Doable Discipleship

“If any of you wants to be my follower, you must turn from your selfish ways, take up your cross, and follow me. If you try to hang on to your life, you will lose it. But if you give up your life for my sake and for the sake of the Good News, you will save it.” - Mark 8:34-35The Gospel of Mark reads like a propulsive novel or like an action movie. It even starts nearly right in the middle of the action, skipping the story of Jesus’ birth entirely. More than in the other gospels, in Mark Jesus is always on the move. The shortest of the Gospels coming in at 16 chapters, it’s a book of momentum but, in my opinion, there’s a reason for that. While in other Gospels you get long sermons from Jesus, this Gospel presents a focus on seeing Jesus through how he acted and interacted with others. And not all of those interactions go the way we would assume Jesus would handle them. To help us navigate the Gospel of Mark is Dr. Mark Strauss, University Professor of New Testament Emeritus at Bethel University, Vice Chair of