Living the Way
Let’s stop pretending. “Christian” in America has become a brand—slapped on coffee mugs, weaponized in politics, used to sell books and build platforms. But the first followers of Jesus weren’t called Christians. They were called The Way. Why? Because in Jesus they saw the way back to God and the way forward into lives of real meaning, joy, and love. They weren’t protecting their “way of life” as they had known it. They weren’t protecting their reputations. They weren’t protecting their economic security or their nostalgia for “the way things used to be.” They weren’t protecting dysfunctional systems they knew, deep down, we're already failing them. They were living like people who had already died and risen again - the Way made for them by Jesus.
The Way wasn’t a spiritual hobby or a polite Sunday club. It was treason against Rome. It was blasphemy to the religious establishment. It was a flat-out declaration that Jesus is King—and legalistic Pharisaism, Caesar, money, status, nostalgia, and comfort are not.
And let’s be clear: what often passes for “Christian boldness” today is not The Way. Too often it’s just fear of losing our way of life disguised as courage—a cover for anger, nostalgia, and allegiance to power that divides, clings, and props up cultural tribes. That counterfeit boldness may look fiery, but it is hollow. That is not The Way. Resurrection boldness is cruciform. It doesn’t shout to hold power; it sings as it gives power away.
Make no mistake, walking The Way today—just like the early followers of Christ—will often get you mocked, beaten, unfollowed, labeled, and maybe even killed. It won't win you friends on the left or the right. But it is the only Way to truly live. And if you’re serious about following Jesus, and you’re looking for some straight talk about what The Way really looks like in this culture, here it is:
1. Living as Image-Bearers
We don’t reduce people to their productivity, their politics, or their internet
history.
Every unborn child, every refugee, every elderly widow, every felon, and
every addict is made in the image of God. The culture says some lives are
expendable. Resurrection people say: Not on our watch. And the image of God in each
one of us is not only about dignity—it’s also about vocation. To bear His image is
to be entrusted with creativity, responsibility, and authority to serve the common
good.
When we honor the image of God in ourselves and in others, we’re joining the
redemption of the Kingdom: cultivating justice, creating beauty, and building
communities where life can flourish. (Gen.
1:27)
Genesis 1:27
So God created mankind in his own image, in the image of God he created them; male and female he created them.
2. Allegiance to Christ
If your Christianity requires you to kiss the ring of a politician, pledge blind
loyalty to a party, defend your denomination at all costs, or put family, race,
or
culture above Christ, you’re worshiping Caesar in a new suit.
Jesus is Lord. Not
America. Not Trump. Not Biden. Not your denomination. Not your cultural tribe. Not
even your family name.
Our citizenship is in heaven, and if that makes us sound
disloyal to our “way of life,” so be it. (Phil.
3:20)
Philipians 3:20
But our citizenship is in heaven. And we eagerly await a Savior from there, the Lord Jesus Christ
3. Upside Down Power
We’ve turned pastors into influencers, husbands into tyrants, and leaders into
bullies.
That’s not power—it’s idolatry. Real power looks like a basin and towel.
The cross itself was “foolishness to the Greeks and a stumbling block to the Jews”
(1 Cor. 1:23), because it shattered every notion of strength they revered. True
leadership on The Way looks weak to the world, but it is the power of God.
If your
leadership doesn’t look like kneeling at someone’s dirty feet, it’s not leadership
on The Way. (Matt.
20:26–28)
Matthew 20:26–28
Not so with you. Instead, whoever wants to become great among you must be your servant, and whoever wants to be first must be your slave—just as the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many.
4. Community not Consumerism
Capitalism and consumerism teach us to treat church like a marketplace and
friendships, marriages, neighborhoods, even faith itself as disposable
products.
When the cost gets too high or the shine wears off, we’re taught to move on. The Way
resists that impulse. It calls us to covenant, not consumption—to commit, not just
consume. Church is not a brand. It’s not a weekend product. If you show up for the
music and leave when the preacher says something that offends you, you’re shopping,
not belonging.
The Way is family—sharing meals, selling possessions, carrying
burdens, opening doors to strangers. (Acts
2:44–45)
Acts 2:44-45
All the believers were together and had everything in common. They sold property and possessions to give to anyone who had need.
5. Costly Grace
Cancel culture isn’t just out there—it’s in the church. We cut people off, shame
them, bury them in gossip.
That’s not The Way. Resurrection people forgive the
unforgivable. We don’t cancel people—we restore them. We don’t hold grudges—we
release them. But grace is more than a warm feeling or a vague sentiment of “being
nice.” If it stops at sympathy, it’s cheap. True grace is an attitude of
encouragement and hope—it lifts the fallen, calls the weary forward, and believes
God can still redeem the broken.
If your grace only extends to people like you, it’s
not grace—it’s tribalism with a Jesus sticker. (Eph.
4:32)
Ephesians 4:32
Be kind and compassionate to one another, forgiving each other, just as in Christ God forgave you.
6. Rejecting the Success God
If your identity lives and dies by the size of your church, your bank account,
your
body image, or your Instagram following, you’re worshiping Mammon.
Hustle culture isn’t holy—it’s slavery. The success treadmill is exhausting, and it
never delivers
on the things that matter most—peace, joy, love, belonging. You run faster, but the
finish line keeps moving. On The Way, we don’t measure worth by “winning.” We
measure it by faithfulness, Sabbath rest, and generosity that sometimes makes no
financial sense.
