The Gospel of Yes

Q & A with Mike Glenn, author of The Gospel of Yes
 
How would you explain the title, The Gospel of Yes?
The scandalous good news of the gospel is “God is for us.”  That’s the message Jesus brought to us.  God’s word to us is a resounding yes. The great yes of God echoes back to us in creation, in the call of Abraham, the Exodus, the missionary work of the early church—and ultimately and supremely in Jesus Christ.  God’s word to humanity is Yes!  Yes to life and life more abundant; Yes to restoration and healing and Yes to eternity with Him.

When did you realize there was a need to help people understand what it meant to live in Yes?
We have a Tuesday night worship experience called Kairos that focuses on young adults.  In a lot of my conversation with these young adults, they would begin to tell me all of the things they had done wrong in their lives.  They felt bad about their mistakes, but were failing in their efforts to simply avoid doing wrong.  When I asked them what they were for, they had no idea what I was talking about.  We started talking and preaching about the Yes we have Christ Jesus and when you know your yes (the person you are in Christ and the purpose for which you were created), then the No’s of your life take care of themselves.

How is your view of God shaped by living in Yes instead of No?
I have found it makes all the difference in how you live when you understand the grace of the Father is for your benefit as a person.  God is committed to your success as any good father is.  To understand that God is working for your good instead of sitting way up in heaven with a fist full of lightning bolts waiting for us to make a mistake, allows us to live in a joyful freedom I haven’t been able to find anywhere else.

Your book talks about how Christianity and the culture have built into our lives a message of No.  How would you describe that?
We love to keep score.  Everything we do or have done or value.  That’s a problem in authentic Christianity.  How do you measure mercy?  How do you quantify love?  This is frustrating to us as humans, so the church developed a way to keep points (attendance, giving, etc.) that we could measure.  We also developed a lot of things that cause us to lose points (not attending church, etc.)  By adding and subtracting points, we could tell what kind of Christian each of us was.  I am being a little facetious, but not much.  Christianity as a point system is a very small and bitter way to live.  It’s not the gospel Jesus preached.

How did you find your Yes?
I had always been looking for my yes, but I didn’t know what I was looking for.  I knew I was called, but I was a different kind of kid.  .I didn’t fit “pastoral expectations.”  Through the insight of several good friends, I began to understand the way I was put together and understood my own gifts.  When I began to live out of my Yes, my life changed completely.
 
Is there only one Yes found in life?
As you follow Christ, there are lots of moments of awakening and new understanding.  I would say there is one big Yes—to follow Christ and become like Him.  But there are lots of little yeses.  Our God is full of surprises.

You wrote about biblical characters who found their Yes.  Can you tell us about a favorite of yours?
Most of the biblical characters we know about lived out their Yes in one way or another.  Abraham, Moses, David, Joseph, Peter, Mary, Lydia . .the list goes on and on of course.  But for me, I wish I could live out my yes the way Paul did.  Paul knew he was called to preach the gospel and he used every opportunity—even his own trial and imprisonment—to preach the gospel.  I wish I could get to the point in my life where no matter what question life was throwing at me, I would answer out of my Yes in Christ and to Christ.

Is this message of Yes one that is even understood by the church and God’s people?
I think the message of Yes is heard by God’s people, but the wildness of this message frightens a lot of people.  They would rather live in the safety of not doing wrong.  But as more Christ followers find and live in the power of Yes, the greater impact their lives will have.  And being in the yes of Christ attracts the attention of a world trapped in misguided expectation of success and happiness.  No one is as powerful a witness of the church of Christ as a person who is living in their full yes.

How will the Yes found in the gospel of Jesus Christ change a life?
Once you understand your yes in Christ—what you are for—the no’s take care of themselves.   As we see how Christ created us and what happens when we sync our energies with the work of His spirit in the world, there is a synergy that is hard to explain.  To know who you truly are in Christ, to unleash your giftedness and how it serves your calling opens up possibilities in life you just can’t find anywhere else.