I liked them all
very, very much.
Honestly, I'm way out of the
loop when it comes to the particulars of Christian circles.
These guys were cracking jokes from the
main stage of Catalyst about the different denominational worship
styles, and I only laughed because everybody else was laughing - I
didn't actually get it. I couldn't begin to tell you which
Christians sing aloud with their hands in the air, or who claps or
sways or does a praise robot. I have no idea who prays with their
eyes open or closed, or with their hands clasped or unclasped, or who
only talks to God laying face down in a darkened closet while
flogging themselves with a whip made of oiled palm leaves and donkey
hair...
I just don't know about these things.
I didn't grow up in ~or anywhere
near~ the Church. So when you say “Lutheran” or “Methodist”
or “Quaker” or “Brethren” or... like,
“JesusismyBoyfriendian”... it all means the same thing to me.
All I hear is “Christian”.
And I like it that way.
I feel kinda fortunate that I can walk
into a room of 13,000 church leaders and see nothing but brothers and
sisters. I have no preconceived notion of what your specific theology
looks like - I just have to trust that you're doing your damn best to
follow Jesus. Maybe that makes me a simpleton... or a dumbass... But
I have no interest in Church politics and I'm generally unmoved by a
single interpretation of scripture.
My heart beats for anecdotal Faith; for
the silliness and folly of our nature, the way we reach for God with
all the dexterity of a newborn baby, jerking limbs, crossed eyes, and
a steaming load in our pants. I'd really rather hear about your
disease than your doctrine, I guess. And I'd rather examine your
Daddy-issues than your diplomas. But if you really want to get
crazy, let's talk about what your average weeknight looks like,
because the Sunday morning Jesus-fest bores me. I'm more keen on
knowing how you connect the dots between the two - ya know? How does
this Bible stuff shake out in your everyday life?
There are over two billion Christians
on the planet, and from what I gather, over two billion ways to be
a Christian. Sometimes I think that all these circles, sects,
styles, interpretations, branches, devisions, and denominations are
confusing the only thing that matters:
There is only one
Jesus.
One
Jesus. Billions of ways to meet Him, seek Him, and adore Him. Two billion souls, united by one
Savior.... That's crazy, right?! But here we
are, the body of Christ – and it's a big ass body! When we are
united, when we aren't bent over by our dispensation, when we can
take a page from each other, when we're willing to listen and learn
from one another... well... that's when we'll be the bearer of Faith,
Hope, and Love to the world.
Yesterday, I got an email from a pastor
who said, “I don't look like you, or act like you, and I would never
talk like you, but I sure do like you.
And I like him, too, this brother of
mine, who is able to see in me the one Jesus I see in him.
.... ..... ....
Are you of a particular persuasion? I mean, denominationally speaking...
Do you have inter-denominational relationships?
Also? That video is freaking hilarious!
