Influencers or Imitators – Is there a difference?

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I appeal to you, then, be imitators of me. I Cor 4:16

Be imitators of me, as I am of Christ. I Cor 11:1

What made you decide on that particular shirt, perfume, or any other item you purchased? Chances are, a social influencer may have played a role in your purchase. Names such as Cristiano Ronaldo with 517 million total followers, Justin Bieber with 455 million followers, and Ariana Grande with 429 million followers are among the top influencers.

Even though the millennial generation dominates the top influencers, Baby Boomers to Gen Z generation have a presence among influencers. 18-year-old TikTok influencer Charli D’Amelio’s earnings exceed the median pay for execs at Fortune 500 companies. The average age of the top 50 influencers is just over 37.

Exactly what is a social media influencer? Merriam-Webster added the word “influencer” to their 2019 dictionary. An influencer is “a person who is able to generate interest in something (such as a consumer product) by posting about it on social media.”  Social media has become the primary platform for today’s cultural influencers. Even though the word, influencer is relatively new, the concept is as old as time.

Josiah Wedgwood is often considered an early-era influencer, dating back to 1760. Wedgwood was a potter and after he made a tea set for Queen Charlotte, the wife of King George III, he convinced her to allow him to promote his pottery with royal approval. Since Royalty was the ultimate “influencer” of the era, this allowed Wedgwood’s pottery to become the preferred pottery of the time.

Wedgwood did use his platform as “Potter to her Majesty” to focus on the abolition of slavery. Using his skills as a potter he created a Slave Medallion to bring public attention to the abolition cause.

Paul may not fit the stereotypical influencer of our day. However, he did use the ancient version of social media. He would write to the early churches, who then re-posted his letter to the other churches in the area. Most current influencers seek to influence action but few would ask to imitate them.

If an influencer seeks to generate interest in something, what does an imitator do? Imitators are people who copy the behavior or actions of another. We all influence decisions in one way or another but to imitate someone requires a deeper level of commitment and purpose. Paul boldly says, “be imitators of me, as I am of Christ” and it necessitates a lifestyle or convictions worthy of imitating. The real difference between an influencer and an imitator can be life-changing.

“Follow me as far as I follow Christ. Come up as close as you can to my example in those instances wherein I endeavor to copy after his pattern. Be my disciples, as far as I manifest myself to be a faithful minister and disciple of Christ, and no further. I would not have you be my disciples, but his.” –Matthew Henry

Imitators of Christ will always make a difference, one life at a time. Jim Denison recently shared the story about Alban, the first martyr in Britain. When your life is so focused on Jesus it is a life that calls out to be imitators of me, as I am of Christ, even to the point of death.

Alban lived in third-century Britain in the Roman city of Verulamium. One day he gave shelter to a Christian priest fleeing persecution. While protecting him, Alban was inspired by the priest’s faith and asked to be taught about Christianity. As a result, he came to faith in Christ.

When the authorities caught up with the priest, Alban’s newfound faith would not allow them to arrest him. Instead, he exchanged clothes with the priest and was arrested, allowing the priest to escape. Alban refused to renounce his beliefs, so the magistrate ordered that he should receive the punishment intended for the priest.

As a result, he was led out of Verulamium and up the hillside where he was beheaded, becoming the first Christian martyr in the British Isles.

Before his death, the executioner assigned to kill him became so impressed with his faith that he became a believer as well and refused to kill Alban. The executioner was then executed, becoming the second Christian martyr in Britain.

The third was the priest. When he learned that Alban had been arrested in his place, he hurried to the court in hopes of saving Alban by turning himself in. He was then martyred as well. The place of their deaths is near the site of St Alban’s Cathedral today.

Imitators or influencers? The choice is pretty clear which will make a difference for today and eternity.

