There, I’ve said it.

Its out there. In black and white. For the world to see…if, that is, they happen to peruse my blog.

A clear, concise statement of my beliefs.

Unashamed.

Unashamed, but yet I hope it doesn’t turn you off. Or turn you away. Possibly even before you’ve gotten this far; or, for that matter, clicked on the title to read on at all.

I hope it doesn’t turn you away because, by making that statement, my intention is not to be exclusive. By unashamedly stating who I am, I do not mean to state who you are. Or who you are compared to me.  It is not to delineate us, or separate us…or rank us. I am not saying that I am better than you; or worse. No, I do not intend to be exclusive; to the contrary, my intention is to be inclusive.

So, you may be wondering, if my intention is not to be exclusive, if it is really to be inclusive, then why state it at all? Its a fair question. I’m not sure I have all the answers. Like most folks, I am simply trying to find my way down this path. Stumbling around from time to time. And, from time to time, making a wrong turn. But I think I have this much figured out:

  • We, as Christians, have done a horribly bad job at representing Christ. For ages.
  • We have spent enough of our time (and enough of everyone’s time) attempting to separate ourselves from the “religious”. Those that we blame for the horribly bad representation of Christ and Christians.
  • We have failed at backing up our words with action.

I (and you. And you, and you, and you…oh, yes, and you…) can change that. But not by separating ourselves from anyone or anything. No, by separating ourselves from those we deem hypocritical…aren’t we in fact being hypocritical?  …I think so…but, then as I said, I’m stumbling my way through this…so I could be wrong. And, by separating ourselves from those we view as different, or believe (judge) to be somehow less than us…well, we’ve failed before we’ve even begun.  So, if not by separating, then how?

I think we can change it, or at least try, by:

  • Dropping the arm’s-length approach to Christianity. We can’t keep saying well I’m this, but not that; or this is the label I’ll accept but, no-no-no, don’t call me that. Not with any credibility, anyway. Just as we have great representatives of the legal profession, we also have some who represent the legal profession pretty poorly (thus the endless jokes).  Or any profession. Including the religious profession. Its unfortunate, but its true – some folks go into a profession for all the wrong reasons. They make bad decisions.  Pastors, priests, reverends…the same is true for them. After all, they are all simply human beings behind that collar, or under the robe…or in that shirt and jeans. The same is true for Christians – we are human; we make mistakes.
  • Remembering who Christ was – a lover of the unloved, a helper to those who needed help, a Savior to those who needed saved (if you’re not following along, that would be all of us by the way). He rejected the ideas of the legalistic and the religious – those who were more concerned about the sin than the sinner. He was the Son of God – the King of Kings – and yet came to serve, humbling Himself to wash the feet of His followers. We can’t follow Christ, represent Him well, if we are so blinded by judgment, separatism, and exclusion that we fail to see the person. Standing in front of us. Who has a need. In the most simplistic of terms, we cannot follow Christ if we are unwilling to follow Christ’s example.
  • Remembering who we are – human, sinner, maker of mistakes. We are less than perfect. And it would be good to remember this before we take even a step to remind anyone else of how they may be less than perfect. If we have an opportunity to speak, it might be good practice to take a moment – one to think before we speak. It might save a lot of pain.
  • And by our actions. Because, as cliche as it may sound, our actions really do speak louder than words. “Follower” is an action word – it connotates action. We can call ourselves whatever we want. We can call ourselves the king of England, if we choose. That doesn’t necessarily make it true.
  • Stop being ashamed. This kind of goes hand-in-hand with #1 above. Somewhere along the line we decided we were somehow offending others if we weren’t ashamed. That being okay with who we are somehow oppressed others. Humbly, I will not ascribe to that way of thinking. Instead, I think that, by being okay with who I am, I allow you room to be okay with who you are. We are all different, in some way or another. And that is okay.

So, I’ve said it. I know – I need to follow it up with my actions. But I’ve said it. Its out there. For all the world to see. Or, you know, those who will read this.  Now, let the chips fall where they may…