As much as I hate to admit it, I like routines. For instance, today is Thursday which means Chris and I will hit the diner tonight.
Another routine that I have adopted recently is blog-reading. I can't get enough of the blogs from Mark Walz. He, like myself, is a womb-to-tomb church member. We grew up in church...so everyone thinks that we must know everything about God. And sometimes, we convince ourselves that we might know everything about God. It is often sad when smart Christians think stupid things.
In the past week, Mark has made two posts that have dramatically affected me. The first was a post on Spiritual Transformation. Growing up in conservative Christian circles, I can relate to Mark's Bible Bee success. As a young adult, I completely rejected my church upbringing since it was more legalistic than I felt I wanted. But in all honesty, there are pros and cons to both aspects of the modern church. I often believe that when we meet Jesus, he will be most disappointed with our decisions that caused division.
Mark's second post was an appreciation of a fellow pastor and his willingness to be vulnerable about his intimacy with God. HONEST MOMENT: There are 21 words in that last sentence, and I openly struggle with at least 1/7 of the sentence. We have an entire culture within and without the church that lacks a willingness to be vulnerable about intimacy. Whether that intimacy is in relationship to God or others, we act like we are afraid of it.
NEWS FLASH: I am probably one of the most guilty of committing the "vulnerable intimacy" no-no.
How authentic and trustworthy am I if I say God is love and we are His hands and feet, but then I don't act like it? How dare I make any judgment on another leader for their authenticity and integrity if I don't have a visible history of my own? I think this is a moment to say, "Ouch"!
Last night I went to a class at GCCN and had a chance to meet some of the staff and learn about the church. It was a great experience. I have to tell you that I have no idea why God has led me here. But, if I don't stick around and try being vulnerable to some new experiences, I may miss something AMAZING that God has for me.
So, in keeping with Mark's theme about a constant state of transformation toward Jesus, maybe my new routine needs to be a routine of change.
