Christianity: A Raw Deal

Growing up in an environment where questioning was viewed as rebellious and faithless, young Daniel found himself living more alone than many of his youthful counterparts growing up in Texas of the 1970’s. As if being the son of a preacher were not enough of a challenge, Daniel and his family found themselves coping with an undiagnosed matriarch struggling with a mental imbalance. This element in the home, and church, gave yield to a cyclic effect consisting of tentative stability to instability to mass departure. Daniel consistently found himself confronted with a situation where, although his parents were faithful, God seemed indifferent to his mother’s restoration.
The religious environment where Daniel should have been able to process his life brought additional obstacles to his faith. Daniel found it difficult to sort out the inconsistencies on display. Individuals, who blatantly lived lives different from what the Bible calls for, seemed to be used by God in mighty ways, leading others to the Lord. Searching for answers, Daniel approached an individual, one whom he looked to for guidance, only to be questioned and discouraged for his display of faithlessness. Daniel left that encounter “agnostic” and convinced Christianity was a raw deal.
Searching for meaning, Daniel poured himself into, what many young people do, sports. It was here that Daniel found and fostered his natural work ethic in basketball. Through hard work and perseverance, practicing for hours (500 – 1000 shots/day), Daniel exceeded greatly in high school basketball. Despite the team and personal successes, Daniel found himself slipping into depression and asking himself “Is this all there is?” Driven to find meaning, Daniel gave himself, and God, an ultimatum: Either find God in 2 months, or end it all (suicide)!
For two months, Daniel McNaughton, the son of a pastor, looked for God, and could not find Him; no one could/would show him God. On the last night of his two-month journey, after fighting with his older brother, alone, under a starlit night, Daniel found God.
That suicidal teenager from Texas, who gave his life to Christ, went on to graduate from high school, Evangel University, Gordon-Conwell, and earned his doctoral degree from the University of St. Michael’s College, University of Toronto. Today, along with teaching and pastor-ing a church, Daniel is working on “the one thing Christ told his disciples to do”; that one thing is ‘disciple people.’ Daniel points out that in Matthew 28 Jesus’ last words, last commands to the disciples is: “Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit, 20 teaching them to observe all that I commanded you; and lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age" (NASU).
“In the Greek, the only command is ‘make disciples’; everything else is ‘while you are doing that.’”
When Daniel understood that Jesus did not give us a bunch of things to do, he decided he needed to be busy with just that one thing…but what is a disciple…how do you become one…how do you ‘make’ one? These questions, and many more, sent Dr. McNaughton on a journey of discovery. Although he found much success in the church in constructing ‘systems’ for Christian education, Daniel soon realized that “sitting in classes was not imparting life.” Too many people were “coming to Christ” and then leaving. If Jesus Christ is the answer to life’s dilemmas, why were people not hanging on to it? Why did that young boy from Texas continue to ask questions? Daniel realized that true discipleship is key to healthy Christian growth, and true discipleship happens in real life, often in real messy life.
Daniel’s journey finally led him to write a book ( http://www.learningtofollow.net/ ) on the subject. This book is perhaps as practical as it can be. The attempt was made to strip the ‘Christian-ese’ out of the book, making it ‘new’ believer (even non-believer) readable. Daniel stresses the book is not intended, though many want it to be, for group disciple making, but rather, it is designed to be used in a coaching type relationship. This is an up close and personal approach to helping one along in his or her faith. Daniel admits this can get messy, but this is the one thing Jesus told His disciples to do. “If before I left the house I had told my children to do just one thing while I was gone, you better believe I would expect that to be done when I got back.”
Daniel, early on in his life, was modeled a Christianity that did more to drive him away than bring him close; Christianity really was a raw deal. Today, Daniel is making strides, attempting to change the face of Christianity back to what Christ intended. The discipleship path is not an easy road; it is not done well in mass marketing or classroom settings. The discipleship model being developed by Dr. McNaughton calls for a face-to-face level of accountability where one’s junk is dragged to the foot of the cross and the messy, raw parts of life are dealt with. One could say that Daniel McNaughton is in the process of redefining the raw deal of Christianity.