Following in the Way of Jesus: Theological Thoughts for Daily Living

By Donald K. McKim

In this book, seasoned pastor-theologian Donald McKim offers reflections on what it means to be following in the way of Jesus as Christian disciples. These pieces take the form of theological thoughts for daily living. Part One explores "Pursuing the Path of Faith" (with sections on "Believing" and "Trusting") while Part Two concerns "Walking in the Spirit" (with sections on "Following" and "Serving"). McKim brings to bear a lifetime of experience with the Scriptures, the Christian theological tradition, and the walk of faith in these short, stimulating reflections.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Cascade Books
• Release date: Jun 13, 2023
• ISBN: 9781666752816

Donald K. McKim

Donald K. McKim served as executive editor for Westminster John Knox Press, as academic dean and professor of theology at Memphis Theological Seminary, and as professor of theology at the University of Dubuque Theological Seminary. He is the author or editor of more than thirty books.

Book preview

Following in the Way of Jesus

Theological Thoughts for Daily Living

Donald K. McKim

Following in the Way of Jesus

Theological Thoughts for Daily Living

Copyright ©

2023

Donald K. McKim. All rights reserved. Except for brief quotations in critical publications or reviews, no part of this book may be reproduced in any manner without prior written permission from the publisher. Write: Permissions, Wipf and Stock Publishers,

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8

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, Eugene, OR

97401

.

Cascade Books

An Imprint of Wipf and Stock Publishers

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8

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www.wipfandstock.com

paperback isbn: 978-1-6667-5279-3

hardcover isbn: 978-1-6667-5280-9

ebook isbn: 978-1-6667-5281-6

Cataloguing-in-Publication data:

Names: McKim, Donald K. [author]

Title: Following in the way of Jesus : theological thoughts for daily living / Donald K. McKim.

Description: Eugene, OR: Cascade Books,

2023

Identifiers:

isbn 978-1-6667-5279-3 (

paperback

) | isbn 978-1-6667-5280-9 (

hardcover

) | isbn 978-1-6667-5281-6 (

ebook

)

Subjects: LCSH: Christian life | Discipling (Christianity) | Spiritual life | devotional literature | Pastoral theology | Religious life

Classification:

BV4501.3 M35 2023 (

print

) | BV4501.3 (

ebook

)

Table of Contents

Title Page

Preface

Following in the Way of Jesus

Part One: Pursuing the Path of Faith

believing

Chapter 1: A Grandparent’s Dream

Chapter 2: With the Shepherds

Chapter 3: Mercie

Chapter 4: The Name of Mercy

Chapter 5: Leaning on the Promises

Chapter 6: An Unbreakable Unity

Chapter 7: Warts and All

Chapter 8: On a Clear Day

Chapter 9: The Spinal Cord

Chapter 10: Autobasileia

Chapter 11: A Big Enough Basket

Chapter 12: He Ascended into Heaven

Chapter 13: Jesus Shall Reign

trusting

Chapter 14: Providential Trust

Chapter 15: Trust and Entrust

Chapter 16: Be Cast on Christ

Chapter 17: Grace for Winter

Chapter 18: The Birds of the Air

Chapter 19: Manna

Chapter 20: Confidence through the Storms

Chapter 21: Impassable Places

Chapter 22: Forsaken

Chapter 23: The Comfort of Baptism

Chapter 24: The Waste Paper Basket

Chapter 25: Working and Waiting

Part Two: Walking in the Spirit

following

Chapter 26: In Praise of Praise

Chapter 27: The Knowledge of God Is the Service of God

Chapter 28: Our Daily Business

Chapter 29: The Trinitarian Shape of Life

Chapter 30: God’s Life in Us

Chapter 31: Grace and Gratitude

Chapter 32: The Divine Pattern

Chapter 33: The Gifts We Need

Chapter 34: Seeing Our Face in the Mirror

Chapter 35: Humility

Chapter 36: Greed

Chapter 37: Silence

Chapter 38: Call on Me

Chapter 39: Eating and Drinking with Jesus

Chapter 40: Overcoming Fear

Chapter 41: Seeing and Planting

serving

Chapter 42: Before It’s Too Late

Chapter 43: The Good Life

Chapter 44: Feeding the Flock

Chapter 45: The Ministry of Listening

Chapter 46: The Ministry of Helping

Chapter 47: The Ministry of Bearing

Chapter 48: The God of Justice

Chapter 49: A Cup of Cold Water

Chapter 50: Our Bounden Duty

Chapter 51: The Patient Continuance of Well Doing

Chapter 52: The Prayer Connection

Donald McKim may not sound like a rebel, but he is. While other Christian writers woo readers by asking less of us, he asks more: more engagement with history, more clarity of thought, more commitment to loving God with our whole minds as well as our whole hearts and souls. Above all, he trusts we are up to the challenge of seeking deeper understanding of the faith that is in us and kindly leads the way.

