6 reasons your church need you to be an authentic and not ‘fake christian’ in 2021
These last 2 years, 2020 and 2021 have been so unusual, I don’t know about you but many times I have felt uncomfortable truths about me exposed by the Holy Spirit and by my own experiences of isolation…and yet at the same time I’ve experienced wonderful revelations and moments of growth. I don’t know if I should lament the years or celebrate them…
I think for many of us this year has caused a re-assessment and a re-thinking how we want to live our lives and ultimately what matters most to us.
The global pandemic, the problems of racism, the American presidential politics and the Christian world’s response to it all are just some examples of how this year has shaken us about. I don’t think we can stick our head in the ground to avoid it all, and I don’t think we should recklessly go charging into the middle of it all uniformed waving our bibles around and releasing prophetic words left right and centre based on how we happen to be feeling that day.
We need to have a starting point of integrity. Whatever type of christian movement we belong to.
So with that in mind, here are 6 reasons why your church and community need you to be real and authentic right now.
Regardless of whether you are the senior pastor of a church, a stay at home dad, an unknown in your community or a leader in the market place…the people you are in contact with may well not know it…but they need you to be a real and honest follower of Christ right now.
1. People love the real thing…they hate the sales pitch
I remember one time I accidentally shared my testimony with someone who I thought was a full on card carrying revival driven christian. Turns out he was none of those things.
For a moment I thought it was going to be super awkward as I’d been describing hearing the voice of God and leaving my career to go do God stuff. Without 'the Christian filter’ I was concerned I may have sounded like a proper cultist or something.
As it turned out he looked at me and said that what I had shared was quite beautiful and he had never heard someone talk about God that way. It was so far out of his experience with God.
I was both encouraged and challenged. I’d almost diluted my encounter with God to make it seemingly more palatable. What if the people around you:
Heard that Jesus spoke to you in your quiet time that day?
Saw that you asked God something specifically for prayer and then He actually answered it?
Heard about the miracle testimony you clapped your hands to on that Sunday morning?
Knew that you had given your time to contend in prayer for an issue they were going through?
Our faith is not wishful thinking…it’s not made up…it’s not cosmic finger crossing…it’s not a club to protect the weak…our faith is real, truth, authentic. You can feel it, touch it and hear it.
I want to share more about what I’ve seen God do and what I still see on a weekly basis. I’ve seen bling eyes open and financial miracles, I’ve audibly heard the voice of God (He just said my name, it was awesome!) and so much more. This stuff means something.
People can get fake encounters and highs anywhere, what if they got a glimpse of the real thing when they were around you?
2. Memes have had their day…real stories, of real transformation, impacts way more, lasts way more
I love great outreach programs, courses and all that stuff. I spend a lot of time coming up with new innovative ways of doing stuff like that. I’m not knocking them.
I’ll be honest though, the best mission or evangelism I’ve ever done has usually come out of one of two postures:
I got so wrecked and impacted by God that it just naturally bubbled out of me that I found myself sharing it with random people, cashiers, baristas, you name it. I wasn’t trying to be an evangelist per se…it just came out of me because I couldn’t contain what God had done in me.
People who have knew what I used to be like…and then saw me changed and different…and they couldn’t explain it any other way than ‘God did something in his life’.
If real change isn’t happening in our lives and God’s transformation in us or our relationship with Jesus isn’t noticeable in us…what on earth are we trying to do by telling the world about God?
…that may have been tough to hear, stay with me, the next one might be for you.
The time for a snappy meme or social media post is gone. Everyone is doing it and so many people are tuning it out. Real transformation, noticeable, tangible change in your heart…that stands out a mile out.
3. Sometimes life sucks…we’re just being fake if we don’t admit we feel that way too sometimes…
Sometimes life just goes completely pear shaped and nothing is going right. There are times when we feel like we’re in no place to transform the world, we’re just trying to breath. I’m not talking about a day here and there, I’m talking about weeks, months and sometimes years.
I get it. There are some seasons where you are just trying to hang on.
Let me say this. God doesn’t need you to pretend in these times for the sake of evangelism. Being real in these moments, being honest that it’s hard, but holding on to the thin threads of your faith in this time will not only help you…but also someone who is watching.
Habakkuk said this in the midst of a pretty crappy time in his life:
“Even though the fig trees have no blossoms, and there are no grapes on the vines; even though the olive crop fails, and the fields lie empty and bare; even though the flocks die in the fields and the cattle barns are empty, yet I will be rejoice in the Lord! I will be joyful in the God of my salvation! The sovereign Lord is my strength! He makes me as surefooted as a deer, able to tread upon the heights”
(Habakkuk 3: 17-19)
Translation: Even when it’s all going wrong, hang on, for your own sake, but also like Habakkuk, you have no idea who is watching your story and drawing hope from it for themselves.
