Call it ridiculous, even utterly absurd. Excuse the redundancy, please.
Surely such a far-fetched proposal, however, deserves all the adjectives that appear to fit.
One might even call it a crazy idea that has no bearing in our current reality.
Please hear me out, however, even if it sounds completely foolish. While it is likely a wild impossibility, it hard to keep out of mind.
Though I should know better, here it goes.
What if professing to be Christian meant primarily — even overwhelmingly — seeking to follow Jesus?
No, it doesn’t fit within modern American culture very well — even, or especially, within a large segment of Americanized Christianity.
Hence the various definitions of Christianity that have overtaken the call to see and seek life as Jesus calls his followers to live.
This ridiculous idea is to not merely “believe in Jesus” — or “accept him” as one’s “personal savior.” But the guts of the Gospels that call for faithfully following Jesus by seeking to live according to his example and teachings.
It is the foolish thought that being disciples means living in the ways Jesus taught his first and all disciples — through self-denial, inclusive love and standing up for justice in the face of ongoing abuses. Seeking out the suffering and meeting their needs at one’s own expense.
Yes, it sounds ludicrous, I know, in comparison to ignoring what Jesus said and did in favor of some more attractive, human rending of a “biblical worldview” or “Christian worldview” that affirms favoritism and excuses hatred and hostilities toward those unlike oneself.
If not impossible, it would require accepting the nonsensical notion that truth sets one free — rather than consuming ear-tickling disinformation from sources that lie more than the devil.
Perhaps it is wasteful of time and space to even suggest that seeking to follow Jesus deserves serious consideration by American Christians.
It has been and continues to be easily dismissed as having no relevance for today when there are more attractive identity options available that make one feel special and secure.
Quick reactions to this far-fetched idea are likely a mix of defensiveness and dismissal.
I can hear it already, “But that’s what we’re doing.”
Yet reality suggests otherwise. However, Jesus still calls for disciples to bring about a different kind of world than what’s offered by the empire or any other human source.
Jesus both simplified and complicated matters of discipleship when he stated clearly that the greatest and all-encompassing commandment is the two-fold call to love God fully and our neighbors broadly.
No, “if, and or buts.” But to many, Jesus’ words are considered too soft, even naïve.
His dual commandments are simple to understand. They are complicated in that they contrast with how privileged people seek to live while retaining a Christian identity.
Yet all of this wildly speculative consideration leads a very telling question:
Why are there so many churches and so many professing Christians in the US today yet so few followers of Jesus?
One can deny it, deflect from it and even dismiss it.
But the question lingers — and the invitation to follow Jesus remains open.
John D. Pierce is director of the Jesus Worldview Initiative (jesusworldview.org), part of Belmont University’s Rev. Charlie Curb Center for Faith Leadership. Details coming soon for the Jesus Worldview Conference in Nashville October 12-13, 2026.