“Do you follow Jesus this close?” (bumper sticker)

“Do you follow Jesus this close? (or “Do you follow Jesus this closely?”) is a jocular saying that has been printed on many bumper stickers. The reader of the bumper sticker is probably tailgating.
       
“Do you follow Jesus this closely?” was printed in the Wisconsin State Journal (Madison, WI) on October 1, 2006. “Rear bumper sticker spotted in Dixie: ‘Do you follow Jesus this closely?’” was printed in the Orlando (FL) Sentinel on December 7, 2008.
   
“‘Christian’ bumper sticker: ‘Do you follow Jesus this close?’ Who does this encourage?” was posted on Twitter by lukemundy on November 13, 2008.“the day of good bumper stickers: ‘Do you follow JESUS this close?’” was posted on Twitter by Kristina Deckert on February 19, 2009.
   
       
1 October 2006, Wisconsin State Journal (Madison, WI), “Sticker Shock,” pg. C1:
(A bumper sticker is shown, with this caption.—ed.) “Do you follow Jesus this closely?” 
Paul Baker of Madison spotted this sticker during a recent weekend trip to Minneapolis. Send a jpeg file of a political bumper sticker you see to .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address).
     
Twitter
lukemundy
@lukemundy
“Christian” bumper sticker: “Do you follow Jesus this close?” Who does this encourage?
10:51 AM · Nov 13, 2008·Twitter Web Client
 
Newspapers.com
7 December 2008, Orlando (FL) Sentinel, “Gray Matters” by Bard Lindeman, pg. J7, col. 2:
Rear bumper sticker spotted in Dixie: “Do you follow Jesus this closely?”
   
Twitter
Gretchen
@Gretchen_M
On the way 2 work: honda with ‘chosen1’ plate, bumper sticker ‘do you follow jesus this closely?’ lol
9:34 AM · Dec 31, 2008·Twitter SMS
   
Twitter
Kristina Deckert
@kristinadeckert
the day of good bumper stickers: “Do you follow JESUS this close?”
5:23 PM · Feb 19, 2009·Twitter Web Client
   
Twitter
Bryan Amann
@BryanAmann
Saw a bumper sticker for people who tail to closely.  It said: “Do you follow Jesus this closely?”  I pray that my drive for the Lord is ...
12:05 PM · Mar 25, 2009·Twitter Web Client
 
Newspapers.com
13 May 2009, Charlotte (NC) Observer, “The Buzz,” pg. 13A, col. 5:
Bumper sicker at SouthPark: Do you follow Jesus this close?
     
23 December 2011, New Haven (CT) Register, “Bumper stickers capture essence of politics, humor?” by Randall Beach, pg. 1:
“Do you follow Jesus this close?”
   
1 January 2016, The Advertiser (Adelaide, Australia), “The Last Word” by Marty Smith, pg. 1:
INSIGHT “Do you follow Jesus this closely?” - bumper sticker.
 
Twitter
sarah
@ItsSarahAnneee
I just got behind a car that had a sticker on the back that said “do you follow Jesus this close?” and they win the game of car stickers
4:12 PM · Dec 26, 2020·Twitter for iPhone