Jesus and the Idea Revolution
We’re digging into discipleship (being an apprentice of Jesus for the purpose of becoming more like Him) through an admittedly odd lens: the world of ideas.
An idea is an “assumption, conclusion, or principle in which our hearts are rooted, but of which we’re generally unaware.” Ideas are not so much intellectual statements as they are experienced realities.
Ideas in the Air
Ideas in the Air include powerful cultural assumptions such as the role of government, what constitutes beauty, what defines success, and where truth may be found.
Profoundly important ideas are functioning in the modern church right now; some are healthy and some are not.
I’ve been studying one that is pervasive in our area: numerical growth automatically means God is moving. If a Christian institution’s financial support and attendance are increasing, that obviously indicates God is blessing their efforts and guiding their ministries (though I’m not sure how that reconciles with growing cults or expanding communities with harmful practices).
I once heard the senior pastor of a fast-growing church tear up on stage, confessing that he missed not knowing each person anymore and not knowing most people’s names. But God was on the move!
At least to me, the problem was easily solved – cap the number of people he shepherds to a manageable number and plant other smaller communities. That concept had not crossed his mind, however, and the church barrelled ahead with its multi-million dollar capital campaign.
It remains a disciple-less church. But, apparently, God is on the move.
Ideas in the Soil
Ideas in the Soil are essentially subsets of those in the Air, and they also function quietly in the background, though in our hearts. They’re primarily formed in us when we’re young children, as our hearts are most supple then.
A leader who knows all about the Bible but bristles when challenged (or wields his power to avoid confrontation) is operating from a set of ideas that is disconnected from his belief system.
Though he teaches and preaches a certain identity (we are sons and daughters of God), his heart operates on a different set of ideas. A heart deeply grounded in the idea that we’re adopted by our Father is free from the fear of being challenged, being proven wrong, or facing confrontation.
Ideas originate from one of two places: the kingdom of light or the kingdom of darkness. Ideas of light result in beauty, goodness, and human flourishing. Ideas of darkness are designed to kill us.
Discipleship and Ideas
I first ran across this way of describing spiritual formation while reading philosopher and theologian Dallas Willard.
He wrote, “The process of spiritual formation in Christ is one of progressively replacing those destructive images and ideas with the images and ideas that filled the mind of Jesus himself. (2 Corinthians 4:4).”
To me, this is a far deeper, richer way of mining discipleship and spiritual formation than just going to church, attending a Bible study, and accumulating biblical information, as good as those things are. If we can understand Jesus’ ideas and how He transforms them in society and people, that provides us with a better picture of who He is. If we can determine which ideas are working in our hearts, we have a path and context for our spiritual formation.
We’ve compared developing our eyes and ears to discern Ideas in the Air and Soil to training ourselves to see the 3D picture hidden in the 1990s stereogram.
And as we become more attuned to Ideas, we become more “awake.” We become people of depth. Our capacity to love like Jesus grows.
The Idea Revolution
So, how easy is it to transform Ideas in the Air and Soil once we learn to spot them?
A.W. Tozer remarked, “That our idea of God corresponds as nearly as possible to the true being of God is of immense importance to us. Compared with our actual thoughts about Him, our creedal statements are of little consequence. Our real idea of God may lie buried under the rubbish of conventional religious notions and may require an intelligent and vigorous search before it is finally unearthed and exposed for what it is. Only after an ordeal of painful self-probing are we likely to discover what we actually believe about God.”
Willard wrote, “Changing those governing ideas is one of the most difficult and painful things in life…Jesus confronted and undermined an idea system and its culture, which in turn killed him. He proved himself greater than any idea system or culture, and he lives on. He is continuing the process of a worldwide idea shift that is crucial to his perpetual revolution, in which we each are assigned a part.”
That’s a fascinating way to look at the Gospel of the Kingdom: the increasing and inevitable conquest of dark ideas by light ideas.
Since Jesus is the living embodiment of light ideas, it’s worth taking a look at an example or two of how He confronted and overcame dark ideas in the New Testament.
To list and explore all of the Ideas in the Air He confronted and transformed by His words and actions would consume more than a few books (which may have already been written). Here’s a small sample: the value of children, the value of women, the role of power in a religious community, the role of government, the vital importance of character, true power versus fake power, the meaning of truth, self-knowledge, rest, service, love, loyalty, life, death, sacrifice.
To watch Him invite people to explore the ideas in their hearts and offer His transformative alternatives is staggeringly beautiful. We’ll take a quick look at two examples: the rich young ruler and the woman at the well.
Dark Over Light
The rich young ruler (Mark 10:17-27) comes to Jesus with a set of ideas which Jesus quickly identifies and exposes.
