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 I am not an old man, nor am I young. I live on the cusp of elderliness, not old enough to collect Social Security, but close enough to look forward to the benefits. It is that time of life when many of my friends have retired, some of them are wealthy, they are enjoying the "everyday is Saturday" life. There is an attraction to living in a way that releases one from the pressure to be productive, to succeed, to still need to sell others on what you are doing. There is something peaceful about not risking failure. And then there are the airplanes, yes tomorrow I'm off to Cleveland, I have nothing against Cleveland, its just not home.

Who could say no to the statement that we ought “to teach people to obey everything Christ commanded?” There is wide spread agreement that we ought to do it, but many believe that we can’t really do that, we are not setup to do it. What it involves is apprenticeship and submission. Our church systems are built on profession of belief, but often we do not believe what we profess. The church systems we have set up protect those who profess from the intrusion of discipleship. We say it is ok to be a part of our churches without a requirement to follow Jesus. Again because our gospel requires nothing of its recipients.

I keep returning to this question that is at the heart of all Christian thought and mission. If the church took over the world, what kind of world would it be? Would it be any different than other periods of Christendom in Western Civilization?

I shed a few tears earlier this week when I heard of the death of Oral Roberts. The tears were not about his death, but his life. I rejoice for this magnetic man who will now spend Christmas with his beloved wife Evelyn who preceded him in death. He has not only joined her in the unadulterated presence of God, but he now sings the song of praise to Him who alone deserves all the praise. Everyone seemed surprised that I chose to go to ORU in the fall of 1967. I was coming off a great career at Northeastern A&M Junior College in Miami, Oklahoma. I had my pick of most of the major basketball programs in that region of the country, but I chose ORU because of the influence of a friend.

Mark Twain said that reading makes an informed man, speaking at articulate man and writing an exact man. The following are the books I read in 2009, at least the ones I can remember. I have ranked them 1-10 with 10 being best. 

During the few years that Dietrich Bonhoeffer was a lecturer at the University of Berlin he would simply announce his intention to do a lecture series. I think this is a fine idea and so I announce to you my winter lecture series entitled CHRISTLIKE. You might wonder who would attend the lecture series since most of you reading this have never met me and don't live near me. There will be some real human beings present at the lecture site, they will have a textbook, my new work CHRISTLIKE, The pursuit of uncomplicated obedience in hand. But the vast majority of you who choose to attend will do so via a podcast. In early spring you will see the seven part series appear on our website, BillHull.net or Choosethelife.com. You will be able to download it, buy a book and listen.

My prayer list is growing with the names of sick friends. It takes me a good while to make my way through them, several with cancer, others in some kind of physical distress. My oldest son is ill and we are working with doctors to find the problem. I feel a natural impulse to put them first in my prayers and to spend the most time on their cases. It is that same impulse that dominated the church prayer services I have led over the years. If you are ill, or someone close to you is in danger, you want to pray for them, again,and again. But I would like to put in a word for praying for the well, they are much neglected.

The root problem of the forgiveness-only gospel is that it tends to create Christians who don’t feel the need to follow Christ. This gospel tends to teach that entrance into salvation is the finish line; the great moment is over. Game, set, match. All future effort or work for Christ and his church is optional. It is great if you can do it, but it’s 

At the heart of the discussion about discipleship is the definition of faith. Dietrich Bonhoeffer defined faith as obedience-only the obedient believe and only those those who believe are obedient. The idea that faith is only real in obedience is simple yet profound. It is also an inescapable truth, for obedience is the only evidence that someone has believed. When faith in Christ is taught as discipleship, it becomes a faith that will raise the church from its deathbed. If you think by discipleship I mean participation in a program in a church, then you have a very programmic view of discipleship. We have made small what God meant to be big. The life of discipleship is apprenticeship to Christ for all of our lives.

The formation of Christ in a follower is a lifelong process. Life contin- ues to amaze, challenge, and mostly surprise every person. One of the great surprises is how thin the veil between good and evil and that it remains thin all of our lives. The crux of spiritual formation is that it is not primarily about 

If the church in Uganda, Rwanda, China, the Ukraine and the other "Stans" are so good-and the church in North America is so bad-why do the good churches keep inviting the bad churches to teach them? A cynic might suggest they want relationship with American Christians in order to benefit financially. Most novices in teaching in the developing world tend to lionize the spiritual lives of the impoverished. "Oh, they are so happy in their ragged clothes sitting on dirt floors, they have the joy of the Lord."  They go on to say, " I'm just not that deep spiritually, I could never make it work if I were in their shoes." Could it be that they are not that good and we are not that bad?

