Invitation to the Jesus Life: Experiments in Christlikeness

by Jan Johnson

To encounter Jesus daily and have a relationship with Him changes everything; our focus becomes eternal. Experience Jesus in such a way that His love-drenched, others-focused nature shapes your character. The spiritual practices in each chapter will challenge you to go deeper with Him.

Genres: Christian, Nonfiction, Faith, Christian Living, Christian Non Fiction, Christianity, Religion

256 pages, Paperback

First published September 15, 2008

About the author

Jan Johnson is an author (20 books), speaker, college prof and spiritual director. She lives in Simi Valley, CA.

Reviews

[Jim Hutson · Rating 3 out of 5]

"God called you to endure suffering because Christ suffered for you. He left you an example so that you could follow in his footsteps." (1 Peter 2:21 GW)

It was the sensation that sparked the little wristbands, the bumper stickers, and even conversations around the water cooler…..WWJD or "What would Jesus do?" It has faded because of two reasons: Everyone already knew the answer and no one could sustain doing what Jesus would do for long. There was no deep, reactionary change from shallow Christianity to a deeper relational understanding and commitment to God through His Son, Jesus Christ that must happen before the question becomes the reaction.

Jan Johnson feels even knowing that mysterious "WWJD" and doing it is prone to the same failure, because outward obedience is corrupted unless inward transformation of the heart towards "the kind of person from whom good deeds naturally flow" happens. In her theological understanding of 'Christlikeness', Johnson endeavors to look beyond the knowledge of "what" Jesus did to "understanding" seventeen 'underrated and particular' characteristics of Christ so that a 'curriculum of Christlikeness' will lead to a sustainable, transformational change within where what Jesus would do is replaced by doing what Jesus would do.

Johnson offers us a perspective of a "Jesus who was more than what He did" and a different look at the examples He left for us to follow.

[Amy · Rating 4 out of 5]

I thoroughly enjoy Jan Johnson's writing. I find her books practical, Biblical, and often incredibly helpful with suggestions on how to live a full Christian life. It seems this book is set up as a group study, where the group reads one chapter a week and then tries out the suggestions at the back of each chapter. And then there are questions for discussion and reflection. And in this format this book shines. The author has broken up Jesus' actions and character traits from the Bible into neat chapters to delve into and think about. And I am very impressed with the amount of ideas and inspirations to help the reader practice those actions on a daily basis. I thought the chapters on Attentive Listener, Authenticity, Dying to Self, Slow to Speak were so profoundly impactful on my own life, and many were of a social nature, helping with that difficult aspect of interacting in a Christ-like way with family, friends, and strangers. I give the book four stars, instead of five, because I found after a while only focusing on one character/action a chapter seemed disjointed at times. I recommend this book mainly for all the amazing suggestions the author provides, I got the sense she really does lives it and practices Christ-like-ness.

[Andrea · Rating 3 out of 5]

I liked what I read of this book, but I admit that I did not finish it. That is largely due to the demise of my Kindle, which forced me to read the book on my computer which I do not like to do. Also I was reading it as part of a group, which has finished the book. Perhaps I shall return to it in the future and finish it. I certainly appreciated many of Johnson's insights and reflections. Her book was different from many other books about Christian living that I have read. While I did not do enough to try to implement her suggestions at the end of each chapter, I thought they were an excellent means to help the reader reflect on what she was learning and apply it to his life. From what I did read, I would recommend this to others and I would like to give it 3.5 stars, if the system allowed that.

[Mary · Rating 4 out of 5]

Wise words: If Barb Tompkins gives a book to Huntly Cooney and Huntly gives it to you it is bound to be well worth the time to invest in reading it carefuly. This book ranks up there with The Celebration of Discipline. It is like a curriculum for spiritual disciplines filled with excersises and practical suggestions or experiments exercises in connecting with God. Chapter 2 and 3 hit me right between the eyes-expertly pointing areas where I need to grow. Once again I feel the need for community in which to practice these disciplines.It is so easy to just read the book and not slow down and practice the steps, leaving me with an intellectual understanding void of true intamacy with God. Makes me wonder what I really want. True intamacy is always a risk.

[Josette · Rating 4 out of 5]

I really, really liked this book. I used in my personal devotions and went through it rather slowly. The author incorporates the spiritual disciplines in a very practical way--suggesting how one might practice different disciplines to become more like Christ in one of the ways studied. She only gets to this after looking extensively at a particular characteristic of Jesus, giving examples of it and suggesting ways to further understand and experience that quality.

[Mary · Rating 5 out of 5]

So much in this book I had to read it again.

[Jt]

wasn't sure what this would be like, but i just absolutely loved it.

[Chad Conant · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great book! Challenged me in new and practical ways of spiritual formation. I loved it!

[Rebekah · Rating 5 out of 5]

Honestly one of the best studies I've done, and one I'll be revisiting again soon. Practical, convicting, humble, love-laced.

[Racha Rachad · Rating 5 out of 5]

It is not the usual perspective but not exactly new which makes you Focus in a deeper way on character and what you can do to develop and Connect.

[Pixismiler · Rating 3 out of 5]

I did this book with a group from church. The first half of the book was really good, but the second just wasn’t. I don’t know if it just got too cheesy or we drug it out too long or what.

[Amanda Petersen · Rating 4 out of 5]

Thinking about how God would interact with these people instead of how I want to has changed my worldview

[James Cutter · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was a wonderful and extremely challenging book. On every page I was reminded how unlike Christ my life really is. Jan Johnson accomplished this by doing something people rarely do in their lives today... she invites us to the Jesus life by actually going back and looking at the life of Jesus! And then she carefully explores how Jesus related to people and treated people while gently prodding her readers to look at their own lives and compare them with the life of Jesus. Her combination of explaining the Scriptures and sharing examples from her own life brought the message powerfully home. Too many Christians compare themselves with other people and conclude they are doing fine, but Johnson does not allow us that luxury. She forces us to look squarely at the life of Jesus. Then she provides multiple suggested exercises to help develop each quality of Jesus more deeply into our own lives. This is not a book one picks up and reads in a lazy afternoon nor one one picks up and reads once and returns it to the shelf. This is a book to be read and savored and re-read and highlighted and deeply considered and re-read again and again. Read this book! Contemplate it. Practice it. Accept her invitation to the Jesus Life!

[Chris · Rating 5 out of 5]

Jan Johnson is amazing. Her very down-to-earth, yet super insightful descriptions of following Jesus are very helpful in making very practical steps of following Jesus. She makes very interesting observations about Jesus from the gospels that I often miss, and her angles on Jesus' character are just so illuminating. Very good book for anyone looking to practically "put on the new self" everyday. Also, the attitude of "experimenting" with practices that help discipline one to be more Christ-like are very helpful and she is very creative (and even sometimes fun) with them often.

[Wendy C · Rating 5 out of 5]

Jan Johnson is a guide for getting to know Jesus...

[Linore · Rating 5 out of 5]

A lot of meat here for the mature believer as well as the newbie. Worth re-reading.

[Merci · Rating 5 out of 5]

I loved the application aspects. So many books just tell you things but this one showed how to apply them to your life and change and live more like Jesus.

[Chris Everson · Rating 5 out of 5]

Excellent book on living the Jesus life by Jan Johnson.