I am a 'C,' I am a 'C-H'...

I am toying with the notion that whenever a movement or idea is branded and labeled with a name for the masses, that it inevitably fails in communicating anything. As my thoughts piggy back off of a conversation recently had with Gordon Cosby, where Gordon said that essence can never directly be talked about but only around, I cannot help but notice that Jesus never told people to come be a "Christian." He always said, "come follow me." Come experience what cannot be put into words. Come experience what the essence of my movement is. Then he went on to live deeply with a core group of people, confront the abusive power structures of his time, and live boldly for a furiously, loving Creator God. He did it in a way that communicated what he was about, but it could never be fully explained or communicated in a book or article or essay. It was experienced and dialogged about in real life. Jesus was truly a master teacher and communicator- it's just that his communication style cost the people really willing to listen more of their life than what we'd dedicate to a leisurely read of the USA Today or any other publication no matter how academic. I think part of why the real Jesus was such a masterful communicator is that he forced his listeners into action and didn't let them sit in a hammock mulling over his words on a Sunday afternoon.