Christianish

  I just finished Mark Steele's Christianish and loved the emphasis on work, on the slowness of a lifetime of discipleship.  Steele is open and honest about his own failings in his life--he never sets himself up above the reader as some sort of super-Christian whom we all need to emulate.  Instead, he honestly and openly expresses his desire to be a passionate disciple of Jesus Christ.  And he invites each of us into the challenge, too.  There are plenty of people who promise that a lifetime of discipleship will be easy, that the right prayer will bring you everything you ever wanted as a sign of God's favor shining upon you.  Steele doesn't buy into that, and I don't either.  The discipleship I read about in the Bible, the discipleship that Christ calls us into, is one of constant challenge and continual slow growth.  Christianish is a fine invitation into a lifetime of discipleship, and I appreciate Steele's efforts to challenge all Christians to raise their commitment and live a life of true and honest commitment, rather than the surface level that is so apparent in society.

The truth is, our Christianish path will only give way to following Christ when we determine that we are each willing to take the slower, more painful, more developmental approach to our daily life.  It comes when we are willing to go through the rough stuff for the purpose of being transformed. (p. 274)