Putting Christ Back into Christianity

A Quick Insight into “Jesus Brand Spirituality” by Ken Wilson

Jesus Brand Spirituality: He Wants His Religion Back was a good read on putting Christ back into Christianity. Ken’s delivery of each concept was clear and very practical. I loved the analogy of the Five Acts of the Bible and how it’s just a love story of God’s love for His creation. This book prompted me to think about God outside of the dimensions we can perceive as humans and got me questioning what Christian spirituality is and how it applies to my everyday life.

Ken splits Christ’s spirituality into 4 dimensions and I believe these must apply to our lives as well since we always ask, “What Would Jesus Do? (WWJD)”:

Active Dimension

Jesus was an activist. The way He cared about social justice and stood up for the rights of His people shows how much His love was very active and He made actual moves towards making the lives of people around Him better. Even the way He healed was active — think about the blind man who He sent to go wash his eyes in the Pool of Siloam.

Having said this, he spit on the ground, made some mud with the saliva, and put it on the man’s eyes. “Go,” he told him, “wash in the Pool of Siloam” (this word means Sent). So the man went and washed, and came home seeing. His neighbours and those who had formerly seen him begging asked, “Isn’t this the same man who used to sit and beg?

(John 9: 6b-8, NIV)

Jesus not only did an action to heal the man Himself but He also commanded the man to actively be part of his own healing.

Jesus’ spirituality was active. Not passive.

Contemplative Dimension

Jesus was in the habit of sleeping in places He should have probably been awake. He also prayed in quiet places a lot — in meditation and contemplation. His mysticism, though we don’t think about it using that word, was a key part of how He intentionally connected with His Father and Himself by looking inside Himself. New Age religions have kinda put off Christians when it comes to the topic of meditation — I grew up believing yoga was ‘dangerous’ to my spirituality as a Christian because I could tap into the ‘wrong’ spiritual dimension and well, that’s possible but, when it comes to meditative practices for both your mental health and connecting with God through looking inside yourself, His creation, I think it’s a necessity. Jesus does too.

Biblical Dimension

Joshua 1:8 tells us to,

Keep this Book of the Law always on your lips; meditate on it day and night, so that you may be careful to do everything written in it. Then you will be prosperous and successful. (NIV)

Jesus Christ, the Son of God, God in human form, was no exception to this rule. He studied the scriptures diligently and whenever He spoke, He spoke the Word and in His words, we find a new understanding of the Book of the Law, His favourite. Jesus came to fulfil the Law and He made sure we learn to appreciate the meaning between the lines and practice a fair spirituality that is guided by the Spirit of God.

Communal Dimension

Humans are social beings and Jesus believed in community and built one around Him. If we exclude our church communities from our faith, we will not be able to tap into that collective understanding and experience of God that only comes through gathering with others in His name.