This site is all about helping new followers of Jesus to get started. I use the terms 'follower of Jesus' or 'believer' rather than 'Christian' as I believe the term 'Christian' has become devalued. While working in the Middle East and Far East, I found that referring to myself as a follower of Jesus was far more acceptable than referring to myself as a Christian. To them, the term 'Christian' is associated with The Crusades. In my experience in the West, the term 'Christian' refers to a wide variety of people, many of whom attend church but without any form of repentance in their lives. Such people do not follow Jesus. So, the term 'follower of Jesus' refers to a much smaller group - those who are serious about Jesus. He is the center of our lives. The most important thing we can do is develop a relationship with Him.

New Life

This verse tells me that I am a new creation. My body is still the same and my mind is still the same but my spirit has been completely renewed. God sees us in Jesus as a new creation. This is what we can become in mind and body. When Simon began to follow Jesus, Jesus gave him a new name, Peter which means rock. Peter was nothing like a rock at that time but Jesus saw him as the new creation he was in the spirit and what he would eventually become.

We are now to live new lives. As I said, the spirit is totally renewed when we choose to follow Jesus but the mind and body are the same. Part of our decision to follow Jesus is to repent. This means to turn away from our old life and turn toward a new life. Jesus died on the cross so that we could have this new life and he sent His Holy Spirit to help us.

Crucified with Christ

Being 'crucified with Christ' is a decision. It is another way of saying 'repent' but it has greater emphasis. The old self, referred to in the Bible as 'the flesh' is still there. It wants to continue as normal. To repent is an ongoing battle and it is not a battle that we can win on our own. The remaining four pages in this section, bread, wine, community and outreach detail the principles we need to achieve this. If you have taken on board the activities then you will be applying much of what is detailed in this section.