Posted by Mike O on: 10.23.2008 /
Last week, Duh-sciple wrote
I am a Christian in the process of becoming a Jesus follower.
I hear that a lot, but it’s hard to explain the difference to Christians because Christians assume they are Jesus followers. But I’m going to give it a shot.
When I was at the Born Again Church Tour a couple of weeks ago, one of the speakers (Todd Hunter, of Alpha fame) talked about bounded set vs. centered set Christianity. And I think that may be the best way to visualize the difference between being a Christian and being a Jesus follower.
A bounded set is a group of people defined by some membership criteria, or set of beliefs, that holds them together. Think of a circle - everything inside the circle is “in” the set and everything outside the circle is “out.”
A centered set is a group of people defined by a focal point that draws them together. Think of a point, towards which group members gravitate.
I think of Christianity, the religion, as a “bounded set” group of people. That’s not necessarily wrong because it provides definition for our faith. But a bounded set mentality requires an inordinate amount of time for “boundary maintenance.” Trying to figure out what is in and what is out, or who is in and who is out, the boundary becomes a focus rather than the actual reason we Christians in the first place.
A Jesus follower, on the other hand, would be less concerned with where the boundaries are for our faith, and more concerned with the reason for our faith. To me, it’s the difference between religion (what I believe) and lifestyle (how I live).
Comment by: joe
1Or as someone else has explained, bounded sets just reinforce institutional boundaries. It is comfortable for me if I feel I am within the theological boundaries which mean that I’m going to heaven even if everyone else is going to hell.
A far more useful notion is of the Christo-centric model, where the set has the person of Jesus the Christ at its centre. One is either moving or moving away from the Christ, and being part of the Jesus movement is entirely to do with the direction of travel rather than the particular set of beliefs at any given moment.
Comment by: Mike O
2I don’t think it’s necessarily wrong to have bounds surrounding what you believe, but they shouldn’t be the focus.
Besides, I suspect that Jesus requires a lot less of people than Christians do. :)
Comment by: Jason
3The distinction is easy for me. A Christian is a member of a religion. A Jesus follower is someone who follows the broad teachings of Jesus. They aren’t mutually exclusive and you can certainly find members of both groups who do not fit within the other.
I don’t believe that you need to believe in a divine Jesus to follow Jesus’ teachings. Not as long as you believe that the teachings are worthwhile. Even if many of the teachings are worthwhile.
Comment by: Chris C
4Hi everyone
It’s my experience that centered set Christianity or Church works very well, However it’s important to define clearly what’s at the centre (UK sp.), what people are working towards (or away from), otherwise confusion will reign and there will be misunderstanding and disappointment. A clear statement of faith allows people to approach as close as they wish to the centre. If it’s ‘centred set’ Church we’re considering then this approach leaves God and the individual to decide who is really part of His Church: the Kingdom of God if you like. It removes this responsibility from other people who are on the journey allowing us to concentrate on helping each other towards the centre: a life long journey and beyond.
Comment by: Bounded Set vs. Centered Set Christianity | All Reason
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