The Following Jesus web site is a project of the Mustard Seed School of Theology, which may be the smallest school of biblical studies and theology in the world.
The goal of this project is to discover ways to be a faithful follower of Jesus in a postmodern world. It explores what Dietrich Bonhoeffer called “religionless Christianity“—faith as a way of life, not as a system of beliefs and doctrines or institutional rites and rituals. The Mustard Seed School hopes to share the radical social and political ideas of Jesus as an antidote to the religious orthodoxy of the church adopted under the Emperor Constantine in the fourth century. It is also confrontation with white Christian nationalism in today’s world,
Jesus explained that the reign of God, or as I have called it the conspiracy of love, was like a mustard plant—a fast-growing weed that invades well-cultivated and protected gardens and that spreads with chaotic growth. It is the uncontrolled spread of radical ideas like nonviolent resistance, distributive economic justice, radically inclusive community, and a situational ethics of compassion—that has the creative power to transform the world—and may even transform the church.
the following Jesus website
This website obviously can be explored in any order you please, but let me first explain the order in which I have chosen to place the elements. The pages all in caps are the major categories in the drop-down menu. Lower case indicates subsections.
an invitation to follow Jesus
We start with an INVITATION that includes a short animation—an invitation to follow Jesus in his own words. Then you will find an overview of what it means to have a life of faith in the postmodern world—not a system of belief, but a way of life.
explore religionless Christianity
We will explore what German theologian and martyr Dietrich Bonhoeffer saw as the future of the faith—a RELIGIONLESS CHRISTIANITY, that offers an alternative approach for our postmodern, post-Christian, and secular world today.
learn about the historical Jesus
We will examine the life of THE HISTORICAL JESUS. It is important to recover the real humanity of Jesus in the context of the first century if we are to follow him in the twenty-first.
learn about Jesus’ mission and message
The MISSION AND MESSAGE of Jesus focuses on the important theme of the kingdom of God, or what I call a conspiracy of love. I believe that comprehending what the kingdom of God is all about is the key to our understanding of the mission of Jesus.
The message of Jesus explores his major teachings, including what I think are his nine key teachings, outlining what it means to follow Jesus. It also includes an in-depth coverage of the wisdom of Jesus.
explore the postmodern world
The POSTMODERNITY section examines the gradual evolution from the pre-modern world to the modern world to the emergence of the postmodern world. It will then give an overview of the postmodern generations—Baby Boomers, Gen Xs, Millennials, Gen Zs, Gen Alphas, and starting now, Gen Betas.
delve into justice, nonviolence, and inclusive community
We also do a deep dive into some major themes of what it means to be a follower of Jesus. In the JOURNEY section, we cover the topics of social justice, nonviolent resistance, and inclusive community.
learn about companions on our journey
You will have the opportunity to read about the lives of some significant people who have been COMPANIONS on our journey with Jesus. They include Francis of Assisi, Mohandas Gandhi, Clarence Jordan, Dorothy Day, Dietrich Bonhoeffer, Martin Luther King Jr, and Óscar Romero.
investigate further resources for the journey
Finally, we have a section on RESOURCES for reading and further study, as well as some links for action.
Begin the journey here:
INVITATION
