Meet my newest pal, Trevor DeVage. I met this guy while on his sabbatical here in Nashville. He and I hit it off immediately. This is a guest post by Trevor. Follow him on Twitter. This blog is to-the-point, so buckle up.
I just want to scream at the top of my lungs, but I don’t even have the energy for that right now. I am tired of having to put on the face because the “church” can’t handle reality. We read about it in scripture and are thankful that they are all just as messed up as we are. But the moment we become human too, people freak. They can’t handle it. They want pretty and perfect, yet what they say is they want real and authentic.
I wish the church could handle real and authentic.
Image by deviant art
You know what real and authentic gets you as a pastor…labeled.
He’s a rebel.
He’s angry.
He’s too edgy.
He’s married to a beautiful woman who should wear a burlap sack.
He’s not the total package.
He’s a jerk.
He’s prideful and arrogant.
He’s entitled.
He’s not lead pastor material.
He’s not…fill in the blank.
What we want is not what Jesus redeemed. What we want is something not realistic for any human being. I am wearied of people trying to cram other people into these labels and boxes. It’s as if you have to stay there and if you don’t well then you are not ministry material.
I wonder…was Moses ministry material?
I wonder…was David ministry material?
I wonder…was Paul ministry material?
I wonder…was Adam ministry material?
I wonder…was Abraham ministry material?
I wonder…was Samson ministry material?
I wonder…was Peter ministry material?
These men were liars, adulterers, murderers, prideful, arrogant, unloving, angry individuals…who the last time I checked were all deemed qualified for ministry. We love to say that God chooses imperfect people to carry out his will. But what our actions state is that we want God to give us perfect people to run our churches so we can land blast them when they are actually what they were created to be…HUMAN!
So may we become people who will make continual allowances for being what we were created to be. May we be people who will not hold humans to inhuman expectations. And may we realize that we are all in the same boat no matter the pedestal or platform that we elevate people to.
May we be HUMAN!
Discussion Question:
In what ways do you handle those around you in their “humanness”?
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