Christ Centered

The Reveal study was all about trying to figure out what creates Christ centered people. I think the #1 flaw around the American church is that after conversion, most churches teach and believe that it takes a long time for someone to become Christ centered. This may be a matter of semantics because , at The Bridge, we define a Christ centered person as someone who has placed their full faith and trust in Christ or is WILLING to do whatever Christ asks of him/her. They have truly repented (turned from their wicked, selfish ways and are seeking God with all they have). This person may not know where to find the book of John in the Bible yet, but when they find it, they will be obedient to God's teaching. The Christ centered person may fail a lot, not know everything, and may not be ready to teach, but are failing less, are teachable, and willing to mature quickly toward high levels of service.

The Bible does not allow for two calls on our life -- one for salvation, and then a later call to be a Christ follower (which I see as synonymous with Christ centered). There is one call -- to repent and believe the Gospel and to drop our nets of self-centeredness and follow Him. Then, the repentant, teachable man or woman sets out on becoming more like Christ day after day -- open to God's incredible transforming Spirit and working very hard on their own to study, learn, and serve. Admirers of Christ do not mature because they have not yet been cut to the heart. Followers of Christ (disciples) mature because they are working on Christ's agenda and not their own.