—

Barbara Brown Taylor

, author of An Altar in the World: A Geography of Faith

Like Luther and Calvin, Donald McKim combines in his new book erudition for intellects with the simple truth of the gospel for laity. His writing, always fluid and accessible, never saccharine or preachy, brings to mind the works of both Reinhold Niebuhr and his brother H. Richard Niebuhr. Drink deeply at this well and take time to learn from a man who has spent a lifetime sharing the gospel in truly incarnational ways.

—

William J. Carl III

, former president, Pittsburgh Theological Seminary

In these fifty-two wise and beautifully written essays, Donald McKim describes the path for following Jesus and sets out torches to illuminate the way. McKim brings a wealth of theological learning, deep personal experience, and a feast of pastoral insight to this task. To read this book is to be summoned to a more profound life of faith.

—

Thomas G. Long

, professor emeritus of preaching, Candler School of Theology

Donald McKim’s passion for Scripture, theology, the church, and, above all, following Jesus is more than evident in this delightful and helpful collection of thought pieces. McKim combines an accessible introduction to the Christian life with an equally accessible introduction to a broad spectrum of theologians (from Luther and Calvin to Perkins and Ames to Barth and Bonhoeffer). This book is a gift in so many ways!

—

James S. Currie

, executive secretary, Presbyterian Historical Society of the Southwest

"Donald McKim’s writing is always biblical, theological, and accessible. In Following the Way of Jesus, McKim adds personal and devotional to that list of adjectives. Reading this book is like having a deep, meaningful conversation with a trusted and wise friend. McKim’s grace, faith, and generosity imbues each page leaving the reader blessed and eager to be a blessing."

—

Jill Duffield

, senior pastor, First Presbyterian Church, Greensboro, NC

Dedicated to the memory of my friends

David G. Buttrick (1927–2017)

Ernest T. Campbell (1923–2010)

In thanksgiving to God for the lives and witnesses of these two devoted servants of the Word

Preface

This book had its origins in a series of blog posts I wrote when I was an editor for Westminster John Knox Press. The Press sponsored an online series: Gathering Voices: Faithful Conversations from the Thoughtful Christian. A variety of writers offered their perspectives on different aspects of being a thoughtful Christian. The series reached a large audience and provided the opportunity for writers to provide reflections on Christian faith and life in the twenty-first century. I was pleased and grateful to contribute over fifty of these reflections.

The fifty-two pieces here are gathered under the theme: Following in the Way of Jesus. This, I find, is a helpful way of describing Christian faith and life. The collected pieces are divided into Pursuing the Path of Faith in Believing and Trusting; and Walking in the Spirit in Following and Serving. These general topics group reflections that move in these directions, even as the pieces themselves vary widely in their focuses and discussions.

This book is more personally oriented than my other theological books. The subtitle is Theological Thoughts for Daily Living. In the pieces, I attempt to discuss a subject in its theological dimensions but also to interpret what the topic and its theological implications mean for daily living as Christians who are following in the way of Jesus. Theological topics have important practical effects for Christian living. I reflect in personal terms throughout, hoping my perspectives and experiences can be of help to readers who are interested in reflecting on Christian faith and life in their own contexts. Like Paul, I wish to pursue mutual upbuilding (Rom 14:19).

I am most appreciative to my editor, Dr. Robin Parry of Cascade Books. Robin has been tremendously helpful in this project and others. His theological insights and kind, caring advice and consideration of my projects through the years is immensely gratifying. I am thankful to count him a colleague and a friend.

My gratitude overflows most fully for our family. My wife, LindaJo, brings joy and blessings to my life every day. For our years of marriage and countless expressions of love, I thank her from the bottom of my heart. LindaJo and I rejoice in our sons and their families. They bring us delights that make us most thankful. Stephen and Caroline and their children, Maddie, Annie, Jack, and Ford, bless us; as do Karl and Lauren. No words can express our gratitude.

This book is dedicated to the memory of two preachers and professors who lived by following in the way of Jesus. They were keen theologians who brought the insights of Scripture and Christian convictions to life in their preaching and teaching. They were my friends; and I miss them.

David G. Buttrick was my professor of homiletics at Pittsburgh Theological Seminary. Buttrick combined great knowledge with great passion for the gospel of God’s grace and great grace himself as he ministered through preaching, teaching, and writing. When his major book, Homiletic, was published, I wrote in a review: This is the most significant book of the 20th century on the theory of homiletics.

