuing comfort, stability, and security to ground your identity in the family of Jesus. But I do know he will be with you and you will lack nothing.
I don’t know what will happen when you confront the racism, sexism, and classism in your family, peer group, and community (after you confess it in your own heart). But I do know that he will never leave or forsake you. I don’t know what will happen when you show up to work and realize God is calling you to reflect shalom on the base, at the precinct, in the classroom, behind the steering wheel, or in your cubicle. I don’t know what you should do when you step into the ballot box or open the door to your pastor’s office to talk about your holy discontent with how the church is responding to sexual assault and gender violence in your faith community. But I do know that Jesus will be with you, and your success is not measured by the healing of every person you pray for, the baptism of every person you preach to, or the passing of every law you push for. It will be in your faithful obedience as his witness in every corner of creation.
So, will you put down your nets? Not because you know what’s going to happen but because Jesus is Lord, our God is good, and the Holy Spirit is within you.