Reason #5: Discipleship Should Cost You

Many don't want to be public with their Inclusive beliefs for fear of repercussion, backlash, and loss of money. But following Jesus IS a costly endeavor, right?

This is reason five of ten in my efforts to convince silently affirming pastors, leaders, and influences to come out of the theological closet and be clear in their inclusive theology.

Here’s why I’m writing these.

---

Reason #5 - Discipleship Should Cost You

This is another potentially awkward and clunky reason to sort through, so hang with me and let’s see how it goes.

I was tempted to title this, “Because It’s What Jesus Would Do,” but,

A) that kind of reductionistic thinking usually annoys me, so I’d rather not employ it myself; and

2) I’m guessing that if you already thought like that then you’d have gone public by now.

To say that differently, I trust you that you’re trying to live out your faith in the Way of Jesus as best you can. I think you’re a good person who’s not out here lying, manipulating, or pretending to be a Christian just so you can have a job.

I’ll assume that when it comes down to it you probably do live your life more or less according to the mantra, WWJD.

Cool? Cool.

Okay then, so what do I mean by, “Discipleship Should Cost You?”

Either we have forgotten, or we just don’t care enough, that Jesus and his earliest disciples were not people of means.

The Way of Jesus was not all that interested in improving the economic or social lives of its adherents—with the exception being those who suffered at the bottom of such social and economic hierarchies of course. The Way of Jesus very much correlated with lifting up the weak, feeding the hungry, caring for the poor, etc.

But in terms of mapping on to something like American capitalistic interests, where we subconsciously (at best, because it’s often very, very conscious) live our lives in pursuit of constantly going up and to the right, the Way of Jesus seems counter to such aspirations.

We know this, right?

I’m gonna take a risk here because it can feel a tad patronizing, but in all honesty when is the last time you legit sat with the following words of Jesus? Like, how else are we to understand teachings such as:

• “Blessed are you who are poor, for yours is the kingdom of God.” (Luke 6:20)

• “Watch out! Be on your guard against all kinds of greed; life does not consist in an abundance of possessions.” (Luke 12:15)

• “No one can serve two masters. Either you will hate the one and love the other, or you will be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve both God and money” (Matthew 6:24)

• “Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or drink; or about your body, what you will wear. Is not life more than food, and the body more than clothes?” (Matthew 6:25).

• “Therefore, don't worry and say, ‘What are we going to eat?' or ‘What are we going to drink?' or ‘What are we going to wear?'… Your heavenly Father knows that you need them. Instead, desire first and foremost God's kingdom and God's righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well.” (Matthew 6:31-34)

And then perhaps the most damning to an overly American, capitalistic, materialist way-of-life,

• "What does it profit a man to gain the whole world and lose his soul?" (Mark 8:36)

• “For whoever wants to save their life will lose it, but whoever loses their life for me will find it.” (Matthew 16:25)

Now, in the same way that I don’t suspect you’ll be moved by the whole “WWJD” thing, I also don’t anticipate any of those verses above chipping away at the silence of your convictions. Because again, if they would have then they probably already would have.

You know those verses as well as I do.

You’ve preached them. You’ve used them to defend certain positions when it’s convenient (I know I have).

Yet familiarity has a way of breeding dismissibility, especially when it comes to us pastors.

So let me rephrase some of those ideas above and ask: When is the last time you’ve genuinely sat with the following considerations?

• It’s okay if I lose everything—Jesus seemed to think such loss is a requirement anyway.

• It’s okay if I become poorer—I can’t serve two masters anyway.

• It’s okay if I have to start freaking out and worrying about what I’ll eat and drink, and how I’ll pay my rent, for life is more than those things. Plus, Jesus seemed to think that God will take care of me if I seek first his Kingdom anyway.

Before you resent me too much I will point out that I’ve written previously how some pastors stay quiet on this issue not just because they fear for their own loss of job/income, but because they worry it might cost other people their livelihoods.

There is a nobility to that reasoning that I don’t want to dismiss. One could even argue that a pastor who makes such choices driven by their protective posture toward those on their staff is, in a way, holding the burden and paying a cost. They personally live out of alignment (which is a drain on the soul) for the sake of hopefully preventing the suffering of people and families they care about.

But I can’t help but think that even if that is a noble pursuit (for a time, perhaps), it feels more like a stretch of a rationalization to avoid doing a hard thing.

Why go public with your affirming beliefs?

Because best case scenario you now become a kick-ass Ally and it doesn’t actually uproot your livelihood like you’re afraid it might. Or, even it it does significantly and negatively impact your income/job, it is still a kind of “best-case-scenario” because now you get to implement some of the hardest practices and principles of what it means to be a disciple of Jesus.

Discipleship is a costly endeavor, and yet so often too many of us resist paying any kind of cost at all.

---

What do you think?

Does this reason have merit? Do you agree with it? Why/why not?

What would you add to this?

Feel free to share publicly (via comments) or privately (via sending me a message).

---

Help Spread the Word

If you’re like me, and you believe more people need to come out of the theological closet and be clear and public in their affirmation of LGBTQ people, then help spread the word by sharing this article either directly by emailing your people, and/or posting on social media about it.

Let’s get this in front of the eyes that need to see it!