Conversion

I grew up surrounded by Christians. One thing that always, always, always made me uncomfortable was the lingo. It rolled off their tongues so comfortably yet seemed so meaningless. As both a student and as a teacher I've thought that I could evaluate the level of understanding of a topic based on the ability to explain it in multiple ways. As a teacher, I believe you have to be able to put things into words the student understands. As a student, the ability to take a concept and put it into your own words without altering the meaning indicates true understanding. Yet I didn't see this in Christians. They would stick to their lingo and be both amazed and speechless when asked to explain. So, now that I'm one of "them", one of my goals is to try my best to avoid lingo. To try and use my own words to explain key concepts. So when I was hit with one of these words yesterday, it didn't sit right.

The word is conversion. Someone I was talking to was talking about converting people to Christianity. But I don't agree with that word. Conversion implies equality. We convert inches to feet, feet to yards, yards to meters, and then back to inches. We can convert our money from dollars to yen and back again. If we convert someone to Christianity, to me it implies that they can easily be converted back to whatever they were before. But this underestimates how Christ works in us.

The gospel message that is the foundation of Christianity is one of salvation, transformation, and restoration. I once was lost but now I'm found. I was condemned and He set me free. I was dead (in sin), but He gave me new life. I have been renewed from the inside out. I am saved. When we acknowledge His power, supremacy, mercy, and grace, and we chose to follow Him, we are new. And we can't help but spread the message about the new life we have found.

It's not about a favorable exchange rate, it's about new life.

Fault and Change

Trust 30, Day 32 (prompt by Carlos Miceli)

I must be myself. I cannot break myself any longer for you, or you. - Ralph Waldo Emerson

Think of all the things that are not working in your life. That job you don’t like, that relationship that’s not working, those friends that annoy you. Now turn them all on you. Imagine that everything that’s not working in your life, is your fault. How would you approach it? What would you work on to change your life to the state that you want it to be?

I'll turn this question back around...instead of looking at whose fault it is, remember who has the power to break out of the situations that aren't working. Ultimately we're looking for a resolution, not to assign blame. Who cares who is at fault, let's find out who can change things and then fix them.

Starting from there and revisiting both the Emerson quote and the question, let's assume the power is within me. If the power is within me, what would I work on to change my life to the state I want it to be in?

The most important thing is to determine where I want to go. One of my favorite authors and speakers often says that your direction determines your destination (Andy Stanley). Another way of saying this is that I need to begin with the end in mind (Stephen Covey).

Right now I have a general idea of where I want to be. It's a place that is flexible...the most important components are that it be a life that is family focused. It also allows for life to unfold at a non-traditional pace, leaving space for relationships and creativity to breath. There would be plenty of time for the important things...connecting with others, reading, writing, and music. I know this sounds utopian and naive...a couple of my strongest character traits. But once the destination is determined, the direction becomes clearer. Once the direction is clear, action becomes easier.

I'm already taking steps to get there...paying off debt is huge. Without the monthly outflow of cash to debt there is much more flexibility in employment options. As long as I'm a slave to lifestyle, I must keep pushing to earn more, more, more. That's not for me. That lifestyle is full of busy-ness and empty of significance.

With the appropriate goal in mind, it's also important to never compromise my vision. Every day there are innumerable challenges that call for compromise. It is much more likely to be defeated one little piece at a time than it is to be suddenly overcome. So it's a delicate walk...live authentically and uncompromised while fitting into symbiotic relationships with others, sharing with them what is necessary.

So what needs to change? Rededication? A reminder of the goal,an adjustment of perspective. A realization that this is a long, slow road and that patience and persistence can be much more helpful than busy-ness and frenetic energy. Trust that the path I'm on leads to where I want to go.

Image

Trust 30, Day 31 (prompt by Matthew Stillman)

Is it so bad, then, to be misunderstood? Pythagoras was misunderstood, and Socrates, and Jesus, and Luther, and Copernicus, and Galileo, and Newton, and every pure and wise spirit that ever took flesh. To be great is to be misunderstood. – Ralph Waldo Emerson

Mess up your hair. If you are wearing makeup – smudge it. If you have a pair of pants that dont really fit you – put them on. Put on a top that doesn’t go with those pants. Go to your sock drawer. Pull out two socks that don’t match. Different lengths, materials, colors, elasticity.
Now two shoes. You know the drill.
Need to add more? Ties? Hair clips? Stick your gut out? I trust you to go further.
Take a picture.
Get ready to post it online.
Are you feeling dread? Excitement? Is this not the image you have of yourself? Write about the fear or the thrill that this raises in you? Who do you need to look good for and what story does it tell about you? Or why don’t you care?

I fall in the category of "I don't care." If you've read much of my blog you know by now that one of my biggest frustrations in life is the masks people wear. Appearances. My deep desire is to relate to people more sincerely and more deeply than appearances can take me.

I'm going on a mission trip to Brazil in less than a month. Where I'm from, our in-state college football rivalry is a big deal. A really, really big deal. People are so serious about it they name their kids after coaches and players. So when a friend donated some cash to the trip and gave me a hat from the "other" team (the one I didn't graduate from), what did I do? I took a picture of me in the hat and posted it on facebook. That's kind of the okie equivalent to mismatched shoes or smudged makeup in other circles. Yet I do it with joy...if it can help break down artificial walls, I'm all about it. If I can do something counter-cultural as a way to point out the silly things we tend to idolize, bring it on. Image is nothing, show me your heart. That's where things get real. That's where things actually matter.