I am just finishing up my 5 day trip to Boston.  And as I mentioned yesterday, it's been a hugely encouraging, but also challenging time.  The Center City Summit I went to was super thought provoking on so many levels, but at least on my initial take-away, one question seems to really stand out. 

Is there a difference between Christianity and following Jesus?  

Unfortunately, churches and Christians (including myself) have at times radically confused those two things. On one hand we might say that there is a difference, but then in our actions and paradigms of approaching life, we can make those two things indistinguishable.  At times I forget that I am not meant to be pursuing a religion, but the focus of my life is meant to be in following a person:  Jesus. 

I am purposefully leaving this blog entry short, because I don't know that I have much more to say yet.  What I do know is that I am grieving ways that I have too often offered Christianity to people, rather than inviting people to connect with Jesus.  Or maybe a more descriptive way to say it is that I often offer people a mixture of the two.  I'm asking God today to show me how to separate those two things and learn fresh and anew what it means to know and follow Him.