Given the short amount of text provided, it appears the man assumes eternal life depends on what we do. This is and has been the assumption of millions of people throughout human history. He’s a good guy. He’s kept all of the commandments. He deserves eternal life.
But Jesus digs beneath surface obedience to the genuine ideas and desires that drive the young man. And so, ironically, Jesus gives him yet another command – go and sell your stuff and follow Me.
This passage has often been portrayed as Jesus unmasking the young man’s idolatry – his love of money. And so it is. However, if we explore the story through the lens of ideas, we find Jesus confronting a deeper reality we’re calling the Idea of Identity.
I’m not sure this story is as much about eternal life or money as it is about answering a core question every heart asks: “Who am I?”
Jesus has probed the bedrock of the man’s heart – his identity is wrapped up in his works and his wealth. His heart is grounded in himself and what he’s accomplished. Jesus invites him to be free from this dark identity with words He has whispered to countless people – “Follow me.”
But the man walks away, unwilling to confront his ideas. He was hoping to be justified on the basis of surface obedience, but Jesus is never satisfied with that. He is constantly inviting us to deeper and deeper places.
Light Over Dark
Speaking of deeper places, let’s explore one of the most beautiful exchanges in all of Scripture – the story of the woman at the well (John 4:4-42).
Jesus is confronting several Ideas in the Air just by traveling through Samaria and speaking to a female. He is dismantling ideas of religious elitism, the value of women, societal roles, and worth simply by having a conversation with her.
What about the ideas in her heart? Let’s pick the same one we just examined – an idea of identity.
Prior to their conversation, how would the woman’s heart answer the question, “Who am I?” And remember, ideas aren’t so much intellectual conclusions as they are experienced realities.
Her identity is wrapped up in shame. Instead of coming to get water in the morning with everyone else, she ventures to the well outside of town quietly in the heat of the day. Her shame shows in her caution, defensiveness, and even anger as Jesus begins to speak with her. Perhaps her heart answered the question, “Who am I?” with unspoken words such as “lost,” “worthless,” “abandoned,” “thrown away,” or “rejected.”
These are powerful, deeply embedded ideas of identity.
How does Jesus reveal her ideas? Shockingly, He does so by reminding her of her past. It’s a risky tactic – inviting the woman to follow Him by bringing up her history of broken relationships and ill-repute. I suspect many of us would respond to Jesus bringing up our histories with resentment.
But there’s something vital going on here. We can’t dig into our hearts to uncover our true ideas unless we deal with ourselves authentically. This is why self-knowledge and courageous curiosity when exploring our backstories are so vital to spiritual formation.
Unlike the rich young ruler, the Samaritan woman receives Jesus’ invitation with reckless, joyful abandon. The Messiah looked for her. The Messiah found her. The Messiah wants her. In an instant, her dark ideas are transformed. She moves from shame to joy, from secrecy to transparency, and from isolation to community.
Her response reveals her changed ideas. Just hours before, she was secretly avoiding people – now she runs through the town square, inviting everyone to come see the man “who told me everything I ever did!”
Is that not a strange response? Come see the guy who just outed my mistakes?
Strange indeed. But marvelous.
It is the response of someone freed from dark ideas of identity. She is free to share her past and proclaim her mistakes because her ideas of identity are no longer chained to them.
Be a Part of the Revolution
These stories both feature odd interactions. Jesus is a hard man to pin down. He always seems to be functioning at a deeper level than many around Him realize. He says and does things that appear out of context, unrelated, or even foolish.
But Jesus is deeply, wonderfully attuned to the ideas that govern societies and hearts. And He knows that uncovering these ideas involves being shrewd and strange. As we’ve explored, our hearts often need a jolt to shake us into digging deeper, and we see Him “jolt” both the rich young ruler and the woman at the well with His approach.
There’s much more to explore here, though it’s worth noting that Jesus’ invitation to mine the ideas that govern us is personalized, potentially shocking, and often uncomfortable.
Personalized: Jesus didn’t heal anyone the same, and His individual interactions reveal a delightful, customized approach. Deep discipleship involves truly knowing the hearts of ourselves and those we serve.
Potentially shocking: while we understandably do what we can to avoid painful surprises, Jesus sometimes caused them. The rich man left grieving and sad. The woman at the well was forced to confront her true identity. Diving into our hearts and others’ hearts involves unexpected experiences.
Uncomfortable: Change comes through conflict. The journey to become more like Jesus certainly involves its share of laughter, community, and joy. Though Jesus invites us into times of wilderness, suffering, and discomfort because those moments are necessary and good elements of our formation.
As we become deeper and deeper disciples, we begin to see the healing power and joy of Jesus’ Idea Revolution, both in culture and in hearts. And we’re invited to become a vital part of its beautiful and inevitable success.
