When Christian Community Hurts Others

As Christians, we live in an age where the idea of community is pushed above all else. We must get "plugged in"somewhere and find that group of people that we can "do life with". (The more terminology you know, the hipper you are.) Of course, having fellowship within the body of Christ is important and it is something that we can't neglect. There is, however, a point where we take it too far. There is, believe it or not, such a thing as too much community. Now, before you go grab your posse, arm yourselves with pitchforks and torches, and descend upon my apartment, hear me out for a second...

I was busily doing work on campus when a girl and a guy sat down next to me. They seemed just like any other girl and guy. They talked about average college things like how bad our food is and how crowded parking is. Eventually, the conversation lead to the girl uttering thins statement, "My heart yearns for community." With the suddenly elevated language, I immediately picked up on what was happening: they'd flipped the Christian switch. 

The girl began to talk about how her current rooming situation wasn't ideal. Two roommates were "so strong in their faith" while the other roommate wasn't a believer at all. She talked about how being around this roommate exhausted her. Was the roommate mean? No. Was she combative? No. Was she difficult? No. On the contrary, she was described as being a very sweet girl. She was unbearable simply for not being a Christian. This made her a leech sucking the lifeblood straight from her roommate's body. 

I couldn't even believe what I was hearing. The lost roommate is a burden? Wow. What about her soul? What about the fact God loves her just as much as He loves her saved roommates? I couldn't help being outraged and thinking, "What if someone who is lost is hearing this very loud conversation?" If I were a lost person and heard people talking this way, I would run from Christianity as fast as possible. At what point did lost people become a parasite?

We've got a problem here. We've let ourselves pull away into a little Christian bubble. We only talk about Christian things. We only listen to Christian music. We only watch movies with Kirk Cameron in them. (Unless the movie is obviously a Christian allegory. We're all over that.) We read whatever we want to, but our favorite books (the Bible not included) are by Tolkien and Lewis. We attend all the right events, know all the right words, and have just the right bumper stickers or magnets on our cars.

We consider occasionally moving our Bible study to Starbucks evangelizing. We go on prayer walks in communities, but never speak to the people living there. We sit in our pews or our Sunday School rooms behind our nice, big church doors and talk about what we want to do for the world around us. We dream up all these ideas. We send boxes all over the world once a year. All of these things are great, but the truth is, they're so simple. It is so easy to do all these things in our bubble, all together and never separating lest we be swept away by a secular storm.

If this is how we live our lives, we're living them wrong. God called us to be in the world, but not of the world. The key to this is actually being in the world. We can't pull away and have our own little group. We can't give the rest of the world a "You can't sit with us" vibe. We also can't give them a "You can't sit with us unless you become like us" vibe. We are supposed to welcome people and accept them into our lives just as they are. That's what Jesus did.

We all know how people reacted when Jesus went to Zacchaeus' house. They were appalled, but Jesus didn't care. Zacchaeus wanted to see the Lord. We never know what lost person around us has a soul that is dying to see God and to experience His love. Sadly, sometimes they don't. Sometimes we Christians are warm, bubbly, and the epitome of loving when with our fellow believers, but walking into that exact building is like walking into a meat locker for a nonbeliever. Are we really seeing these people? Are we really seeing the lost people we encounter day to day? Or are we just dreaming of the big picture across the country of across the world?

That lost person sitting on the other side of the room or on the other side of your apartment wall has a soul equally as precious as yours. They may not have an End It sticker on the back of their car, have a tattoo in Greek or Hebrew, or own every Rend Collective album. That's perfectly okay. They don't need you looking down on their lost state. They need your love. They need you to take the time to sit with them, listen to them, and let them know they are special. They need a friend who shows them that not all Christians are stuck up and unrelatable. Show them the love that Christ has shown you. 

9 Reasons Why Your Youth Minister is Basically a Celebrity

Let's face it, your youth minister is basically a celebrity. Maybe you've never realized it before, but these 9 statements are oh-so true...


1. You freaked out the first time you met them.

Come on and admit it, when you finally became old enough to be in the youth group and the youth minister acknowledged your existence you freaked out a little bit. It's actually okay. We all do.


2. Seeing them in public is totally tweet-worthy.

So you're sitting at Starbucks with your friends when all of the sudden... There. They. Are! Seeing them somewhere you weren't expecting to see them is pretty much one of the most exciting things on the planet.



3. Only the coolest of kids get to ride in their car. 

You know that you've arrived when you get to ride in their car. Savor the moment. This experience is one you are sure to remember for ages.

4. Their spouse is basically perfect.

Your youth minister and their spouse are essentially Beyonce and Jay-Z. Their love story is the stuff of legends and you can only hope you and your spouse are half as perfect as they are some day.

5. Do they have kids? Yes? Seeing them is like a celebrity spotting.

Face it: your youth minister's kids (if they have them) are the cutest kids on the planet. They look like little models, they're always dressed adorably and basically everything they do is the cutest thing on earth. 

6. They have more tricks up their sleeve than Oprah.

It may not happen all the time, but your youth minister somehow has Spidey senses and knows when everyone is hungry. On these magical nights they bring food that tastes like manna from Heaven. Showing up to youth that night is like ending up at Oprah's Favorite Things. Everyone. Goes. Insane.

7. You take offence when people don't get why you think they are so awesome.

People who don't know them might not get the hype. These are the kind of people you can live without. 

8. They bring a little razzle-dazzle everywhere they go.

Almost every youth minister plays some role in the church service. Even if they're just giving the announcements, it might just be one of the best parts of the service. You know you feel this way. We all do. Admit it, accept the guilt, and join the club.

9. They'll always take up for you when it comes to the "old people".  When they do, they get all. the. props.

Every now and then the "old people" will get mad at the youth group (over something they probably should get in trouble for) and when they do, your youth minister always takes the hit. Everyone knows they're journeying into certain death, but when they come out of it alive... It's basically like Harry Potter in the Gryffindor Common Room after the dragon challenge. Party down.

So take a little time to thank your youth minister and tell them how awesome you think they are! Everyone knows they deserve it.

What's in a Name?

Hello and welcome to my new blog! If you're just joining me or if you came as a fan of my other blog, you're likely wondering what Vincent van Gogh has to do with a blog about our walk with God. Don't worry, you're not alone in your wondering! Let me begin by saying that I am a self-described die-hard van Gogh fan. I'm a fan not only of his gorgeous paintings but also of the man himself. Many of us have ooh-ed at the sight of   The Starry Night or winced at the story of the painter cutting off his ear. Not many of us know much about the artist other than the fact that he was an amazing painter and an extremely depressed person. The truth is, in his life, Vincent van Gogh's paintings were thought to be... well... quite bad. It's a sad thought especially considering the fact that he is now considered to be one of (if not THE) best painters of all time. Still, he saw so much beauty in the world around him- beauty he didn't consider himself a part of. At different times in my life, I've definitely felt one with van Gogh and I argue that we all have. We can easily appreciate the beauty around us, but we can't appreciate the beauty in us. Our purpose seems so small while our imperfections seem so big. The fact of the matter is, we were made with a purpose even when we can't see it. There may be pain in the night, but joy comes in the morning. We just have to hold on to God until we come out on the other side. Van Gogh once said in a letter to his brother Theo:

"I am still far from being what I want to be, but with God's help I shall succeed."

I often find myself going stargazing with van Gogh, seeing the beauty in everything around me while feeling utterly separated from it. I can't help feeling like we all do. My hope is that, with this blog, you and I can journey deeper into God's love and see the richness and beauty in everything that God has created...including ourselves.