This is a good thread to consider what "friends" are. And how to make them. TWI did make us suspicious of other very decent-hearted people, Christians and non-Christians.
Jesus was a "friend" of all sorts of people. Accusations against him from the legalists were that he was a friend of winebibbers, etc, and other "disreputable" members of society. I started looking at his life, who he hung out with. He couldn't have been "in the face" of people in pubs, passersby, in the market place, on his travels, by jumping down their throats, could he? So he must have held forth the word in a quiet and acceptable fashion - perhaps just by living it and giving people space to feel safe in. When they were ready for a bit more, he gave it to them. He learned to be socially friendly with them. Probably he just asked them how their day had been, and was the donkey well behaved today?
Some followed him quite quickly. Others turned away. But of the ones who didn't follow him immediately, who knows but that he planted the seed and they pondered it and followed him later? Maybe some of those were the people who got blessed at Pentecost?
He made himself available and didn't criticise when people asked for help. No, he rolled up his sleeves and got stuck in. When Peter's wife was sick, did he criticise anyone's "believing"? No, he went to help.
What I *don't* see is him deliberately running people off, on a regular basis. Some are offended and leave, but that isn't the general pattern. He warned people about the leaven, the words of the Pharisees, but he didn't tell them not to go to the synagogue or temple (he didn't stop going himself, either).
He gathered about him a special band of buddies (we call the "12 disciples" or whatever, but there were really a lot more; also their families). He shared deeper heart with them. Sometimes they needed reproof and correction, but look how he did it, lovingly and encouragingly, not putting them down. On occasions his own followers became a bit over-zealous or legalistic, but again he gently reproved them, so they wanted to stick with him. They did it from love, not from fear that he would leave them or excommunicate them.
And we love our friends who *gently* point out the error of our ways and value them even more highly.
The only people who he really "got in the face of" was the hypocrites - Pharisees, legalists, church hierarchy - who said one thing and did another. He had no friends when it came to the Word (that they taught) and yet we also learn that one or two of them also became his followers.
Unfortunately in TWI we rather lost sight of our "big brother" and instead of modelling our lives on his (from the heart, kindness, loving point of view), we were urged to model it on higher-ups in TWI. As Paul said - be ye followers of me. And some at TWI took this to mean that we were to be followers of them (as the new apostles) and not of Christ. There were some really tremendous people there whose lives were admirable and who set wonderful examples. And then ... there were others exemplified "what it is not."
Those "What Would Jesus Do" bracelets don't really cut it for me, but as a reminder to think beyond the example set by TWI, well, what would Jesus do? How did he make friends?