Influencers promote products and lifestyles. Imitators live a life that points people to Jesus. Phil 3:17-21

Influencers’ status depends upon the current trend. Imitators reject superficial trends holding to a faith found through the ages “looking to Jesus the pioneer and perfecter of our faith.”  Hebrews 12:1-2

Influencers use their platform for personal gain. Imitators seek to live life without selfish ambition or conceit. Philippians 2:3-8

Influencers can twist truth. Imitators speak truth in love. Ephesians 4:15

Influencers hide behind a mask of impersonal relationships through their social media platform. Imitators live with unveiled faces being transformed, living life in relationships. 2 Corinthians 3:18

Influencers seldom face death for their post. From the beginning, imitators of Christ knew their life choice brought them into conflict with the world, even to the point of death. John 15:18-20

Social media influencers will have an impact, money, and notoriety but only for a brief moment. The one who seeks to be an imitator of Christ may not have millions of followers on Instagram, TikTok, or YouTube, nor command $400,000 per post. However, what an imitator of Christ has will be of eternal significance. Now that is an influence that is desperately needed in our current culture that makes a difference!

God is great.

 

Where’s Dad?

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Fathers, do not provoke your children to anger by the way you treat them. Rather, bring them up with the discipline and instruction that comes from the Lord. Ephesians 6:4 NLT

The years have not faded the vivid, exciting, and life-changing memory of holding my first-born son after his birth. There was an overwhelming joy and raw emotion as I cradled this tiny body in my arms. These same feelings would be duplicated twice again with my daughters’ births. Fatherhood! Questions flooding my mind: Will I be a good father? What if I get it wrong? Yet trusting in God’s grace and help to be a father.  Perfect? Far from it. Mistakes enough to go to the moon and back.

Sunday marked Father’s Day in America. As we celebrate Father’s Day every year, it draws attention to the role of the Father in our families and society. This is a role that is changing rapidly since the nation’s first Father’s Day on June 19, 1910.

Unfortunately, according to the U.S. Census Bureau, 1 in 4 children live without a biological, step, or adoptive father in the home.  I use the word unfortunate since research shows that a father’s absence affects children in numerous ways according to the National Fatherhood Initiative.

A 2019 study by the Pew Research Center showed that the United States has the world’s highest rate of children living in single-parent households out of 130 countries and territories. It is hard enough to be a two-parent household so the challenges and burdens for single-parent homes are greatly multiplied.

It takes only minutes to read daily about the world’s influence on our children’s lives. According to The Center for Family Justice, 1 in 3 girls and 1 in 7 boys will be sexually assaulted by the time they reach 18; more than four children die each day because of child abuse and approximately 70% of children that die from abuse are under the age of four. Just this past week, an Illinois man was charged with the murders of his three young children, ages 5, 3, and 2.

An article in the Atlantic Magazine titled “The One Parenting Decision That Really Matters” lists numerous factors on successful parenting but the bottom line comes down to where you raise your child. In essence:  Location. Location. Location.

However, I would agree with the long-time pastor as well as father and grandfather James Emery White in his response to the article, “If all you care about is worldly accomplishment, then perhaps one factor might be where you raise your child. But if you run a bit deeper than that, and care about the spiritual formation of your child-values, beliefs, behaviors, faith—then it’s not about where you raise your child, but who you are as a parent as you raise your child.”

Professor Christian Smith from the University of Notre Dame just released the findings of a detailed research project on the importance of parents’ impact on the religious development of their children. In his book, Handing Down the Faith: How Parents Pass Their Religion on to the Next Generation, he details how parents are the most successful and influential part of their kids adopting the Christian faith compared to other influences.

Professor Smith writes; “Some readers might be surprised to know that the single most powerful causal influence on the religious lives of American teenagers and young adults is the religious lives of their parents.”  Not their peers, not the media, not their youth group leaders or clergy, not their religious school teachers.”

The research shows that no one has to be a super-Christian. Parents simply have to live out their faith consistently, honestly, and consciously to impact their children. Dr. Smith continues that in their findings that the “role of fathers is especially important in forming children religiously” adding “both parents matter a lot in faith transmission, but the role of fathers appears to be particularly crucial.”

Father’s Day might be a good time to read Paul’s letter to the church in Ephesus again but with a focus on the father part. In this letter, Paul gave men some challenging instructions on what it means to be a husband and father. A husband must love his wife just like Jesus did his church, even to the point of death. A father must love his children in a way that allows them to grow spiritually and emotionally healthy.

