My Eighth Blog

I had to spend the better part of a week in St Louis this last month for my job. I was excited when a buddy of mine who works in Lexington called me up and asked if we could be roommates while we were there. We have a lot of things in common. We started out at the exact same time and we both work with young people in our churches. We also have a lot of things not so much in common. I was born and raised in South Carolina and I have been here my entire life. He was born and raised in the country of Moldova, which used to be part of the former Soviet Union, and he has been in South Carolina a little over 2 years.

We talk a pretty good bit and the reason he wanted to room with me was because we have our faith in common. Too make a long story short, neither of us frequent the bar or other places of the night where most of our companions can be found.

One night we were in our room talking and he asked me in his thick Russian accent, “man what is up with Joe.” Joe is a guy we’ve got to know over the last year who talks about going to church all the time, prays before every meal, and in fact just got back from a two week mission trip he said because he works with the youth in his church also. Joe also drinks quite a bit, tells some very grotesque stories, and no exaggeration cannot complete a sentence without using an infamous four letter word. I honestly don’t even think he realizes how much he swears. I replied to my friend and said, “brother, I don’t have any idea.” And then he asked me the question that I could only answer in my head as an unfortunate yes.

He said to me, “is that what being a Christian in America is all about?”

It’s sad when people can’t tell where the world ends and where the church starts. Christians are supposed to be different. We’re not better than anyone but we are to be set apart, not conforming to the ways of this world.

You know what the number one problem I see with students is? They all just want to fit in. That is a huge problem in this world we live in. You cannot belong to this world and belong to God at the same time. Calling yourself a Christian is a common thing today, actually living the life is very uncommon.

Be uncommon.

Until next time I leave you with one of my favorite quotes: “Christianity over the past two thousand years has moved from a tribe of renegades to a religion of conformists.”

Keith

(From my July Newsletter article)

My Seventh Blog

I'm amazed at how many people don't get that their rebellion is nothing more than conformity.

Jesus hung out with sinners and went places that no religious leader of the time or anyone else for that matter would go. Here's the catch though, Jesus changed the people He was with...not the other way around.

Jesus was a true rebel, but His rebellion was in not conforming.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=abVdgbV6f14