Anyone But Jesus – The Cross We Refuse to Carry

Pastor Dan’s message, addresses the deep confusion many experience regarding what it means to be a Christian, especially when the actions of those professing faith seem to contradict the life and words of Jesus. Pastor Dan asserts that many Christians prefer to follow “anybody but Jesus” because the true Jesus “asks too much of us”. He challenges listeners by stating that if the words and example of Jesus offend one’s politics, that is a personal issue. While Jesus’s central command was simply “Follow me,” which includes loving God, loving your neighbor, and loving your enemy, the Jesus followed by many American Christians often appears to bless their comfort and politics without ever asking them to take up a cross. This trading of Jesus for political idols that promise victory instead of transformation reflects a pattern seen in scripture, where people would rather follow political figures like Caesar to achieve their desired outcomes than follow Jesus.

The sermon focuses on the conflict between worldly power and the demands of the cross, warning that we have dangerously “confused the flag with the cross,” forgetting which one redeems us, and that we cannot serve both. When power becomes the priority, the cross becomes unbearable because it mandates love and self-denial, not dominance, as the true measure of greatness. Pastor Dan argues that every time God’s people have chased empire, it has ended in destruction because power without love inevitably devours its own followers, often starting by targeting vulnerable groups. The ultimate answer to humanity’s problems lies not in politics or seeking dominance, but in living out the hard truths Jesus commanded: denying ourselves, loving our enemies, serving others, and taking up the cross daily. Pastor Dan concludes with a prayer that the church would trade the desire for control for the cross, seeking to look like Jesus—the narrow way of love—even when it costs everything.