I stand corrected... kinda..

Ok, mark this day down in your books.. I stand corrected.. kinda.. What do I mean by that? Read on, and find out..

The last two weeks, I have been having a conversation with one of the youth that has revolved around this person's current physical state cease.. aka the other person dies. I have stopped her from saying these things, because, as a good Christian mentor, I recognize that there is power in the words we use. (See the book of James) And as such a good leader, I have corrected this person in order to bring them more appropriately in line with 'Christianity'.. (I use quotes because I am not talking about what Christ has called us too, but more along the lines of what we have deemed as appropriate behavior.)

Now, on the surface, to tell you the truth, I do not think I am wrong. As Christians, followers of the greatest expression of love ever given, and desiring to be more like Him everyday, we should not wish for another person to die, regardless of what they have done to us. My example in this is the following.. that while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us... Jesus died for us to show us His love while we were still rejecting Him. We should imitate that, as much as we can.

So this leads to where I stand corrected. I was reading something today (found here), and it reminded me very much of what this person was expressing, and what the author was asking was something very simple. Is it wrong to express our feelings to other individuals? At first I was like.. woahhh.. not so fast mister, (he obviously hasn't been at one of my sit downs). Then it started to dawn on my like the sun coming up in the morning, and I realized what I had kinda been doing.

I was right in what I was teaching, because it was correct. However, I completely and totally forgot the part where, although what the person was expressing was harsh and raw, it was real. I wasn't allowing this person to acknowledge the feelings they had, feelings that unless worked out, can cause serious issues in the future (it's one of those deep roots things), and that can be even worse then just the vocalization of the emotion.

So, to summarize..
*Love others as Christ loved you.
*Don't ever forget that Christ is the example we follow.
*Vocalizing your feelings is not wrong, but allowing them to mold how you act is.
*Todd is not always right. (Ok, y'all already knew that I hope....)
*Cast your cares on Christ, for He cares for you.
*Find someone who can pray with you when you feel that your emotions are leading you away from a Christ-like character.

And to the one that this was inspired by (you know who you are), I'm sorry that I trivialized your feelings. I'll try to do better next time..
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The Glory of Plodding

This is another repost. This time, from Kevin DeYoung. What a phenomenal insight into a lot of the current and contemporary ways of Christianity. I hope you find it as inspiring, challenging, and down right real as I have.


The Glory of Plodding
by Kevin DeYoung

It’s sexy among young people — my generation — to talk about ditching institutional religion and starting a revolution of real Christ-followers living in real community without the confines of church. Besides being unbiblical, such notions of churchless Christianity are unrealistic. It’s immaturity actually, like the newly engaged couple who think romance preserves the marriage, when the couple celebrating their golden anniversary know it’s the institution of marriage that preserves the romance. Without the God-given habit of corporate worship and the God-given mandate of corporate accountability, we will not prove faithful over the long haul.

What we need are fewer revolutionaries and a few more plodding visionaries. That’s my dream for the church — a multitude of faithful, risktaking plodders. The best churches are full of gospel-saturated people holding tenaciously to a vision of godly obedience and God’s glory, and pursuing that godliness and glory with relentless, often unnoticed, plodding consistency.

My generation in particular is prone to radicalism without followthrough. (read the rest here)