Jon Acuff and Me
As you might know by now, especially if you follow me on Twitter or are a friend of mine on Facebook, I went to see Jon Acuff Wednesday night. If you don’t know who Jon Acuff is, let me tell you. He is the creator of the Christian satirical blog, Stuff Christians Like. Beyond that I will not attempt to explain it. Follow the link and check it out.
I found out about Jon Acuff about a year or so ago. I read his book Stuff Christians Like and began following the blog. I found Jon on Twitter. Recently, I read his book Quitter. Finally, on Wednesday I heard him speak. After all of that, I came to this conclusion.
Jon and I are now best friends.
I know, I know. Some of you have doubts about Jon Acuff and I being best friends. However, let’s consider the evidence.
Exhibit #1: A photograph. Notice the sidehug.
Exhibit #2: A conversation
When I met Jon the other night, he immediately quoted a tweet that I had posted earlier. I had tweeted that I rarely go anywhere with my family and that it takes something special to pull me away. Wednesday night was such a night. Jon Acuff was speaking. And he knew that I had tweeted this to him. Who else but a BFF would remember such a thing?
Exhibit #3: An autograph
My friends, Matt and Dave, took their Jon Acuff books with them to get autographed. I left my it in my truck. I asked Jon to virtually autograph mine. He pointed to his heart and said that it was there that it would take place. From his heart to mine.
There ladies and gentlemen. I rest my case. Jon Acuff and I are best friends. I can’t wait to hunt unicorns with him.
Of course, all of this is ridiculous. I love to read Jon Acuff’s works. I enjoyed hearing him speak. He was a very nice and gracious guy. But best friends? Sure!!! We have a tendency to idolize people, don’t we? We put people up on pedestals. Especially us Christians. We make Super Christians out of our celebrities. And Jon is certainly becoming a celebrity. After all, he shows up on Fox and Friends every few weeks.
We build them up. We imagine that they wake up every morning and pray on the cold, cold tile of their kitchen floor. We almost expect them to walk on water. Does Jon Acuff walk on water? Not a chance. And he will agree with me.
Jon is a great guy. He makes us laugh. He makes us think. However, he is not what we build him up to be in our minds. He is a regular guy, albeit a talented one. He wants to point us toward God and Christ, not himself. He needs our prayers. He needs our friendship. He needs all the things that we need. What he doesn’t need is for us to idolize him.
Let’s make a pact. Let’s not idolize those that God has given what we deem to be special ministries. Let’s support them however the Lord leads.
That’s what Jon Acuff expects from his best friend.
What Christian have you idolized in the past? Have you ever set them on a pedestal only to knock them off?
I don’t thnk that I have idolized any. I do have a great deal of respect and admiration for several, though. Randy Alcorn, John Piper, Francis Chan–guys like that. There have been some that I have had to take a big step back from over the years due to finding out more about them and their beliefs.
Good picture, by the way. I bet a really awesome dude took it.
The photographer likes banana pudding and chicken and dumplins
I thought I was your best friend.
Or alternatively, I thought I was Jon’s best friend.
Kely, you are!!!!
I have for sure. I don’t put too many people up on a pedestal now but the exception is Andy Stanley. I still have to remind myself that he’s just a man.
Rob, I fight it. In the 90′s, it was Rich Mullins. Various people since then.
It was a good time.