UnChristian Pt. 2
I finally finished "UnChristian." You can read my first blog about it here. It's been an amazing journey into the minds of "outsiders" - people who don't follow Christ, as well as those who do, but are struggling with the actions, theology, and/or attitudes of those of us who call ourselves Christ followers. I want to give you more challenging quotes and thoughts from the book, as well as my overall opinion. However, before I lose it, I want to share my emotional reaction.
My overall reaction: Fear! Fear of what God's calling me to do. Fear of how people will respond. Fear of being hurt, and of my wife and boys being hurt by those responses. Fear of failure as I seek to live more humbly, more forgiving, more patient, and more peaceful. Fear of failure as I seek to live more boldly, more loving, and more out of my relationship with Christ instead of what others might expect of me.
That doesn't sound like a very Christian response, I would guess. It certainly looks like a coward's words, yet those are the very real feelings inside of me as I consider what it might mean to obey God in some of the things I think He's speaking to me.
You see, the overall impression I get from reading this book is that I need to be more bold in living out what I know is right, even when those around me disagree because they think my actions are unnecessary, unwise, or just plain wrong. Like anybody, I want to be liked, to not rock the boat, to simply live a nice, safe life, caring for my family and pursuing comfort and happiness. Reading this book, I'm reminded that God doesn't call us to comfort, happiness, or to be liked. Those things aren't bad, and He often (or at least sometimes) gives them to us. But it seems like it's more often that He calls us to step out of our comfort zones - step out on the water, love and pray for those who hurt us, not to mention forgive them, be prepared for trials and temptations as they produce perseverance, etc. I'm supposed to be willing to abandon all that I hold dear in order to be Jesus to people who may attack my character, misjudge my motives, or just plain not like me, and encourage others not to like me. Those are hard things to do when we're told there might not be any rewards until after our death. In fact, we're not even supposed to be looking for any rewards other than His smile and encouraging words. That's not to say there won't be any, but we're not to be looking for them.
Yet even as I feel fear, there's a holy boldness that rises up within me. There's the knowledge that what God's calling me to do is from Him. There's the knowledge that, even if I'm hurt or attacked, that God will heal and strengthen me. There's the knowledge that there's more at stake here than just my ego or pride. I keep coming back to that story I told a few posts ago about David running from Saul, even while being in the midst of God's will. So, here are some of the things I'm thinking about that God may be calling me to. I don't know all that it will mean in terms of "doing," but I can't just sit back and ignore God's call in order to be safe and liked.
It's taken me over an hour to write this post due to interruptions. Those interruptions are lovely and wonderful, but they do make it more difficult to get the job done. Anyway, I'm going to close by asking those reading to join me in praying for wisdom, boldness, and humility. The passage I keep coming back to is Colossians 3:12-15. Please ask God to help me live it out.
My overall reaction: Fear! Fear of what God's calling me to do. Fear of how people will respond. Fear of being hurt, and of my wife and boys being hurt by those responses. Fear of failure as I seek to live more humbly, more forgiving, more patient, and more peaceful. Fear of failure as I seek to live more boldly, more loving, and more out of my relationship with Christ instead of what others might expect of me.
That doesn't sound like a very Christian response, I would guess. It certainly looks like a coward's words, yet those are the very real feelings inside of me as I consider what it might mean to obey God in some of the things I think He's speaking to me.
You see, the overall impression I get from reading this book is that I need to be more bold in living out what I know is right, even when those around me disagree because they think my actions are unnecessary, unwise, or just plain wrong. Like anybody, I want to be liked, to not rock the boat, to simply live a nice, safe life, caring for my family and pursuing comfort and happiness. Reading this book, I'm reminded that God doesn't call us to comfort, happiness, or to be liked. Those things aren't bad, and He often (or at least sometimes) gives them to us. But it seems like it's more often that He calls us to step out of our comfort zones - step out on the water, love and pray for those who hurt us, not to mention forgive them, be prepared for trials and temptations as they produce perseverance, etc. I'm supposed to be willing to abandon all that I hold dear in order to be Jesus to people who may attack my character, misjudge my motives, or just plain not like me, and encourage others not to like me. Those are hard things to do when we're told there might not be any rewards until after our death. In fact, we're not even supposed to be looking for any rewards other than His smile and encouraging words. That's not to say there won't be any, but we're not to be looking for them.
Yet even as I feel fear, there's a holy boldness that rises up within me. There's the knowledge that what God's calling me to do is from Him. There's the knowledge that, even if I'm hurt or attacked, that God will heal and strengthen me. There's the knowledge that there's more at stake here than just my ego or pride. I keep coming back to that story I told a few posts ago about David running from Saul, even while being in the midst of God's will. So, here are some of the things I'm thinking about that God may be calling me to. I don't know all that it will mean in terms of "doing," but I can't just sit back and ignore God's call in order to be safe and liked.
- Engage in the conflict with people who have hurt me. That doesn't mean hurt back, but actually talk to them about it, communicating both how they've hurt me, as well as that I forgive them. The hardest part of all this is that it opens my heart up to be hurt more. How do I guard my heart, while opening it up in love at the same time?
- Move students towards reaching out into the community. I don't know all this means, as I have no clue what's available, how we can truly make a difference, or what different students' passions are. However, I can't continue to just meet every Sunday, go on trips, or even plan a mission trip. Those things aren't bad, but if that's all I'm doing, I'm not leading these students (or their families) towards a full understanding of God's call to be salt and light here in the community. How in the world can we be salt and light if we never get out of our building and little community.
- Somehow challenge students to follow Christ in holiness, while also offering His grace and understanding that we're all on a journey. I continue to be frustrated with apathetic, mediocre Christians who aren't interested in anything more than being morally good... or at least not being as bad as those outside the church... or at least not doing anything bad while at church. Yet I'm also reminded of the areas of my own life that I'm also mediocre in, where I allow my own fears to determine what I do instead of Christ's Spirit within me. I must invite students to join me in this journey towards becoming more like Christ without coming across as condemning them when they fail, or - even worse - when they choose not to join me.
- There are issues in the church that I must somehow address with humility, kindness, and respect for those who've gone before me, as well as those in leadership now, all while still being firm and bold about what is right, and what I perceive to be true about the situation. Right now, I'd much rather just... well, I'd like to say things or do some things, and neither of those options are Christ like in action or attitude. In fact, what I originally wrote here, as anonymous as I tried to make it, could still be seen as attacking, and some in the church who read this could have interpreted what I wrote in a poor light (whether they interpreted correctly or not, whether they agreed with me or not), so I've changed it in an effort to speak truth while not attacking or hurting those involved in a public forum.
It's taken me over an hour to write this post due to interruptions. Those interruptions are lovely and wonderful, but they do make it more difficult to get the job done. Anyway, I'm going to close by asking those reading to join me in praying for wisdom, boldness, and humility. The passage I keep coming back to is Colossians 3:12-15. Please ask God to help me live it out.
Labels: Book Reviews, Church, Intercession Requests, Personal, Risk, Youth Ministry
posted by Pastor Paul at
9:56 AM
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