Über Christ Followers – Part 16 – Gayle Erwin

Every morning, Gayle Erwin gets out of bed, walks to his closet, and asks himself, “Which shirt will clash most with these loud suspenders?”

Despite his non-GQ-ness, Gayle has written a pile of practical and unpretentious books on following Jesus. Jesus Style impacted me most. This book portrays Jesus as a real man and demonstrates true servant-leadership better than anything I’ve come across. Erwin has real talent for humorously helping us see ourselves in the faulty disciples Jesus surrounded Himself (and continues to surround Himself) with. Characters from the 90’s sitcom Third Rock from the Sun are taken more seriously than the stuffy religious people we find parked in a pew. People like me. People like you.

Forget all the systems to holy living you’ve tried and failed at and simply try these two things:

1. don’t take yourself too seriously


2. demonstrate you love God by serving your brother

Here are some other pointers I’ve picked up over the years from watching Gayle teach:

• loosen up


• make sure its simple enough for kids to follow


• if you have fun, your listeners will, too


• come out from behind the podium – once they see you, your listeners will feel better about themselves

The bottom line is that if communicating about God is the goal, it has to be interesting and you are hereby permitted to have fun. Let the Word of God you’re teaching and God’s Spirit change people. Don’t think people are going to follow Jesus just because you’re smart and really religious and theological.