That is how a new course from America, called ‘The Person of Jesus’, introduces itself. It certainly promises to be something of benefit to the church here in Britain.
The course seems to hit two nails on the head at the same time.
Firstly, it encourages Christians to gaze upon the Lord Jesus Christ and to learn form the master his radical love.
Secondly, in an age when many people are somewhat cynical and sceptical about organised religion, but remain fascinated by the person of Jesus Christ, the course enables them to get to know Jesus and be gently confronted by his radical life and claims.
That is why this course could well be of benefit to the church in the UK as it seeks to encourage it’s members to be more Christ-like and to present Jesus to the people of this nation. In a series of 48 interactive studies the course looks at matters such as Jesus’s compassion, honesty, dependence on God, humility, etc.
In May, the author of this course, Paul Miller, will be hosting a conference to introduce the course in the UK. Paul is the son of the late Jack Miller (Out Growing the In Grown Church and The Sonship Course). He and his father founded World Harvest Mission in 1983 and he was Associate Director for 13 years. Prior to that he was the founding headmaster of an inner city, multi-racial Christian school in Philadelphia.
Simon Percy of Woodford Evangelical church took the opportunity to speak with Paul Miller for EN about the course in advance of his coming later this year.
EN: Tell us a little about your background and the background to the course.
Paul: As you know, I’m the son of Jack Miller, who I think you knew and who would have been known to a number of others in the UK. So that means I was raised in the manse in a conservative Presbyterian setting. I’m married to Jill and we have six children, one of whom is severely disabled. It was out of that busy home situation 15 years ago that this course was born.
EN: How did that happen?
Paul: Well, as you can imagine, life was pretty stressed. One day my wife asked me several times, ‘Do you love me?’ Her question and her persistence in asking it made me sit up and think, and ask myself, ‘What does it mean to love somebody?’ That drove me to the gospels to take a much closer look at the life of Jesus. I also re-read Edersheim’s classic work The Life and Times of Jesus the Messiah as a means to help me to understand how Jesus loved people.
Life of Jesus
EN: And what was the result of this reading?
Paul: What I read deeply challenged me. The more I looked at the life of Jesus and, in particular, the way he treated people, the more I began to realise how easily I had settled for a second best form of Christianity and the more I was challenged to love in the costly and radical way Jesus loved.
EN: So how did that become a course?
Paul: Well, as the studies challenged me, I began to realise that many other people could benefit from taking a closer look at the way Jesus treats other people. I wanted to encourage people to look carefully at the text of Scripture, to interact with it, to ask how we would react in that situation, and finally to ask how Jesus responded.
EN: Give me an example.
Paul: Well as you know my daughter Kim is disabled. I noticed how Jesus often said, ‘I do nothing on my own’. He was completely dependent on his heavenly Father. So he did not attempt to do everything. This fascinated me, as clearly he could do anything well. Yet he held back and allowed others to do things even if they might make a mess. So that made me ask how much should I do for my daughter. I realised that helping my daughter was something that made me feel good. But that real love would allow her to do things for herself. It’s not rocket science, but it was one of the lessons I learnt by taking a closer look at Jesus.
Honesty
EN: The course calls for a great deal of honesty. Do you think that might be offputting?
Paul: No, because we don’t force people to be honest. We’ve found that simply looking at Jesus sparks the questions.
EN: So how has the course been used in the US?
Paul: The course has now been used by at least 250 different groups with non-Christians. It could be far more than that, but that is the number of people who have contacted us to tell us they are using it. These mainly take place in homes or work places. But we’ve had studies on the docks with longshoremen, in women’s shelters, at a food bank… almost every imaginable setting.
EN: What happens at a typical meeting?
Paul: One of the aims of the course is to encourage people to look carefully at the text of Scripture. The leader does this by asking questions to make the studies quite interactive, although they are clearly led. We call it ‘directed interactive’. People discover for themselves the remarkable way in which Jesus loved people. For the Christian this becomes a challenge to see just what Jesus is calling us to be like. For the non-Christian, there is the dawning realisation that I don’t love like this.
Non-Christians?
EN: You mention that this material is evangelistic. Can you explain how the course can be used in an evangelistic manner?
Paul: For the non-Christian participant, the study moves from what Jesus is like as a person and how he conducts himself to the claims he is making. As they study Jesus a number of things take place. They see something of what real love is like which is deeply challenging. Then they see how Jesus is able to forgive people, and they begin to realize that they too could be forgiven. They are gently confronted with the claims of Jesus Christ.
EN: How do you get non-Christians (or even Christians) to come to a study that is 48 lessons long?
Paul: I don’t. I ask a non-Christian to come to six studies to see what Jesus is like as a person and see how it might help them in our relationships. At the end of six weeks, I ask them if they want to do it for another six weeks. Usually by the end of the first six weeks they are hooked. Jesus is simply riveting. Also, the material has five units each focusing on a different aspect of Jesus’s love. The material is written so you can do just one unit by itself. So a leader, for instance, can just do Unit II, Honesty.
EN: Finally, Paul, you are coming over to London, to share this material. Why should a busy pastor come along to this?
Paul: I’d encourage pastors to come just to see Jesus in a new way for themselves and be captured by his beauty. It is easy to forget why we entered the ministry, to forget him. Beyond that, they’ll learn a whole new way to disciple and evangelise in a post-Christian world. I promise the seminar will not be boring. You’ll be an engaged learner.
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