Light

"You are the light of the world..." (Jesus).

Illuminate.

Hide

"...confess your sins to each other and pray for each other that you may be healed" (James 5:15).

The most common threat every child carries with them in their prepubescent vocabulary is the phrase "I'm going to tell on you!" Such threats can strike fear into the hearts of children in playgrounds and on monkey bars everywhere. Generally, there were just a handful of students who had the reputation of being tattlers, but we learned to avoid them altogether or alter our conversation and behavior whenever they came around. We learned how to survive by mistrusting those who couldn't keep their mouth shut or pretending to be doing something else whenever they were around.

As adults, we've perfected these techniques first learned in childhood. We were taught to hide, but we mastered concealment and secrecy by our teen years and on into adulthood. This, unfortunately, can have serious consequences for our mental health and even spiritual development and transformation. Our emotional, mental, and spiritual health is always tied into community, so whenever we attempt to "go at it alone", we seldom find success or resolve -- quite the opposite, in fact. Community, especially authentic Christian community that is immersed in wisdom and grace, has trememdous power to transform and heal. Despite biblical counsel to confess our sins to one another, it is probably not broadly practiced among believers today. It may be normal to hide, but it is not healthy.

"...confess your sins to each other and pray for each other that you may be healed" (James 5:15).

I think there are generally two reasons why people hide their struggles and sins, soft spots and sore points: shame and protection. I can understand both. No one likes to air their dirty laundry in the presence of others. Shame and the subsequent act of hiding is one of the oldest recorded behaviors of man (Genesis 3). God, in his mercy, made a covering for them so they would not be ashamed. So, too, should we be careful to cover those who have either been made vulnerable or have exposed themselves by their own choosing.

As far as protection, anyone who has had the awful experience of having their secrets or insecurities used as leverage against them by people who seek to manipulate and control has obvious and credible reasons to keep themselves tucked safely away. Why would anyone openly invite judgment, condemnation, ridicule, or isolation? I am convinced many people don't seek out confession within the Body of Christ because they do not feel safe to do so.

Our fear of one another causes us to bear false witness.

Hiding, among other things, prevents us from experiencing transformative grace, robs us of authentic living and deep community, increases our isolation, feeds self-destruction, and stunts the spiritual maturity and growth of the church. It gives us a sense of false-security but never quite takes away the fear of being found out. That's why the security is false.

When I first went into ministry, there were any number of elder pastors who advised me to be sure to never develop deepened, trusting relationships within the congregations I served. While I should move close to the people I was called to serve, I was advised never to allow them too close to me. For some reason, it was important to keep the insecure, weak, or worried parts of me hidden while the man of strength took center stage. I don't believe this now, and -- quite frankly -- it didn't sit right with me when I first heard it. What an unhealthy approach to life (and ministry)!

One of those irkish little things about being a pastor is how quickly some people morph and change their behavior whenever I am around. I say "some" because I have been priviledged to be around many truly authentic people. Just occasionally, I get to witness the verbal acrobatics some people perform in order to pull off the act of concealment. It's awkward. It makes me feel awkward, and they look awkward. I prefer the company of the authentic over pretense and posturing any day, yet I can understand why some would do it.

I can never forget those countless moments with youth and grown men who have quietly, in the confines of safe places, relieved themselves of the secrets of their hearts, the battles of the mind, or the bruises of yesteryear and found healing and redemption in Christ. I have seen grown men weep and broken men laugh as the mercy of God intersected with their greatest need.

Often I have heard comments about how young people these days are "so far out there". I believe what we are often observing is their backlash against face, pretense, and hiding -- a rebellion against the inauthentic...and this is one of the traits of post-modernism. They want to be known. While I can appreciate their "soul streak", many of them still lack the community and support of those who can offer the foundational things that they are craving. I dream of a church with a heart prepared to engage and serve others at their greatest point of need.

The survival techniques of our youth don't necessarily do us any good as we grow towards maturity. The challenge is in finding our way forward...

Next article "Transparency".

Alike

Face

"Most people spend their entire lives projecting, protecting, and maintaining this fiction" (Richard Rohr).

Zhang Haihua, author of "Think Like Chinese" says this about image: "Face, we say in China, is more important than life itself." I read this quote in an article written about how Chinese businesses hire white people to show up at events in order to give their products or services legitimacy. These businesses and institutions hire actors to show up, speak a few lines in English that no one understands, and be seen. Apparently, the illusion of white involvement sells. The actor gets paid before moving on to his next gig.

This need for self-misrepresentation isn't, however, just a Chinese phenomenon. We, too, live in a culture obsessed with image and illusion. From the time we are young, we are taught to put our best face forward and hide any part of us that might bring ridicule or judgment. We've mastered this in the church as well and have therefore missed out on a dynamic aspect of our lives together. In our efforts to keep up a reputation, many of us have simply faked it to make it.