I suppose the first thing to say is that Christians have been in charge. Jimmy Carter, Bush I and II, Ronald Reagan and Bill Clinton were professing Christians. The degree to which they practiced their beliefs has been debated. Each brought his own kind of change to the world, but it must be  admitted that not much of it has stuck. Even if each of them were devout , living an exemplary personal life, it can be argued from this that a private spirituality is not capable of changing the world. For justice, peace and love to reign it would require systemic change. Many would rather put their money on Bill and Melinda Gates foundation that addresses cultural problems in needy countries.

Wasn't it Clive Staples Lewis who advised, " When you are tempted to read a new book, reach for an old one." I read a lot, too much really. I have read hundreds of biographies in the last decade, everything from Joe Namath to Albert Camus, John Stott and John Steinbeck, Frank McCourt  and of course several on Mr. Lewis himself. I find these books chalked full of stories and ideas I want to remember, the marked up books and my own catalogue system is proof.

When one surveys the church scene world wide, it is the American church that is now the mission field. The church in Africa and Asia(yes, even in China) are where efforts to make disciples are now most serious.The energy of church leaders must be turned toward enlisting younger men and women into apprenticeship to Christ. This assumes that existing leaders are living in such a way as to be good examples to the flock.

The contemporary church has reduced the gospel and hollowed out a new disciple’s natural response to the gospel, which is to follow Jesus and build his or her life around his practices. Receiving Christ is the starting line, not the finish line. It means “game on.” What did salvation cost Jesus? His life! What does it cost me?

Teacher to the Nations “I will give you shepherds after my own heart, who will feed you with knowledge and understanding.”  Jeremiah 3:15 My friend, Dallas Willard, writes in his new book, 

I am a teacher. I spend pretty much all my time writing, speaking, reading, and learning.  I hear daily from readers who have questions, challenges, or simply want to say thank you. That is gratifying, but days can go by when I don't feel like I have taught anyone something that matters. But then there is my 7 year old grandson James......He has a wonderful disposition, he is loving and affectionate. A dare devil he is not-he doesn't like noise, speed, heights,-he needs to be nudged. He owns a bright red bike, he has had it for two years and it has never been ridden. Last week I had him for the day, I made up my mind that this is the day James will ride his bike. We had taken off the pedals so he could learn to balance with his feet and get acquainted with guiding the bike.

The reason the Christian faith has not transformed American culture is that it has not significantly transformed the majority of Christians. The American church has taught a gospel that most often has been unaccompanied by discipleship.When the gospel loses discipleship, it loses the permission and the ability to teach people deeply. This eliminates the process Jesus commanded, “ teach them to obey everything I have commanded you.” The teaching Jesus commanded is applied in three ways in local ministry, philosophy, program and curriculum.  Philosophy is the biblical understanding, program is the infrastructure , and curriculum is the content of what is taught.

I collapsed in laughter this morning when I saw the picture on page one of the newspaper. I live in Long Beach, California, home of the Queen Mary. The great ship sailed the oceans regally for many a year, it carried the world's elite and during World War II it carried troops. In 1969 the grand old ship was retired to Long Beach. It is now a tourist attraction, not a really good one, but it continues to draw patrons from around the world. I have been out to the ship a few times, it has restaurants, a beautiful hotel, and an interesting tour if you like the musk of a once majestic lady. -What caused me to spew my coffee was the picture of a fine gentleman in a Naval Officer's uniform, he was the current Captain of the Queen Mary. That is right, the Captain of a ship that never sails.

I am on a sabbatical,  I granted it to myself, in forty years of work this is the first time I have tried it. I decided I would work a half-day and the rest of the day was sabbatical. The reason for this is that I don't think I am able not to do some work most days, I just can't take it. I am better at not working on weekends, but Monday -Friday my insides gnaw at me if I am not producing. This is why I am such a good candidate for a Sabbatical, it reveals so much about me. A sense of wasted time overwhelms me, this is particularly acute when one pasts sixty-there ain't that much time left. Unless you actually believe that eternal life begins when you start following Jesus and then continues forever.