We believe the things that last aren’t accumulated—they’re given,
received, and shared. (Matt.
16:26)
Matthew 16:26
What good will it be for someone to gain the whole world, yet forfeit their soul? Or what can anyone give in exchange for their soul?
7. The Cross is not Bling
The cross is not jewelry. It’s not a brand. It’s an execution device—and the
pattern
for your life.
Wearing a cross around your neck isn’t meant to be pretty; it
proclaims that God sacrificed His Son for us in the gruesome bloodbath we deserved.
It proclaims His glory, not ours. Anything less than that is heresy and cheapens
God’s love. Self-denial, sacrifice, suffering in response to His love and for the
sake of loving the world—that’s The Way.
If your faith has cost you nothing, you’re
not carrying a cross, you’re carrying a prop. (Luke
9:23)
Luke 9:23
Then he said to them all: "Whoever wants to be my disciple must deny themselves and take up their cross daily and follow me.
8. Fearless Hope
Turn on the news: fear sells.
Fear of losing your way of life. Fear of immigrants.
Fear of crime. Fear of decline. But resurrection people don’t cling to the old way
of life—we let it go because Jesus has promised a better Way. We don’t build our
lives on fear—we build them on hope. Fear builds walls. Hope opens doors. And hope
trusts that God provides manna for today. We don’t have to hoard tomorrow’s bread or
anxiously control a future we can’t master.
On The Way, we live in the present with
a present God who holds tomorrow in His hands. (2
Tim. 1:7; Matt.
6:34)
2 Timothy 1:7
For the Spirit God gave us does not make us timid, but gives us power, love and self-discipline.
Matthew 6:34
Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own.
9. Defying Death
If death has no sting, then why do we live like cowards?
Resurrection people are
willing to lose careers, reputations, and even lives for the victorious Christ and
His redemptive work. We speak up for the voiceless. We give until it hurts. We die
daily because we know death can’t touch us. And if death has already been defeated,
then every day we live is a chance to respond with lives that really matter in the
Kingdom. Courage means speaking the truth in love, not in arrogance. It means
carrying the Scriptures not like a blunt object to beat others down, but like Living
Water and the Bread of Life to a thirsty and starving world.
Our victory is not just
survival after death—it is a fearless life that witnesses to the reality of
resurrection now. (1 Cor.
15:55;
John
6:35)
1 Corinthians 15:55
"Where, O death, is your victory? Where, O death, is your sting?"
John 6:35
Then Jesus declared, "I am the bread of life. Whoever comes to me will never go hungry, and whoever believes in me will never be thirsty".
10. Hope in New Creation
Let’s stop worshiping the “good old days.”
Mayberry isn’t coming back. The 1950s
weren’t the Kingdom—they were Jim Crow, entrenched misogyny, and shallow cultural
religion. That’s not the new heavens and new earth. Yes, God IS making the
whole
world “great again,” but His end result will make the greatest worldly nations look
like a child’s dress-up game. Jesus is making all things new. Nostalgia is a drug
that makes us cling to the old way of life instead of embracing the new creation. Or
as C.S. Lewis put it, we are “fooling about with drink and sex and ambition when
infinite joy is offered us, like an ignorant child who wants to go on making mud
pies in a slum because he cannot imagine what is meant by the offer of a holiday at
the sea.”
Hope on The Way is a fire that makes us dangerous and will really change
the world. (Rev.
21:5)
Revelation 21:5
He who was seated on the throne said, "I am making everything new!" Then he said, "Write this down, for these words are trustworthy and true."
Dress for the Resurrection Way
Years ago, I gave my church leis and told them to imagine boarding a plane to Hawaii. Most people on that flight show up in shorts and flip-flops—they dress like they’re already at their destination. That’s resurrection life. On The Way, we live like paradise has already broken in, because in Christ, it has. Resurrection people can't wait to get there, but they carry the sweet aroma of Christ's victory every step of the way. Yes, the world will laugh. The barista may roll his or her eyes. The neighbor may call you naïve. The co-worker may think you’re nuts. But deep down, they’ll see something: joy that doesn’t quit, love that doesn’t make sense, hope that can’t be killed. And they’ll wish they were on that plane.
So, Christians: stop clinging to the old way of life. Stop decorating the departure gate as if you’ll never arrive. Put on your lei. Live like the Kingdom is real—because it is.
And ministry leaders: stop running businesses with Jesus branding. Stop chasing relevance. Stop bowing to the idols of growth, safety, and respectability. That isn’t The Way—it’s a counterfeit, nostalgia-fueled allegiance to the old way of life. Your calling is to embody resurrection, not to sell outrage or comfort. Be the first to dress like you’re already there. Lead your people not by fear or control, but by hope and example.
And for all of us: no one walks The Way alone. Every pilgrim needs companions, guides, and encouragers on the road of resurrection. That’s why I offer The Way Soul Care—not as a program, but as a companion on the road. If you’re weary, disoriented, or ready to grow, you don’t have to walk alone.
It won’t get you applause from the culture. It won’t impress the powerful. It won’t get you invited to the inner circle. And yes, it may get you fired. It may cost you everything. But it will shake hell. And it is the only Way worth walking— The Way of resurrection, the only Way that leads to life.