School is one day old for me and already I'm in the book report mode. Scary. I've never done a book report in this section before but feel I should because the book I'll share about, possibly for a month or two more, is one worth purchasing and studying carefully. It was recommended by a friend in Moscow via E-mail, and I pass it on. Name, The Jesus I Never Knew , by Philip Yancey. Why good? It's all about Jesus. It's well researched, thought out, and written. It presents a look at Jesus that is unusual, in that our "usual" picture of Jesus may not be as accurate as we thought.

I heard Tony Campolo speak at the University of Sioux Falls many years ago, and he haunted me with this question, " Are you sure you are worshiping the real Jesus?" or "Are you worshiping an American-made Jesus?" It was a scary thought then and is a scary thought now. I want to worship the real Jesus, as accurately as I can possibly know Him. The Jesus I Never Knew has been one of the best resources I've found for helping me do that.

In the first half of the book, I was most touched by the chapter on the temptation of Jesus. What grabbed me about that was the description of Jesus' unwillingness to receive a kingdom on Earth, a kingdom that would have been a religious kingdom, a kingdom where He could have made people be good. It is described by Yancey as an extremely attractive choice, and I can see why. Given the state of the world, then or now, Jesus would have to see how difficult it would be to change the evil system by letting sinful people try to make better choices from the inside rather than being coerced from the outside.

It is no different in my teaching. I want the respect of students and find there are ways I can dominate from the outside in. I can coerce if I need to. However, I know that kind of respect isn't real. It's temporary at best, and it's based on fear of reprisal. Still, I do it at times. I panic, and I coerce. It's quicker, simpler, and outwardly better looking. The room is quiet. I'm in charge. The kids know fear and people think I'm tough.

Jesus chose the inside out route, the narrow, difficult route most of us are unwilling to try. Let me share some thoughts from Philip Yancey to illustrate this point:

"Goodness cannot be imposed externally, from the top down; it must grow internally, from the bottom up."

"The Temptation in the desert reveals a profound difference between God's power and Satan's power. Satan has the power to coerce, to dazzle, to force obedience, to destroy. Humans have learned much from that power and draw deeply from its reservoir."

"God's power, in contrast, is internal noncoercive.......In its commitment to transform gently from the inside out and in its relentless dependence on human choice, God's power may resemble a kind of abdication. As every parent and every lover knows, love can be rendered powerless if the beloved chooses to spurn it."

....from The Jesus I Never Knew by Philip Yancey

The evangelical church must be careful not to rely on dazzle and subtle coercing. We must be careful not to spoon feed faith to our children while fearing they will ask tough questions. We must be careful to teach about a real Jesus, the Jesus of Scripture, and in doing so, we must teach as He taught and allow the exchange of real love based on faith rather than fear.