The other day I was performing my good old American civic duty by tediously selecting candidates on my ballot in the recent CA elections. Did you ever get frustrated by trying to vote for people in some of the more obscure positions? You have no idea what the position responsibilities are, let alone who this person is who seeks office.

In particular, I get nervous selecting judges because we know so little about them (there is rarely anything important in the voter guide), and yet they have so much authority. I don’t want to pick a nutcase, so I read the websites of the candidates in my district (at least it is something …).

And something funny struck me this time.

One of the judges said something I found very interesting. He commented that every time he put on his judicial robe, it reminded him that he swore an oath to protect and defend the constitutions of the US and of the State of CA.

And I got excited. I thought: that is a cool reminder! I need something like that; a tie or a T-shirt or some other reminder that each time I put it on I was to “think like an Elder/Pastor.” I will uphold the Scriptures! I would honor Yeshua! I would lead by example! I would defend the faith against threats and false teachers, both foreign and domestic!

And then I realized how foolish this was for me. I saw my mistake, I saw my sin.

It is true that by the nature of my bi-vocational position I cannot “be an elder” all the time. But being a disciple, a follower of Yeshua, is not something we turn “on and off.” We don’t stop being a disciple when we go home after a service. We are not only disciples when we do Bible studies. We must have the mindset of serving and loving our King with all our heart, soul, mind and strength.

We are disciples 24/7. Or at least we should be.

I’m trying (and it takes significant effort, mind you) to be thinking how the Gospel can fit into what I am doing at the moment. Well in reality it should be the other way around ... but you get the idea. What ideas do you have for having a Gospel-centered mentality? A Gospel-centered purpose?

Yeshua told us that if we abide in His word, we are truly His disciples (John 8:31). In our culture, we can be so easily distracted from this. Not just because there are so many things to do, but because we have been trained to be believers one day a week. Being a disciple is a lifestyle, not a T-shirt.

I think the kingdom of God would advance more if we thought this way.