God set importance on the family structure to be a place where children are nurtured, taught, and equipped for life. “Parents are the greatest single evangelists for the gospel in the world and its greatest arena is the family.” (The Daily Citizen)

God’s worldview has always been greater than the size of our bank accounts, where we live, or the impact of our worldly influence. “Let each generation tell its children of your mighty acts; let them proclaim your power.” –Psalm 145:4

Lord, we need you. We need to become the fathers, mothers, and grandparents that will stand in the gap for the children of this world. We must pray against the darkness that seeks to destroy our children. We must pray that they will have tender hearts to hear your voice. May our children tell their children of your mighty acts because we were faithful in telling them of your mighty acts. Amen

God is great

 

 

Walk the Ancient Paths

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Thus says the LORD:

Stand at the crossroads, and look, and ask for the ancient paths, where the good way lies; and walk in it, and find rest for your souls.

But they said, “We will not walk in it.” –Jeremiah 6:16

Are there any crossroads you have been hesitant to take? If you are like most of us, then probably there have been many. Crossroads mandate a decision as to whether you go straight, left or right. Life presents us with crossroads that are business, political, philosophical, moral, and spiritual. Whichever crossroad you take will impact your life, occasionally for a moment, but often for a lifetime.

Psalm 23 takes you through the green pastures as well as the dark valleys, yet walking the ancient paths that God has laid out, guarantees his constant companionship. Rejecting God’s way will put you on a path moving further away from God and His ancient paths.

Israel had been given prophets and teachers to help them know God’s Word. Now as they stand at the crossroads all they have to do is “ask for the ancient paths, where the good way lies; and walk in it.” God is ready to walk with them. Unfortunately, as they stand at the crossroad, they reject the ancient paths. They would rather keep going in their ways that will take them further away from God.

Connie and I had the amazing opportunity last week to be part of a 10-day Journey of Paul through Athens, Corinth, Patmos, Ephesus, Philippi, and Thessalonica (Thessaloniki). Time has taken its toll on these places, leaving little more than archeological digs, scattered stones, and remnants. However, there is a strange sense of timelessness and excitement in each place recognizing that all of these were communities of faith that were built upon the ancient paths of God.

Walking the path leading to the unearthed theatre in Ephesus I can picture the angry mob led by Demetrius who has chosen the path of the goddess Artemis instead of the ancient path of God.

Walking the path to enter the cave on Patmos I can visualize John as he captures the words of Jesus to the Seven Churches in Asia Minor in the book of Revelation.

Walking the path that leads to the Areopagus (Mars Hill) in Athens I rejoice that Paul boldly proclaimed the one true God. I am humbled that these words spoken that day will become part of my faith ancestry.

Walking the path leading to the river in Philippi I feel the water where Lydia and her household were baptized as some of the first followers of Jesus in Europe.

Walking the path in front of the prison in Philippi where Paul and Silas were beaten and imprisoned, I am overwhelmed with the courage and peace they had to be able to worship and continue to preach the Gospel.

Though I came to faith long before I walked these sites, I experienced the joy and amazement of being connected to a great throne of saints who walked the ancient paths of Christ that I am now walking.  This journey on ancient paths reminds me that often our generational-centric pride that has captured much of the modern church forgets the deep and moving legacy of our faith family that has gone before us. J.I. Packer says well of the rich heritage of the church. “Tradition is the fruit of the Spirit’s teaching activity from the ages as God’s people have sought understanding of Scripture. It is not infallible, but neither is it negligible, and we impoverish ourselves if we disregard it.”

The ancient ways of the church often seem strange in our modern, contemporary church world.  Yet it is in these traditions, that God’s way has been passed down from one generation to the next. It is in this shared heritage that we can celebrate our faith, encourage us amid trouble, and strengthen us in our weakness.

The “others” who have gone before us on this ancient path give us the courage to stay on the course that God has laid out. Larry Woiwode writes that “There is rugged terrain ahead for those who are constitutionally incapable of referring to the paths marked out by wise and spirit-filled cartographers over the centuries.”

I left encouraged to have been able to walk these ancient streets of old, not simply as a tourist but as one sharing the common bond of faith with those who have gone before me. The pathway they walked was not always easy but they trusted God. It is on this ancient path that I now walk.

The people of Israel stood at the crossroads and chose to turn away from God. Each generation throughout history has stood at the crossroads and made a choice to ask for the ancient paths or turn away from God. The Bible is filled with evidence that the ancient paths are not archaic or inaccessible. Church history is filled with evidence that the ancient paths are not irrelevant. Church tradition is filled with evidence that Jesus Christ is worthy of worship. Now our generation is standing at the crossroads, will we ask for the ancient paths? Pray that we will say yes.