¹

And so it was. David’s witness, courageous actions, and honesty as a Christian continues to encourage me. I have profound gratitude for our friendship. David’s vision of preaching continues to shape my own views:

Words beckon the world into consciousness. Words give us our storied identity.

Preachers use words. So preaching can reshape the world in consciousness and transform identity: Preaching can build a faith-world in human consciousness. If preaching speaks boldly then, perhaps, like astonished Adam, once more we may walk God’s mysterious world, name it good, and see ourselves with tender wonderment as characters in God’s great story of salvation.

²

Buttrick’s words at the end of his Preface to a Homiletic captures his all-encompassing grace: For anything useful, we can give God glory!

³

While in high school and college, I often attended the Massanetta Springs Bible Conference in Harrisonburg, Virginia. There I heard some of the world’s greatest preachers. In God’s providence, one of these was Dr. Ernest T. Campbell. Ernest Campbell was a Presbyterian and later a United Church of Christ minister who served Presbyterian churches as well as The Riverside Church in New York City. LindaJo and I got to know Ernie well when we were his chauffeurs to and from the airport when he was a visiting professor at Pittsburgh Theological Seminary, after he left the Riverside Church. Our evening meals with him continue to be treasured memories for us. Ernie’s wit and wisdom, his warmth, and his vision of Christian faith in its personal and social dimensions continue to stand before me. His Christian witness in word and deed have helped form me and our friendship was a deep joy. Campbell’s words are particularly apt for our book at hand:

Follow me. To follow Jesus is to have a plan. To follow Jesus is to face and embrace the future. To follow Jesus is to have a star by which to steer. Every time he comes across our way and bids us follow, he creates a crisis. And we can never be the same again. For when that command registers on our souls, we can choose to die to God and live to self, or to die to self and live to God.

⁴

May the words that follow as theological thoughts for daily living help shape our consciousness and identity. May they help us be more committed to following in the way of Jesus.

Donald K. McKim

Germantown, Tennessee

September 2022

1

. Donald K. McKim, Terror and Gladness, The Reformed Journal (January

1988

),

18

.

2

. David Buttrick, Homiletic: Moves and Structures (Philadelphia: Fortress,

1987

),

20

.

3

. Buttrick, Homiletic, xiii.

4

. Ernest T. Campbell, Locked in a Room with Open Doors (Waco, TX: Word,

1974

),

34

–

35

.

Following in the Way of Jesus

Throughout life, we are always looking for a way. It may be a way to the closest restaurant, directions to a destination at the end of a trip; or, perhaps guidance on the way to assemble our latest purchase—which features those dreaded words: Some assembly required! Finding how to do things is part of our lives, in many ways.

So too in the life of Christian faith. In our faith, we want to know the way, as well. We want to know the way God wants us to live; the way disciples of Jesus Christ should follow; and the way the Holy Spirit is guiding us in what we believe and how to live.

The New Testament uses the Greek word hodós, way, to describe a direction or manner of life.

⁵

So Paul speaks of my ways in Christ Jesus, as I teach them everywhere in every church (1 Cor 4:17). This is Paul’s life in conformity to Jesus Christ—what Paul taught and practiced. Paul also spoke of a more excellent way of living (1 Cor 12:31). This is the way of love (1 Cor 13). These two passages point us to living according to the life and teachings of Jesus Christ. Or, we can say, living so we follow in the way of Jesus.

Jesus himself is our standard for living. Jesus said clearly: I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me (John 14:6). Jesus is our way to God—to salvation; and Jesus himself embodies the way to live—in truth and in true life. On the eve of his crucifixion, Jesus said to his disciples, This is my commandment, that you love one another as I have loved you (John 15:12). The way for Jesus’ disciples to live is to follow Jesus by loving others, as Jesus himself loved them.

It is no wonder that an early term for Christians—and the Christian church—was the Way (Acts 9:2; 19:9, 23; 22:4; 24:14, 22). Early Christians were people of the Way. They were following in the way of Jesus. People in the church sought to follow the teachings of Jesus and to live in the way Jesus commanded.

++++

The fifty-two pieces that follow are reflections on Pursuing the Path of Faith and Walking in the Spirit. These represent the two great movements in Following in the Way of Jesus. We pursue what it is we believe. We trust in the faith in which we believe. We walk in the way of Jesus, led by God’s Holy Spirit, as we follow Jesus. We serve Jesus in this world through serving other people. Believing, Trusting, Following, and Serving are four dimensions of Pursuing the Path of Faith and Walking in the Spirit.

For New Testament texts that correspond with these dimensions, we can see:

Believing. When Jesus asked his disciples: "‘Who do you say that I am?’ Simon Peter answered, ‘You are the Messiah, the Son