CHAPTER 1

PACKYOURCOFFIN

A century ago, a band of brave souls became known as one-waymissionaries. They purchased single tickets to the mission fieldwithout the return half. And instead of suitcases, they packed theirfew earthly belongings into coffins. As they sailed out of port, theywaved good-bye to everyone they loved, everything they knew. Theyknew they'd never return home.

A. W. Milne was one of those missionaries. He set sail for the NewHebrides in the South Pacific, knowing full well that the headhunterswho lived there had martyred every missionary before him. Milne didnot fear for his life, because he had already died to himself. His coffinwas packed. For thirty-five years, he lived among that tribe and lovedthem. When he died, tribe members buried him in the middle of theirvillage and inscribed this epitaph on his tombstone:

When he came there was no light.When he left there was no darkness.

When did we start believing that God wants to send us to safeplaces to do easy things? That faithfulness is holding the fort? Thatplaying it safe is safe? That there is any greater privilege than sacrifice?That radical is anything but normal?

Jesus didn't die to keep us safe. He died to make us dangerous.

Faithfulness is not holding the fort. It's storming the gates of hell.

The will of God is not an insurance plan. It's a daring plan.

The complete surrender of your life to the cause of Christ isn't radical.It's normal.

It's time to quit living as if the purpose of life is to arrive safely atdeath.

It's time to go all in and all out for the All in All.

Pack your coffin!

CHAPTER 2

THEINVERTEDGOSPEL

In the sixteenth century, the Renaissance astronomer NicholasCopernicus challenged the belief that the earth was the center ofthe universe. Copernicus argued that the sun didn't revolve aroundthe earth, but rather that the earth revolved around the sun. TheCopernican Revolution turned the scientific world upside down byturning the universe inside out.

In much the same way, each one of us needs to experience our ownCopernican Revolution. The paradigm shift happens when we cometo terms with the fact that the world doesn't revolve around us. Butthat's a tough pill to swallow.

When we are born into this world, the world revolves around us.We're spoon-fed on the front end and diaper-changed on the backend. It's as if the entire world exists to meet our every need. Andthat's fine if you are a two-month-old baby. If you're twenty-two, it'sa problem!

Newsflash: You are not the center of the universe!

At its core, sinfulness is selfishness. It's enthroning yourself — yourdesires, your needs, your plans — above all else. You may still seekGod, but you don't seek Him first. You seek Him second or third orseventh. You may sing " Jesus at the center of it all," but what you reallywant is for people to bow down to you as you bow down to Christ.It's a subtle form of selfishness that masquerades as spirituality, butit's not Christ-centric. It's me-centric. It's less about us serving Hispurposes and more about Him serving our purposes.

I call it the inverted gospel.

Who's Following Who

Most people in most churches think they are following Jesus, but I'mnot so sure. They may think they are following Jesus, but the realityis this: they have invited Jesus to follow them. They call Him Savior,but they've never surrendered to Him as Lord. And I was one ofthem. Trust me, I didn't want to go anywhere without Jesus right therebehind me. But I wanted Jesus to follow me, to serve my purposes, todo my will.

It wasn't until I was a nineteen-year-old freshman at the Universityof Chicago that I had my Copernican Revolution. It started withthis question: Lord, what do You want me to do with my life? That'sa dangerous question to ask God, but not nearly as dangerous as notasking that question!

I got tired of calling the shots. Honestly, I wasn't very good at playingGod. Plus it was exhausting. I stopped trying to "find myself" anddecided to seek God. I couldn't read His Word enough. I got up earlyto pray. I even fasted for the first time in my life. I meant business. Infact, business as usual went out of business. For the first time in mylife, I put Him first.

On the last day of summer vacation, I got up at the crack of dawnto do a prayer walk. Our family was vacationing at Lake Ida in Alexandria,Minnesota. The dirt road I walked down may as well havebeen the road to Emmaus. The cow pasture I walked through may aswell have been the back side of the Sinai Desert with a burning bush.After months of asking, I finally got an answer to my question. I knewwhat God wanted me to do with my life.

On the first day of my sophomore year, I walked into the admissionsoffice at the University of Chicago and told them I was...