W W J D is O K
Small rant here . . .
I tire of hearing the nit-picking crowd weigh in on WWJD. In case you've been excluded from the universe of marketing for WWJD, it stands for What Would Jesus Do? which is a catch phrase from an older but recently repopular book called In His Steps by Sheldon (I think).
In the book a minister challenges his congregation to walk in the steps of Christ's example (from a text in the book of Philippians). He sums it up by saying something along the lines of, "When you are faced with a decision, ask yourself 'What would Jesus do?'" The book then goes on to relate the story of a changed behavior in light of this check and guidance on the actions of the congregation. The book is definitely dated and uses some examples that seem alien to our culture today ... but the point is made.
So now there is a new-found popularity for this notion in the form of the WWJD movement (which is settled in now, hardly revolutionary any more). But I still occasionally hear someone snipe at WWJD, usually along the lines of, "It's not 'What would Jesus do?' but 'What would Jesus want me to do?'"
Yawn.
Drive-by-nit-picking-underread-overpreached-
nonthinking-crusty-traditionalists.
Don't get me wrong. I am typically suspicious of anything that is popular and trendy ... like cell phones and interstate highways. But let's at least have a criticism that is based in reason.
The entire point of WWJD is to ascertain how to make decisions or take actions in a way that is attempting to imitate Jesus. To take the sniper comments to heart, WWJD stands for the idea of daydreaming what Jesus would do and say if he were here without any compunction to follow that example.
It seems to me that if discipleship is a real pursuit and not simply a lip-serviced idealism, then WWJD is a fine habit of reflection. Maybe if we spent a few weeks practing the questioning of our decisions with WWJD we would come to understand better the walk of our faith. And maybe it would help our instinctive reactions, too, so that even when we don't have time for reflection we are more prone to behave in a way that is imitative of the impression we have of Jesus.
If you want to follow Jesus, then just do it. Oops ... that's probably trademarked at the least and offensive use of jargon at the worst.
Swoosh, brothers.
I tire of hearing the nit-picking crowd weigh in on WWJD. In case you've been excluded from the universe of marketing for WWJD, it stands for What Would Jesus Do? which is a catch phrase from an older but recently repopular book called In His Steps by Sheldon (I think).
In the book a minister challenges his congregation to walk in the steps of Christ's example (from a text in the book of Philippians). He sums it up by saying something along the lines of, "When you are faced with a decision, ask yourself 'What would Jesus do?'" The book then goes on to relate the story of a changed behavior in light of this check and guidance on the actions of the congregation. The book is definitely dated and uses some examples that seem alien to our culture today ... but the point is made.
So now there is a new-found popularity for this notion in the form of the WWJD movement (which is settled in now, hardly revolutionary any more). But I still occasionally hear someone snipe at WWJD, usually along the lines of, "It's not 'What would Jesus do?' but 'What would Jesus want me to do?'"
Yawn.
Drive-by-nit-picking-underread-overpreached-
nonthinking-crusty-traditionalists.
Don't get me wrong. I am typically suspicious of anything that is popular and trendy ... like cell phones and interstate highways. But let's at least have a criticism that is based in reason.
The entire point of WWJD is to ascertain how to make decisions or take actions in a way that is attempting to imitate Jesus. To take the sniper comments to heart, WWJD stands for the idea of daydreaming what Jesus would do and say if he were here without any compunction to follow that example.
It seems to me that if discipleship is a real pursuit and not simply a lip-serviced idealism, then WWJD is a fine habit of reflection. Maybe if we spent a few weeks practing the questioning of our decisions with WWJD we would come to understand better the walk of our faith. And maybe it would help our instinctive reactions, too, so that even when we don't have time for reflection we are more prone to behave in a way that is imitative of the impression we have of Jesus.
If you want to follow Jesus, then just do it. Oops ... that's probably trademarked at the least and offensive use of jargon at the worst.
Swoosh, brothers.
posted by TT | 11:33 AM
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