NOW! Living Bold – Entry 11: Push

Have you ever heard someone say, “That guy is leaning on the envelope!” Or have you heard the phrase, “You just have to lean into it to get through the tough times.” Or better yet, “He’s an alright guy, but he’s such a leaner.”

Whether you are prepared to admit it or not, I’m going to reveal something about all of us that will bring things into focus. We are leaners… not pushers. The word lean has connotations of weakness, tired, subordinate, passive, and lazy. The word push has connotations of strength, exertion, effort, action, and authority.

The picture that today’s church has painted of Jesus is one of gentle nature. We see this middle aged, white, Italian man with long flowing hair, white robe, and a lamb on his shoulders. We hang these in our churches and we accept this as Christ Jesus. We teach our children that this is Jesus. You wonder why men aren’t interested in following this guy? Did you know that men are bailing out of church congregations at a record pace?

The songs we sing in church talk about kissing Jesus on the cheek, leaning on Jesus, softly and tenderly, and many other songs that evoke a pretty soft view of faith and Christ Jesus in general. The Bible, God’s story, paints a completely different picture.

Christ Jesus was a carpenter by trade… hard work. He was smart… teaching the teachers by age 12. Christ quickly passed through all of the required, socially accepted, education to become a Rabbi by the age of 30… and He began His ministry. Christ experienced life as a man so we would not have any excuses… He showed us how to get the job done… and it wasn’t from just sitting around.

Christ Jesus did not have a lot of time to sit around… lean on the wall… and wait for people to come to Him with questions. He had 3 years to complete His work… He had to push. Jesus pushed on the established religion and the leaders, calling them sons of hell. He challenged the authority of complacency and man’s bastardized version of God’s story. Jesus called people names that in today’s vernacular would have equated to a few 4 letter words… really.

The idea that faith is something you attain by sitting around and leaning on the wall is not only wrong, it’s dangerous. There are millions sitting in their seats right now who think they’ve got it all taken care of. They heard a sermon, they said to themselves, “I can dig that”, and prayed a short prayer with the preacher… and nothing more.

Hmm, I see a problem with that. Do you?

Living Bold is pushing through. Living Bold is being authentic. Living Bold is admitting that you don’t have it all figured out, but you sure as hell are going to die trying. Living Bold is not just an attitude or a cool saying on a T-shirt. Living Bold is action.

Mental bubble gum:
Christians are programmed to be leaners. Christ Jesus was a pusher. Who are we emulating?

You accomplish Bold Living by standing up for your faith regardless the cost. In fact, what are you going to sacrifice to make this step?

I want to encourage you to stand up and take the first step. Push your faith out of the comfort zone. Stop leaning on the wall… turn around… put your hands on it… dig in your heels… and start pushing. You won’t be able to push it down alone, you need more pushers. Go get some. And together, start pushing on the wall. If you still can’t take it down… go get some more pushers… and repeat until you tear down the wall with sheer manpower.

We have all types of walls in our lives. We have walls that keep us out of faithful living. We have walls that keep us prisoners of addiction and shame. We have walls that separate us from society, culture, and “ugliness”. Here’s the pitiful part… we built the wall.

Stop blaming God for boxing you in, boxing you out, or separating you from joy. Stop blaming God for the circumstances you are in after you make bad decision. Defend God and your faith when you hear someone tell you that “God did this to me!” That is load of crap that disgusts me. Living Bold means you don’t blame other people for the bad decisions you’ve made.

Our communities are trapped and separated from each other because of their walls. Our job is to round up the crew and start pushing those walls down.

Push = effort. It won’t be easy… you cannot do this alone… you are not strong enough.

Live Bold is inviting and encouraging you to gather your brothers in your community. Forget denominations. Forget religion. Focus on faith. Men… we need you to come together and start the march in your home and in your community. It doesn’t mean grabbing bullhorns and brochures and pushing people around about faith… that has never worked… and it never will.

Are you up for it? Can you accomplish this task? Are you willing to stop leaning and start pushing? Here’s a little secret that will help: When you start pushing… others will rise up and help push along with you… you won’t even have to ask… they will ask you if they can help.

Living Bold is more than an attitude, it’s an action. More important than rallying people and building another “nation of faith”, Living Bold is about building your faith.

The push starts with action. Grab a buddy and start gathering once per week somewhere. Build each other up. You don’t have to talk about your secret desire to sew… just be there. It will evolve into talking about your faith victories and defeats. Then grab a few more guys you can trust. When you get enough, take on a project. Give yourselves a goal, a task, something worthwhile… and pray… pray… pray.

Tough guys pushed against culture and society and built the Church that Jesus established … and we’ve turned around and filled the church buildings with a bunch of leaners.

How do we sustain a bold faith and how do we Push? I’ll tell you in the final entry: Act.

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(You are reading the blog series by Live Bold. This is a living, unedited book being written in the wide open. Follow along. If you’re getting here late, go back to the archives under the LB NOW category and start reading. Each entry is numbered in sequence. Comments are welcome and some will end up in the final published book. May God’s hand be in all we do here at Live Bold.)

About

Welcome, and thanks for dragging yourself over to Live|Bold! My name is Greg Arnold and I am pumped to see you here. This interactive online community is here to point every man toward the cross. Whether you have been a follower of Christ for ages, or you are just stumbling into this strange new world of faith, we have something of value to offer you. This online e-zine is a cross between a blog, a social network, a resource center, and a pulpit. My hope is to inspire you to live your faith on the outside and be a real man for God. We need you in the fight.