“Your word is a lamp to my feet and a light to my path.” — Psalm 119:105

God is great

Pentecost Sunday! What else would you come to expect from God who so loved the world?

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And I will ask the Father, and he will give you another Advocate, who will never leave you. He is the Holy Spirit, who leads into all truth. The world cannot receive him, because it isn’t looking for him and doesn’t recognize him. But you know him, because he lives with you now and later will be in you. John 14:16-17 (NLT)

One of the harder words to tell anybody is goodbye but telling someone you love goodbye can be gut-wrenching.  You say the words and you feel the emotions and grief deep down, even if the goodbye will be short-lived. I still feel the emotions of that morning in January 1983 when we said our goodbyes to family and friends at Will Rogers World Airport in Oklahoma City, walking down the breezeway knowing it would be almost five years before we would see everyone again. We had done our best to get ready for this day but when the moment came, all the preparation seemed to disappear and the tears came.

I could tell my aging parents that we would come back but I knew the separation would hurt. We would write regularly and keep them informed. We would pray for them daily. We would even send pictures of where we would be living. It wouldn’t be the same as being physically present but it would provide encouragement and comfort until we returned.

Jesus knew his departure was coming soon so he started preparing his followers for his goodbye. The Gospel of John records various exchanges between Jesus and his disciples about his role, their role, and the life ahead. Confusion, fear, doubt, and uncertainty marked the tone of his disciples. How could Jesus leave them? What will happen to them? Jesus gave them a promise that they wouldn’t be left behind.

Similar to a mother who reassures her little boy that she will come back for him, Jesus reassures His followers. “No, I will not abandon you as orphans.”  In all their confusion, knowing Jesus wouldn’t leave them made all the difference. Yes, the little boy left in the nursery doesn’t know when his mother will come back but even amid his tears, he believes she will come back for him.

How great the words must have been to the disciples when Jesus said, “I’m telling you these things while I’m still living with you. The Friend, the Holy Spirit whom the Father will send at my request, will make everything plain to you. He will remind you of all the things I have told you. I’m leaving you well and whole. That’s my parting gift to you. Peace. I don’t leave you the way you’re used to being left—feeling abandoned, bereft. So don’t be upset. Don’t be distraught.” –John 14:25-27 (The Message)

The days have passed quickly for the disciples since they watched Jesus’ death on the cross and then experienced the life-changing event of His resurrection. Lots of things have happened during these days since Jesus’ resurrection. Now the day came when they would hear Jesus tell them goodbye.

Over the years we have witnessed a lot of goodbyes at the airport – watched lots of airplanes taxi out to the runway for departure, stood at the window watching until the plane is no longer in sight. The disciples heard Jesus as he departed, “But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you…”—Acts 1:8a They had no clue as to what all this meant yet. What kind of power? They would be witnesses at home and to the ends of the earth. Sounds incredible!

Yesterday marked Pentecost Sunday commemorating and celebrating the promise Jesus gave to his disciples and us.  It was a day that empowered a ragtag bunch of men and women to become the church that would change the world.

“When the day of Pentecost had come, they were all together in one place. And suddenly from heaven there came a sound like the rush of a violent wind, and it filled the entire house where they were sitting. Divided tongues, as of fire, appeared among them, and a tongue rested on each of them. All of them were filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak in other languages, as the Spirit gave them ability. All were amazed and perplexed, saying to one another, “What does this mean?” –Acts 2:1-4,12

Pentecost Sunday reminds us that God is true to His Word. The day reminds us that nothing escapes His attention. At the end of their Pentecost Sunday, this little band of disciples who had been afraid of their shadows just a few days before now spoke with boldness and power.

The account in Acts 2 gives a list of the nations and peoples who experienced Pentecost firsthand. On that day they came to hear the Gospel in their heart language and 3,000 or so persons were added as followers of Jesus.  This first encounter birthed the unstoppable movement of God that is moving towards the day when Revelation 7:9 is fulfilled. “After this I looked, and there was a great multitude that no one could count, from every nation, from all tribes and peoples and languages, standing before the throne and before the Lamb, robed in white, with palm branches in their hands.”

Pentecost Sunday! What else would you come to expect from God who so loved the world?

God is great!