Through The Wilderness: Following Jesus in the 21st Century ~ Marlena Graves

Sharpening perceptions of reality and providing spiritual guidance for those in the crux of wilderness experiences. Substantial spiritual nourishment for those who know or sense that Christ is anything but shallow. Encouraging readers to radically (which to Christ is normal) serve God and others. The author is teaching herself and others to read the world through the lens of the gospel and to become active participants in the local and worldwide body of Christ.

Feb 20, 2012

What does it mean to follow Jesus in life and death? Ed Dobson's "My Story"

In 1996, I was a freshman in college. Every year our school had an annual Bible conference that coincided with the start of school. In fact, we were required to attend the few nights prior to the start of class. The first speaker I ever heard was Ed Dobson. Ed Dobson, not to be confused with James Dobson, was pastor of Calvary Church in Grand Rapids, Michigan (USA). It is 2012 and I still remember the gist of his sermons. One of the things he said was that he noticed that pastors/churches feed people on the front pews--pass out bread over and over to people on the front pews. But then he asked (maybe not word for word but here's the basic idea), "What about the people in the back?" The people in the back are saying, "Hey, pay attention to me! I'm hungry. The people in the back are the tax collectors and sinners. Then he asked, "Who are the tax collectors and sinners of our day?" His sermon was much more powerful than I am now conveying. It stayed with me.

A few years after that I sermon, I found out that he had been diagnosed with ALS or Lou Gehrig's disease. This disease attacks your body and shuts down organs. I was so concerned when I found out that I called his church to ask how he was doing even though I had never talked to him. I called because the little exposure I had to Ed Dobson branded Jesus deeper into my soul. I found out later that he'd stepped down because of the sickness that would eventually lead to death.

In this video Ed Dobson talks about life and death and what it means to follow Jesus. At one point in the video he says that he preached and did all sorts of things in the church but he wasn't really following Jesus (not that he wasn't a Christian). He was busy for Jesus...but not really following him. After he stepped down because of the disease he lost his purpose for living...but slowly regained it. And at this point, today, he knows he is facing death and about to lose his ability to talk because of ALS. If you want to be nourished and motivated to follow Jesus, if you want encouragment in your walk and to see the beauty of God, watch this story about Ed Dobson:

Ed Dobson's "My Story" on CNN

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Read Old Books. They Expand Our Souls.

One excellent way to see how much our culture's passing weather patterns have influenced us is to read old books. If you recieve all your information from contemporary writers, Christian or secular, you will never perceive whole concepts that people in other generations could see. (For example, earlier generations of Christians perceived a power in sexual purity that eludes us completely; we can only fall back on "don'ts"). Every Christian should always have at his bedside at least one book that is at least fifty years old--the older the better.

Frederica Matthews-Greene