Shannon Cocker – The Cross and the Selfie: Discipleship in a Me-First Culture

Let’s be honest—“deny yourself” isn’t exactly a slogan you’ll see on a billboard anytime soon. It’s certainly not the hook of your average self-help book. And yet, these are the exact words Jesus used when inviting people to follow Him. Jesus never sugar-coated the cost. He told us up front: to follow Him means denying ourselves—not just once, but daily. That’s a hard sell in a world obsessed with self-fulfilment, self-help, and self-promotion. This isn’t the comfortable version of discipleship. It’s the kind that costs something. Maybe even everything.