A clear and light-hearted book calling for serious discipleship.
Are you a fan or a follower of Jesus? Pastor Kyle Idleman seeks to help readers answer this life-altering question in Not a Fan: Becoming a Completely Committed Follower of Jesus. Idleman points out that though Jesus called those who want a relationship with Him to be His followers, many who would call themselves Christians are just enthusiastic admirers—in other words, fans. He writes that “the biggest threat to the church today is fans who call themselves Christians but aren’t actually interested in following Christ.”
In the first chapter, two groups of people are identified: those who are immersed in church and Christian culture, but have perhaps taken the “are you a follower?” question for granted; and those who are not really part of the church scene and have never really answered that question. Not a Fan’s primary audience consists of those who have been rooting for the other team or those who have been fans (but not followers) all their lives. Neither of them have ever actually been in the game.
That doesn’t mean this book is not for those who can really answer the “are you a follower?” question with “yes” and can point to their lives as evidence to back it up. There are times in all our lives when we act more like fans than followers. Not a Fan can be a poignant reminder for those who are following Him to follow closely and keep in step—in all areas and moments of our lives.
Idleman suggests that, at some point, each person must have a DTR (define the relationship) conversation with Jesus. In a culture where we tend to use our own measurements to define whether or not someone is a Christ-follower, it is actually how Jesus defines what it means to follow Him that should set our standard.
With this question in mind—what does Jesus say it means to be His follower?—Idleman highlights several moments in the Gospels when Jesus has DTR talks with wannabe followers. In each of these chapters, Idleman poses an either/or question to help “diagnose fandom.” The answers to these questions will help readers understand whether they are fans or followers.
Idleman uses two primary Scripture passages to help define what it means to be a follower of Christ: Matthew 7 (verse 21 says, “Not everyone who says to me, ‘Lord, Lord’ will enter the kingdom of heaven …”) and Luke 9:23 (“If anyone would come after me, he must deny himself and take up his cross daily and follow me.”). True followers’ lives reflect what they say they believe. Most importantly, they know Jesus and He knows them. He desires that they would passionately pursue Him, that they would deny themselves, and learn to take up their cross and die to themselves every day.
In the final chapters, Idleman encourages readers to follow Jesus wherever, whenever and to whatever He calls them. The would-be Jesus followers at the end of Luke chapter 9 serve as negative examples of people who asked for exceptions to Jesus’ invitation to follow Him—and thus missed out on Him completely.
The end of each chapter features a story about someone who was living as a fan but is now following Christ. These stories are beautiful and inspirational, but focus primarily on the person’s life before he or she became a committed follower of Christ and what God did to bring them to a real relationship with Christ. The examples would feel more complete if they spoke more about how the person is now living as a true follower of Jesus.
Not a Fan is written in a clear, light tone, but not so much as to detract from the heaviness of the content. The sermon-like flow of the chapters point to Idleman’s preaching background. He also has a knack for choosing relevant illustrations and real-life stories to add flavor to his points and questions. His humor is splattered throughout, especially in footnotes and side comments. Not a Fan builds a similar argument to David Platt’s Radical, but practically focuses more on the beginning steps of following Jesus, while Radical encourages running marathons and scaling cliffs in the shadow of the Savior. Both are needed, timely and beneficial.
Idleman never loses sight of the Gospel and the message he is trying to convey. While some might be annoyed at his redundancy in some sections, repetition is a common feature of sermons and often what is needed to drive a point home. Idleman’s biblical and contextual insight is strong and clear. He brings to light crucial passages of Scripture that many churches seem to have forgotten or disregarded in modern times—passages like Luke 9 and Matthew 7 that we may have heard, but haven’t really been living. His exposition of Matthew 7—a very difficult passage, even for followers—is strikingly clear and relatable, without compromising its truth.
Ultimately, Not a Fan presents an essential, biblical message for people in a culture teaming with fans but lacking in real commitment. Jesus is not someone to whom you can give half-hearted lip service instead of giving your life. The invitation to follow Him is radical and completely countercultural. It is clear that there is a movement and a longing in the Church today to be followers rather than fans, to live as Jesus has been telling us to live all along.
Laura Coulter is a writer and a fan of laughter, ultimate Frisbee and singing while driving. When it comes to Jesus, however, she is not a fan, but a follower. She blogs at knownrenowned.tumblr.com and tweets by way of @kentuckygirl729.
