Philippians 3:13 Brothers, I do not consider myself yet to have taken hold of it. But one thing I do: Forgetting what is behind and straining toward what is ahead,

At this point in my Christian life my one aspiration is for all of us to Keep Growing Closer to Jesus (KGCJ), in terms of:

• Love: Relationship with Jesus (Worship)
• Likeness: Resemblance to Jesus (Character)
• Living: Real-World Impact for Jesus (Mission)

Previously I had used the phrase “Loving More Like Jesus.” However — while I still agree with that goal in principle — in practice it was starting feel more like Law than Grace. Hence the shift from “loving like” to “growing closer”

What I find fascinating is how different faith traditions express those same three dimensions in very different ways. For example (at least in my limited experience):

Tradition:	Evangelical	Charismatic	Mainline
Love with Jesus	Private Devotions	Public Worship	Social Celebrations
Likeness to Jesus	Bible Study	Inner Healing	Counseling
Living for Jesus	Evangelism	Miracles	Justice

This sometimes leads to “lopsided” communities, where we even take an odd sort of pride in not pursuing aspects of Jesus that others value so highly.

I am starting to think that the faster way for us to grow closer to Jesus is simply by honoring those who approach it very differently than we do!