Every year in the first few weeks at GCA we talk about our essentials of faith and the principles upon which we stand. It is important that we take some time to remember what God has done, the foundation upon which He established GCA, and then look ahead towards giving Him glory in all we do. Three of the principles that have supported the school since the very beginning are being Bible-Based, Discipleship-Driven, and Christ-Centeredness. While all three are interconnected to each other and do not stand alone, I felt led to talk about Christ-Centeredness seeing I had the chance to share with our students in Chapel time this school year.

Luke 9:23 says: Then he [Jesus] said to the crowd, “If any of you wants to be my follower, you must give up your own way, take up your cross daily, and follow me.” There is a lot to say from this verse when it comes to Christ-Centeredness, but let me just start with the following. There are only two worldviews that operate in this fallen world. Those that are Christ-Centered and those that are Self-Centered. Literally, there are no other worldviews because every other worldview will fall into one of these two categories: I’m either with Jesus or I reject Him.

One worldview puts Christ squarely on the throne of our lives and we submit and surrender to Him daily as it says in Luke 9:23. The other worldview clearly puts ourselves in the center with everything bowing down to us. Oh, we may not project that persona in our day to day interactions, but if one were to really look at the heart then it is easy to find that it is about self. And it is easy to see why. Without Jesus being the centerpiece, then we have to turn inward. We have to run everything in our lives with an “about me” position. And it is not so much about what you do that matters, it is about who you worship: God or Self.

Even the most generous and kind person on the planet must default to one’s own ego if Jesus is not in the middle of it all. There is simply no higher authority to surrender to except your own. And while we will still have earthly authority with other people, we will simply manage those authorities on a premise of what’s self-serving for us and not trusting the Almighty God that He has placed that authority around us. Without Him to worship, then we have no choice but to put ourselves in the center, even if actions don’t seem to line up. God is always after the heart and if “we give up our own way” on a daily basis to follow Christ, then the Father knows that we truly are a follower, or disciple, of Him.

Together In Christ,
Jeremie Johnson, GCA Director of Discipleship