Jesus Lovers, with Robby Butler
What does it really mean to love Jesus, especially in terms of how we love ourselves, our Christian communities, and the larger world?
Robby contacted Ernie to ensure he hadn't hurt his feelings during Tuesday's The Great Reset. He had agreed with Janet that he too would leave the group if it was true that Ernie was espousing non-scriptural foundations, but didn't think that was the case.
Ernie admitted that he had partly called out Robby's statement for dramatic effect; the emotional pain was minimal (and addressed). However, he would have preferred Robby to validate Janet's emotions without necessarily endorsing her reasoning (about leaving), even if he disagreed with her facts.
Surprisingly, Robby realized that he had actually lied in that statement. In reality he would not have left the group under such circumstances. However, he unconsciously said whatever seemed necessary to reduce tensions (as he had been trained to do by his family of origin).
This led to a discussion of abjection: the instinctual response to reject what is "not-self." Ernie's claimed this was behind Janet's desire to leave the group, Robby's subconscious attempts to reduce conflict, and even his conscious mind's rejection of the part of himself that lies to avoid conflict. Ernie suggested "communion" as the opposite of abjection, though they both identified weaknesses with that word.
This tied into a larger critique Ernie had of Robby's model of "hearing and following Jesus." While that is clearly a good thing, Ernie pointed out that the disciples (and many others) clearly heard and followed Jesus for three years, yet still fell away at the cross (except for John). He suggested the stronger term "Jesus lover", reflecting Jesus' challenge in John 21:15-17 for Peter to "love" (identify with, even in suffering) rather than merely "like" (enjoy for the sake of benefits) him.
He ended by arguing that in the end, the only thing that matters is relationships. And in particular, that if we focus in the right way on improving our relationship with our "selves", we will open ourselves to not just hear Jesus more clearly, but become a conduit of His grace to all our other relationships.
References
Ernie admitted that he had partly called out Robby's statement for dramatic effect; the emotional pain was minimal (and addressed). However, he would have preferred Robby to validate Janet's emotions without necessarily endorsing her reasoning (about leaving), even if he disagreed with her facts.
Surprisingly, Robby realized that he had actually lied in that statement. In reality he would not have left the group under such circumstances. However, he unconsciously said whatever seemed necessary to reduce tensions (as he had been trained to do by his family of origin).
This led to a discussion of abjection: the instinctual response to reject what is "not-self." Ernie's claimed this was behind Janet's desire to leave the group, Robby's subconscious attempts to reduce conflict, and even his conscious mind's rejection of the part of himself that lies to avoid conflict. Ernie suggested "communion" as the opposite of abjection, though they both identified weaknesses with that word.
This tied into a larger critique Ernie had of Robby's model of "hearing and following Jesus." While that is clearly a good thing, Ernie pointed out that the disciples (and many others) clearly heard and followed Jesus for three years, yet still fell away at the cross (except for John). He suggested the stronger term "Jesus lover", reflecting Jesus' challenge in John 21:15-17 for Peter to "love" (identify with, even in suffering) rather than merely "like" (enjoy for the sake of benefits) him.
He ended by arguing that in the end, the only thing that matters is relationships. And in particular, that if we focus in the right way on improving our relationship with our "selves", we will open ourselves to not just hear Jesus more clearly, but become a conduit of His grace to all our other relationships.
References
- Automated Transcript
- Immanuel Approach
- Abjection (Julia Kristeva)
- Being as Communion (John Zizioulas)
- Prelude to Reconciliation (Type 1 and 2)
"To him the doorkeeper opens, and the sheep hear his voice; and he calls his own sheep by name and leads them out. And when he brings out his own sheep, he goes before them; and the sheep follow him, for they know his voice." -- John 10:3-4 (NKJV)
"My sheep hear My voice, and I know them, and they follow Me." -- John 10:27