Simply Christian Week One - Introduction

I was sitting on the back porch of a rented vacation home during the week of our United Methodist Annual Conference this week when I picked up N.T. Wright’s book, Simply Christian. I was struck by the irony of the moment. Here is a book that tries to make sense of Christianity while about 150 feet from me, men and women from western Ohio were praying, voting, worshipping and electing in “sessions of the church.” I was trying to figure out what the neighbor who didn’t rent his house out for the week thinks about this Annual Conference and even deeper about this thing called “Christianity.”

In Wright’s introduction he states that his aim of the text is “to describe what Christianity is all about.” A simple task. Or is it really?

I want to make us use our minds a little bit today and I ask you to clear from your answer slate any answer that has been given to you over the years that you don’t really believe or live yourself. Because there are neighbors who are sitting in the room next to us who are desperate to know, “what is this Christianity thing all about”.

So, how would you respond? What is Christianity all about?



When I started thinking about it, I began to put down things in a list of what makes a Christian a Christian. I had on there things like church, giving, missions, etc. as these seem to be expressions of my faith. But what lies behind those? What are the values that make a Christ-follower genuine? I think we would need to add some artistic language instead of just concrete, measurable statements. Words like “hope” and “joy” and “relationship” may be used too.

Micah 6:8 states, “No, O people, the LORD has told you what is good, and this is what he requires of you: to do what is right, to love mercy, and to walk humbly with your God.”

I love this phrase because it appears on first glance to be describing activity of one who wants to follow God but if you look deeper, there are some deep heart issues to unpack.
“to do what is right” Surely, the prophet is telling the people of God to live the reality of God in their actions. He is saying that part of being Simply Christian is to have an understanding of what is the right way to live and then to act upon that understanding. In order to get here, one must be humble enough to admit that what is right is often what is most difficult. This also has an element of justice in it…naming a reality of God being a God of justice (see more in the next week’s lifeline and Chpts. 1 & 2). One question to think about for now (this is just the introduction ):
• How do my earthly decisions “right-en” things on earth?

“to love mercy” I adore this statement because it speaks directly to my heart. I cannot just DO mercy. I am asked to LOVE it. My heart should beat for mercy because my life has been caught up by God’s mercy for me. I am praying that God would grow in me a greater capacity to be a mercy-bearer to everyone I know.
• Am I growing in the amount of mercy I give those who don’t deserve it?

“to walk humbly” Could Christianity Made Simple be summed up in this statement? Would by neighbor be caught up with my love for God if I best illustrated my Christianity as a humble journey with God? Yes, we approach the throne with confidence. Yes, we know that we cannot be separated from the love of God. But, we also know that we take NO confidence in our flesh and that if anything good is from us, it has FIRST come down from the Father of Lights. The longer we walk with God, the more humble we become.
• How am I submitting my pride to God today?

This book is going to lead us down some pretty deep roads and I pray that you hang on through the whole summer.