In the backrooms of trust and grace, I have encountered many people whose need for acceptance and love was so great that they found it necessary to hide the parts of themselves they felt would be judged by others (struggles, insecurities, fears, sins, etc.). Whether we want to admit it or not, we in the church may be guilty of creating the very hypocrisy we hate. Rather than finding the safety in the Body of Christ for true confession, we keep those parts well hidden for fear of judgment, isolation, and rejection -- or shame. Consequently, if a person's struggles, weaknesses, or sins become public, they often get hammered by those who wouldn't have tolerated their transparency in the first place but still accuse them of "pretending to be something they are not".

Actress Salma Hayek once said, "So many people are busy trying to create an image, they die in the process." (Did I really just quote Salma Hayek?) I can't imagine the consequences of a humanity more interested in image than substance, but we don't need to look too far to see its effect on the human heart, mind, soul, and body. Perhaps this is one of many reasons why confession is so desperately needed in order to bring healing, grace, and mercy to man's condition caused by a pagan individualism that keeps him trapped in his own mind and a victim of his own battles.

I've been thinking about the subjects of hiding, transparency, and confession lately as I've been reading about ancient Christian practices. I still believe the church is called to that place where Jesus intersects with the world's needs, and I can't help but believe that followers of Christ who live their lives in transparency and who practice confession will have a profound, healing, life-giving presence with neighbors and brothers alike. God knows this generation is crying out for authenticity and transparency.

Image is killing us, but many of us are running after it like it is the source of all life!

"...everything was meaningless, a chasing after the wind" (Ecclesiastes 2:11).

Next article "Hide"

Calling

Hospitable

Every believer a priest.

Every home a temple.

Every table an altar.

Every meal an offering.

Every guest a treasure.

Authentic

Words

Ancient Words

Holy words long preserved

For our walk in this world

They resound with God's own heart

O let the ancient words impart

Words of life

Words of hope

Give us strength

Help us cope

In this world wherever we roam

Ancient words will guide us home

Ancient words ever true

Changing me and changing you

We have come with open hearts

O let the ancient words impart

Holy words of our faith

Handed down to this age

Came to us through sacrifice

O heed the faithful words of Christ

Holy words long preserved

For our walk in this world

They resound with God's own heart

O let the ancient words impart.

--Lynn DeShazo

Conform

"Do not conform any longer to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind" (Romans 12:2).

A friend of mine recently started riding his bike to work several times per week. Coincidently, he began biking to work the week of Denver's Bike to Work day. Never wanting to be a conformist, he decided to drive to work on Bike to Work Day. He simply wanted to bike to work, not be associated with some movement or agenda. He's never been much of one to jump on the bandwagon.

Some would call him stubborn, but I found humor in his little act of non-conformity. I think I have a built-in appreciation for those counter-culture contemporaries in our midst as well as those of long ago who set before us the example of non-conformity, including Jesus Christ.

Read the Gospels, especially Jesus' statements on the Kingdom of God, and you'll see many examples of counter-culture thought: don't resist the evil person, love your enemy, turn the other cheek, go the extra mile, sell all you have and give it to the poor, wash one another's feet, don't store up treasures for yourselves on earth...pretty radical stuff, actually.

The truth is, the Way of Christ will quite often bring us into conflict with the "patterns of this world". Our culture encourages us to consume; Jesus teaches us to give. Our society teaches us to fight; Jesus teaches us the way of peace. Our greed causes us to live for ourselves; Jesus tells us to take up our cross. I don't recall Jesus ever making easy the path to discipleship.

Sometimes I wonder if our compulsive need for acceptance in society is what causes us to conform to so many patterns that do not resemble minds transformed by Christ. Don't get me wrong, I hate rejection. It gets under my skin and can leave my soul groaning for days and weeks afterwards. But I wonder just how often we seek for our legitimacy in other things. How often has our collective desire to be "mainstream" caused us to leave behind some central teachings of Jesus.

Maybe I should really be OK with being "odd". Different.

After all, followers of Christ live differently, love differently, and trust in different things. We may not want to be different (and deal with all the behavior that comes from being different), but we are. Whether I was the fat kid, the poor kid, the white guy, the only American, or having to explain to Christians who the Brethren are because nobody around here has ever heard of them, I've had to adjust to being different than most people around me.

To be honest with you, I've becomed accustomed to being different...and I like it.

Non-conformity is an ageless principle that perhaps we struggle with in our times. I think every generation of believers has wrestled with this perpetual issue. For me, I am concerned about how the patterns of this world are wreaking havoc on body, mind, soul, and spirit. In some cases, I see churches and believers who are exact mirror representations of the society in which they live, comfortable in their fusion of sanctuary and society. On the other hand, I have seen churches and believers who have completely withdrawn from neighbor and the society surrounding them. I'm somewhere in the middle...

We cannot leave the world behind, but I believe we should once again learn to practice discernment as to what in our culture conflicts with the Way of Christ and what does not. While I may reject certain patterns of this world, Jesus teaches me that I cannot reject the people who live in this world. Though we may crave concrete principles and patterns, we must also learn the art of discernment to bring the disciple of Christ into full maturity.

Like my friend who drives on bike day and bikes on drive days, I think it's OK to be different...perhaps necessary.

Danger