ABNORMAL CHRISTIANITY
This month’s message is a review of a book by Andrew Jeffery who is personally known to me. I have known his parents for many years and for a long time they were members of the church where I was the pastor.
When Andrew was a teenager, he had come with his father to a prayer meeting and at the end of it, he was being prayed for by one of the ladies in the church and at that moment he gave his life to the Lord which was a profound, life changing experience for him.
Andy went on to be a Youth leader in another church and after that he was a Pastor for some time. He is now in his mid-forties and very sadly he was diagnosed with cancer and had to undergo a very intensive course of treatment. Incredibly during that time, he wrote a very unique book entitled “(Ab)normal Christianity”.
Many people settle for what they would regard to be “normal Christianity” but the author maintains that true Christianity is not normal at all.
I would like to give you some quotes to give you a taste of this well argued, and beautifully written book – and maybe it will challenge you as much as it did me!
First, the book’s definition of abnormal Christianity:
“Normal Christianity is not Christianity at all.”
“Normal Christianity is safe. Real Christianity is sacrificial. Normal Christianity is predictable. Real Christianity is Spirit-led. Normal Christianity is respectable. Real Christianity is disruptive. Normal Christianity is manageable. Real Christianity is miraculous.”
“The tragedy is that many believers spend their lives trying to fit into a version of faith that God never asked them to live.”
“Normal was never the goal. Transformation was. Surrender was. Love was. Faithfulness was. This is the life that God invites you into – a life that is beautifully unpredictable, courageously obedient and gloriously abnormal.”
Jesus is not normal. He is beautifully, powerfully, purposefully abnormal. The challenge is that Jesus invites us to follow Him.”
“The abnormal Christian life is not a life of chaos – it is a life of surrender. It is not a life of recklessness – it is a life of obedience. It is not a life of perfection it is a life of grace.”
“The early church risked everything – reputation, safety, comfort, their own lives. Not because they were reckless but because they believed Jesus was worth it.”
“A beautifully unpredictable life is not chaotic. It is not reckless. It is not impulsive. It is responsive. It is anchored in the presence of God and open to the movement of the Holy Spirit.
It is a life where: interruptions become divine appointments. Delays become protection – the pauses you resent often shield you from paths, decisions or dangers you never saw coming.
Closed doors become redirection. Unexpected opportunities become miracles. The open doors you never sought become the places where God’s power and provision become your surrender.
This is the life Jesus lived. This is the life the early church embodied. This is the life the Spirit empowers.”
The author shows that “God does not use people because they are normal but because they are willing.”
He goes on to illustrate this from people in the Bible and people in Church history like John Bunyon, John Wesley, Hudson Taylor, Florence Nightingale, George Muller, Mother Teresa and others, showing how they were weak human beings whose lives were transformed by Jesus and went on to take risks and live abnormal Christian lives that in turn transformed the lives of many others.
This book challenges us not to conform to the normal - but to choose instead to follow the abnormal and uncomfortable path of being led by the Spirit. It ends with these words:
“May you live a life that is beautifully unpredictable.
And may the world see Jesus in you – not because you are normal but because you are His.”
This book can be purchased on Amazon
abnormal Christianity: Amazon.co.uk: Jeffery, Andrew: 9798252094885: Books