There is a group of Christians that are different from most. They don't fit the mold. And to be honest, they make a lot of religious people nervous. Let me tell you a little bit about who we are...
We have experienced sin. We know what it feels like to be completely consumed as its disease like quality takes over. We know what it means to be blinded by it to the point that we cannot see the truth in front of us for the lies that we loved. We have chased the addiction of pleasure or escape and seen how the next step up promises to satisfy, but always leaves us empty. We know the physical toll that spiritual warfare has on us as the disease of our sin fights against the oncoming cleansing of the Spirit. We have felt the grip of sin loosen and finally break, leaving us with tear-streaked faces, sweating, and exhausted.
We know pursuit and understand humility. Our Savior followed us to depths we did not know we could fall to. We recognize that in our sin, every single one of us is capable of unspeakable evil. In the arrogance of our sin, He was patient and waited until we could no longer be our own savior before stepping in. In our shame, He showed us grace, mercy, gentleness, and kindness. He loved us when we fell and were rejected by the religious among us. He reminds us of our value when the religious accept us, but only in a "separate, but equal" mentality. He rejoiced over us when the Spirit filled us while others rejected us for our past and scoffed skeptically at our transformation.
We don't look like "Christians". We're divorced, we've committed crimes, we're tattooed, we've used drugs, and been addicted to alcohol. We're single moms and single dads, we're in our 20's figuring out life, and 30 somethings trying to rebuild. We're professionals that struggle with maintaining integrity in a world that rewards deceit. We can praise God traditionally, but prefer a six string with a country twang or laying down the lyrics of a rap. We wear shorts and t-shirts to church, raise our hands, and clap during worship.
There is no doubt about it, though, we belong to Christ. We've experienced the power of prayer, seen the love of Christ extended to us by those who truly believe, and been compelled to use our experience for the good of the Kingdom. We pray in our disappointment knowing will be comforted and praise God in our joy knowing it is He that brought it into our lives. We've looked back and seen God's hand in our lives, recognizing that no single event in our life was a mere coincidence.
We know that good enough is no longer good enough. We no longer need to believe society's lies, nor pretend that we must fall in line with their expectations. We are no longer willing to tolerate their belief that we should remain on the sidelines and not attempt to influence anyone else. We are no longer content with the mediocrity that they expect the church to be, simply tolerating its existence. While there is shame and guilt in our past, we are redeemed by a God who sees us as righteous through Christ, and we are not ashamed to claim the cross of He who saw us as worth dying for.
We will openly pray, we will fill your Facebook timeline with truth from His word and proof from our lives, we will love those that others reject, and we will remind you of His promises and love when you ask our advice. We will still stumble, we will still fall, we will still give in to selfish ambition, but we will strive to live lives worthy of the calling. When you look at us, we want you to see Christ and when you talk to us, we want you to hear the word of God.
We are not perfect, only saved, redeemed, and set apart. We are the modern day Paul and the modern day David... we are the Dissidents.
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