I recently saw a video entitled "Why I hate religion but love Jesus" featuring a young man delivering a powerful poem. I can relate to his frustration, but the video bothered me. He wasn't careful with the words he chose. He spoke of religion and churches with no qualification, and only later explained he meant false religion and those churches which have wandered from the basic teachings of Jesus.

It's easy to point fingers. I've read commentaries on the "organized church", proclaiming with pride that they do not belong to such things, choosing instead to concentrate on Jesus. Odd. Jesus believed in religion and participated in religious rituals. He went to church and even taught there.

Religion is not the problem, nor is the organized church. When we focus on something so large and inclusive, our attention is diverted from the true problem. That problem does not lie with the multitude, but the individual. And the answer is not in looking to some thing, but understanding some one.

You're probably thinking the one here is Jesus. No. Jesus is key for the one. But we're talking about problems that arise in religion and the organized church. We've gone from concepts and organizations to people within them, more specifically to a person within them. And at the center of all this is the one. So, Who is the one? The Bible has many names.

Follower. Akoloutheo (Greek for follow) means to be in the same way with. Paul described being a follower as holding to everything that agrees with the Law and that is written in the Prophets and having the hope in God that there will be a resurrection of both the righteous and the wicked. (See Acts 24:14-16)

Believer. Pistos (Greek for believe) refers to being faithful. Believers have faith in Jesus. They believe in Him, making His teachings an essential part of their lives. They are the temple of the living God. As God has said: "I will live with them and walk among them, and I will be their God, and they will be my people." (2 Corinthians 6:16b)

Disciple. Mathetes (Greek for learner) indicates the role of a student. Whenever Jesus mentions His disciple, He is not referring to a person who has mastered His teachings and way of life, but to the individual who is always learning. And the cost is significant. Any of you who does not give up everything he has cannot be my disciple. (Luke 14:33)

There are many ones among us. They walk in the way Jesus has prepared, believe in the truth He has revealed, and are always learning from the life He has lived. Followers. Believers. Disciples. These are not titles but descriptions that indicate a change in who the ones have become...a change that separates them from the rest of the world...a change that is radical.

Radical ­- having strong convictions and extreme principles. Does this not describe Jesus? Then, like Him, it must also describe the ones who follow Him, believe in Him, and are His disciples. They are the witness of Christ to the world. And they can return integrity to religion and the church.

It's time to get radical! Are you the one?