4. The prophetic voice has taken a beating over this last year…that doesn’t mean we need it any less
There were so many prophetic words about President Trump winning a second term. So many prophets saying it was going to happen, when it didn’t and President Biden won the nomination it was the strangest time to be on social media.
Some prophets repented and recanted. Many of them got roasted online by their followers or whoever. It was pretty ugly, and at time of writing I’d say it is still in the atmosphere. For many it soured the voice of the prophetic. For those who didn’t believe in prophecy it was just more evidence that it’s all made up and hype. For those that do believe in prophecy, it was a kick in the gut because it exposed the way in which flesh and christian echo chambers can cause prophets to get it wrong.
Regardless…the prophetic gifting, which is available to all of us, is about speaking the words of God to people.
It’s way more than predicting stuff. It’s about letting God use you to point people to Himself.
When people are looking at Him, everything they need will be found. It’s that simple.
So what if in the next few weeks and month you grow bolder and more confident in sharing what you feel God is saying to the people in your world?
Not sharing so you seem holy or anointed, but because you got a genuine word from heaven, from God for that person. It may not be about the destiny of a nation, but it may change the course of that persons life for the better.
4. Your gift has a shelf life…your character lasts a lifetime
Have you ever been to a leaving party for a colleague or member of community? I’ve been to loads of them, often for really talented people, super gifted and anointed leaders.
What surprises / doesn’t surprise me is each time I’m at one of these who little time is given to talking about the person’s gifting.
They may have been an amazing worship leader who took you to the tenth level of heaven every time they led…but when they are leaving the town and moving on, it’s not what is spoken about. It’s referenced for sure, but it’s never the focus.
People talk about their laugh. They talk about how the person took time to listen to them when things were tough. They talk about the encouragement that person gave. Their peace. Their steadiness. They they would light up a room. They way they were solid in the storm. Their faith and their fortitude.
The gift is cool, we love the gifts people walk in, but they have a shelf life…what we truly care about, when all is said and done, is that persons character.
Be mindful, be intentional about your character. It impacts people so much more than your talents.
5. Everyone has a platform now…what you look like in person, without the filter, will set you apart
I need to be careful I don’t have a spirit of judgement in me when I write this one, so here goes…
Some people’s real life doesn’t quite look like their instagram life…right?
A lot of people put a lot of attention into the pose in their picture, the outfit, the filter, the typography of the quote, the hash tags. All that stuff. It works for some people, they get a tonne of attention, for others, it’s a lot of effort…for something kinda fake and unrealistic…and not a lot of return.
I’m not going after millennials or anything. People have been doing this for years with neat and tidy gardens and homes, the right kind of car, grades or job.
The thing is now, in 2021, everyone has their own TV station, their own newspaper, their own publishers (usually not their own editors though sadly).
We’re all very able to mask up the best looking life, especially us in the church. The people that stand out in our western world experience I believe, are the people who:
Are the same behind the scenes as they are in the public eye
Have time for the one in front of them
Aren’t obsessed about their platform or notoriety
Live humbly, joyfully acknowledging their daily need for a saviour
6. It’s too easy and too dangerous to love the church and love ministry…Jesus didn’t call us to love those things…
I don’t even want to write this one, because I love the church. I love ministry. I love the kingdom. It can drive me mad at times, but at other times I love the Christian bubble I find myself in.
I was called to love God and love people though.
I was called to hunger for the kingdom of God and sell everything to get it.
I was called to be a foot or an elbow in the body of the Church, a sheep in the flock of the shepherd.
But I wasn’t called to be in love with the church and with ministry.
My love needs to be solely, totally, unwaveringly directed at Jesus - my bridegroom, my chief shepherd, my King, the lordly Lion, the sacrificial lamb, the champion of the world…my friend and saviour.
My church and my community needs me to be in love with Jesus more than anything else. I need me to be in love with Jesus more than anything else. When I do:
I find the reason for all creations existence and purpose in HimI find who I am and who I was made to beI find my calling and purpose I start becoming like HimI start actually loving people well…not fake loving them…cos it’s a mission trip or whatever.
Guard your heart and the direction of your love friend.
Summary
Your church, your community, your neighbours and family…and you…need to be real and authentic before they need your gifting or your ideas.
If what you give them is clunky and not worth putting on a meme, then so be it. It will be real though, your love will be genuine and honest. They’ll feel trust and honour.
That kind of thing opens up the doors of the kingdom of heaven to be truly active in your life and theirs. Pride, faking it, putting on a show, hiding the real you, living like you’ve got it more together than you do…that doesn’t open up the door to anything of the Kingdom.
The choice is ours really.