How would I like to describe my faith? What quality should be the foundation of a Christ-centered community? What element in a person would draw others to them? I've been thinking of what my generation desires most from the church, most from "Christians", most from people...I believe the at the heart of it all is authenticity. Love, compassion, truth...all these necessities come about from the one source of true relationships: being genuine. Not being perfect or being right but being honest with who you are...a friend of mine was wondering if everything can be reduced to the search of "who am I?". I think it begins there...finding out who we are in Christ/ what our needs are socially, personally, emotionally, intimately, spiritually, logically, etc./ discovering what drives us and what bogs us down...and in the process of figuring ourselves out, to be open and honest with people we love...to allow them to be part of the journey...to allow God to mold and guide through out this process.
I think the tough part with being authentic is being open which means being vulnerable. If I can just grow and discover behind closed doors so that my faults and mistakes can't be seen, that would be ideal. And there are times I try to operate like that and end up not really living. Life isn't meant to be an isolated experiment of self-discovery but an endeavor of trust and dependence and community.
Being authentic will be far more impactful than any cleverly crafted campaign or catchy program or popular church model or desire to be culturally relevant...I can picture people in my life who have exemplified this for me and the effect has been ginormous...far more reaching and long lasting than any message or sermon can ever be.
Do I want to be known as a loving person? Absolutely. Would I like people to say that I'm kind and considerate? Definitely. But if the thread of authenticity can be inter-woven through out the fabric of my life, then I can truly be that light...that voice...that difference...