Taking up the Cross (Luke 9:23-26) by Brian Gross

I am very motivated today to share with you what I learned from my time in the Word this morning and to introduce you to a close friend. I apologize for the delay in posting my blog...way too many responsibilities and demands here at bible.org as the Executive Director. Seriously, I have absolutely no complaints, just zillions of e-mails to answer!

Brian Gross is pastor who we have been trying to get to post on bible.org for a long time. You see, Brian is not your ordinary youth pastor that takes that job as a stepping stone to some “higher calling” as many youth pastors do. Brian is extremely talented, very smart, a serious student of the Word, church history, and theology…and he has a passion for reaching high school students for Christ and making all of the above relevant to a post modern generation. Now that is a tough assignment few are willing to tackle, much less make a career out of it! And I personally don’t know anyone who does it any better than Brian. Lord willing he will share more about how he tries to reach today’s teenagers.

Please take a look at Brian’s article titled “Taking up the Cross (Luke 9:23-26)”. There you where will find a very thought provoking audio message he shared from the pulpit at his church recently. It moved me deeply this morning as I reflected on this unique look at a very familiar passage form the vantage point of the early church and the martyr’s of church history. Brian has brought a unique perspective that I found interesting, thought provoking, and challenging.

Many of us live in a very comfortable world where we are far removed from those who “take up their cross daily” at great risk, literally at the risk of death. When was the last time I actually felt that standing firm in my faith in Christ might actually make me suffer in any appreciable way? When do I really even reflect upon the cost to be a fully devoted follower of Christ? What sacrifices am I willing to make to follow Christ…as Bill Hull says to “Believe as Jesus Believed”, to “Live as Jesus Lived”, to “Love as Jesus Loved”, to “Minister as Jesus Ministered”, and to “Lead as Jesus Lead”?

All I know is that many of us live lives that are too comfortable, too easy, and all too often all about us. We have our wants and desires and they often times rule supreme in the way we live, regardless of what we say about our faith and our “sacrifices”. I have a very close personal friend who lives with a small group of believers among the lowliest and poorest of people in the absolute heart of the deadliest part of the Middle East. Now they know what it means to “lay it all on the line”. As Brian has suggested, we need to pray for our brothers and sisters in Christ throughout the world who are truly today’s martyr’s, willing to die for their faith and to challenge each of us to follow Christ at all cost, whatever that means for each of us.

I think the very last few minutes of Brian’s message will make the whole thing worth the time to listen (don’t cheat and listen to the punch line…it will not have the impact without listening to all of his thoughts.) Thanks Brian for such a rich look into scripture, church history, and for making it so relevant today.

That’s today’s thoughts about life and ministry …from the Director’s Chair