What the Not a Fan Followers Journal Actually Is
I picked up Kyle Idleman's Not a Fan workbook back in 2014 when my small group hit a wall. We were reading the book but nobody was applying anything. The discussion kept circling back to theology instead of the actual lifestyle shift the book is pushing for. Someone suggested we grab the follower journal and commit to writing responses weekly. That changed the whole dynamic.Not A Fan Followers Journal Kyle Idleman
It is a companion workbook designed to go alongside the main book. Each chapter has questions built in for personal reflection and group discussion. The format is straightforward: read the passage, answer the questions, talk about it with other people. Nothing fancy. The physical copy runs about twenty dollars. You can find it on Amazon, at Christian bookstores, or sometimes free through church resource centers if they order in bulk for their groups. I bought mine at a Half Price Books in Austin for eight dollars because it was a display copy with a bent corner. Functionally identical.
How to Use It Without Wasting Time
Here is what actually works based on a few years of running with this thing. The biggest mistake people make is treating it like homework. They rush through the questions to get to the discussion portion, and the whole exercise becomes performative. Nobody learns anything. I started doing one chapter per week instead of trying to power through the whole book in a month. That meant about forty-five minutes of writing, then an hour of group time. The writing part is non-negotiable. You have to put pen to paper before you talk about it. Your brain processes differently when you are writing versus just thinking about an answer. It slows you down enough to actually encounter something real. The group discussion works best when everyone has answered the same questions beforehand. If half the room winged it, the conversation stalls out by question three. I learned that the hard way in week six of a twelve-week study. We spent twenty minutes just trying to get people to admit they had not done the work. Awkward for everyone.
Where to Find and Download It
The official publisher is Multnomah, which is an imprint of Penguin Random House. They sell the physical book on their website and through major retailers. There is no legal free PDF floating around that I can recommend. Anything claiming to be a free download is either a pirate copy or a scam site. If you want the digital version, Kindle and Apple Books both carry it. The Kindle edition has the same content but without the wide margins and lined space some people prefer for handwriting. I used the paperback version exclusively because I need to write in it. Digital notes feel different. They do not stick the same way. Sometimes churches run studies using this material and provide their own photocopies. Check with your pastor or small group leader first. They may already have something set up.
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The Edge Case That Almost Broke My Study
About halfway through the book, chapter seven hit a nerve I was not ready for. The question was basically asking whether I was following Jesus because I wanted something from him or because I wanted him. My initial answer was every word of it was a lie. I wrote that down. Then I sat there for twenty minutes not writing anything else. The workaround was simple but not obvious: I texted my group leader and asked to swap discussion orders. Instead of continuing with chapter seven, we moved to chapter eight and came back to it a week later. That extra time let me sit with the uncomfortable answer without performing spirituality for people who needed me to have it figured out. I came back to chapter seven the next week and actually had something honest to say.
Common Pitfalls People Miss
First, do not use this as a study tool for theological depth. Kyle Idleman is writing devotionally, not academically. If you are looking for rigorous biblical exegesis, you will be frustrated. The value is in the personal application, not the scholarship behind each chapter. Second, the questions are intentionally open-ended. That means two people can read the same question and come away with completely different answers. Do not assume your group mate is wrong because their answer does not match yours. Some of the most productive conversations in my group came from people disagreeing on what a question was even asking. Third, and this is important, the book assumes a certain baseline of Christian experience. If you are brand new to faith or coming from a non-Christian background, some of the language will glide right over you. That is not a flaw in the book. It is a feature of who it was written for. Consider pairing it with a beginner discipleship resource if that is your situation.
Does It Still Work in 2024?
Yes, but with a caveat. The cultural references inside are slightly dated. Kyle was writing about social media, career ambition, and comfort culture as they existed around 2010. Those issues still exist, but the specific examples feel a little old now. The underlying questions remain relevant regardless. I have seen younger groups adapt the examples to current contexts without losing the point. My only real criticism is that the follow-up curriculum from the same publisher tends to push too hard toward consumer Christianity. Not a Fan itself is pretty solid. The sequels and companion materials are where I start seeing commercial packaging override genuine spiritual formation. Stick to the main book and the journal. Skip the expanded workbooks unless you have a specific reason.
