This Is Your Permission Slip To Live Your Own Truth

A while back somebody on Facebook took issue with something that I posted (shocker, I know). We went back and forth a little bit and finally I said …

“Hey, I get that we disagree on this thing about God, but at the end of the day we’re both playing for the same team. I love God, you love God. I love Jesus, you love Jesus. So let’s just move forward and love our neighbor as ourselves.”

Right?

“No”, this person said. “We are actually not playing for the same team - you are not part of the team I play for, you are a false teacher.”

I’ll admit, sometimes these comments get to me. I’m only human, I guess. And so when people tell me that I’m not a Christian or not a follower of Jesus or call me a heretic or a false teacher or hell-bound or whatever name they’ll pull from the roulette wheel of terrible things to say to someone.

I don’t know … it just gets to me sometimes.

It makes me sad.

It makes me second guess myself.

It makes me wonder if I’m crazy.

This morning I was having one of those moments, but have been reading through the book of Mark lately and came across an interesting story that encouraged me and so if you find yourself evolving in your faith and growing and changing and have people from your old tribe who are taking cheap shots at your faith. Well. I hope this can encourage you too.

The story comes from Mark 9 where one of Jesus’ disciples, John, came running up to him with his chest puffed out and his ego 10 miles high.

“Teacher”, he said, “we saw a man driving out demons in your name and we told him to stop, because he was not one of us.”

Interesting, right?

Apparently someone who was not part of the “in” group of disciples that followed Jesus around was traveling the streets of the city to do good in the name of Jesus, but since this guy wasn’t one of Jesus’ “in group”, the oh-so-knowledgeable disciples they told him to knock it off.

“You’re not one of us.”

“You’re not like us.”

“You’re not”, to borrow the phrase from my Facebook ‘friend‘, “playing for the same team as we are.”

They didn’t like the fact that this guy was doing things in the name of Jesus all the while he/she wasn’t part of the disciples denomination.

Or.

I mean.

Group - they didn’t like the fact that this guy was doing things in the name of Jesus all the while he/she wasn’t part of the disciples special “in group”.

I love Jesus’ response, though. He didn’t high-five John and give him extra points for passing the test. Instead he scolded John and said …

“Do not stop him. No one who does a miracle in my name can in the next moment say anything bad about me, for whoever is not against us is for us.”

I found this incredibly freeing this morning, and I hope you can too. I take a lot of heat from my old tribe …

I went to a private Evangelical Christian school from the 4th - 12th grades.

I went to a Bible College for 4 years.

I went to seminary for 3 years.

I pastored a church for 3 years, got involved in a church plant for 3 years.

And went back to seminary for 3 more years.

I did countless internships, preached tons of sermons, taught tons of classes.

… And all of these experiences took place in the Evangelical world typically leaning towards the more conservative side of the scale.

And a lot of the heat comes from people from my old churches, teachers from high school, professors from seminary, people I graduated with; and sometimes the heat is kind of light, like “you’ve strayed from the Gospel” or “you’re moving away from Orthodox Christianity” or “I’m scared for you” while other times the heat is heavy, “you’re a heretic” or “you’re going to hell” or “you’re a false prophet” or “judgement is going to be intense for you”.

Regardless of the level of heat, though, the reasoning behind it is usually the same - that I’m not playing for the same team as they are. Like John, they see me doing “miracles” in Jesus’ name, miracles like …

Having important conversations on the podcast.

Growing a listening audience.

Growing a private Facebook group.

Writing stuff that draws attention.

Sharing ideas that people find helpful.

Developing my voice.

… They see these things happen and proudly go to Jesus at the end of the day and say, “teacher, we saw this guy we used to know who is doing stuff in your name, but we told him to stop. We called him names. We taunted him. We mocked him. We made fun of him. We belittled him. Because he is not one of us.”

This morning the Spirit told me that her response to them is the same as was Jesus’ response to John …

“Do not stop him.”

… And I felt like Christ whispered to me and said that even though some of my Evangelical friends might not see me as a member of their team anymore and even though I might have ruffled some feathers and burned some bridges and caused some stirs and even though some might think that gives them a license to say some terrible things … he reminded me that he’s the Captain of the team (not them) and he’ll handle them while simultaneously walking alongside of and guiding me.

As I said in a previous post, I have nothing to prove and nothing to protect. I am desperately trying to live my life with that mantra in mind 24/7. I am free to live my truth, speak my truth, share my truth without feeling the need to prove my truth to those who disagree or protect it and defend it from those who want to attack it and debate it.

Me? I have work to do. As I said back in Episode #1, I’m not here to argue or debate or convert anyone. The What If Project is a lifeboat trailing the Cruise Ship of Evangelical Christianity, and we’re picking up people who fell off, jumped off, or were thrown off - we’re picking them up, drying them off, and giving them something to drink, letting them be themselves - ask their questions and express their doubts.

And so how about you?

Do you find yourself ruffling the feathers of your old tribe?

Have you been called a heretic?

Told to keep your questions to yourself?

That your thoughts about God are too outrageous?

Incorrect?

Heretical?

Evil?

Have you been made to feel like your thoughts and ideas have gotten you booted from the team as your ex-teammates crowd around Jesus at night and brag about how they saw you doing things in Jesus’ name, but stopped you because you’re not part of Jesus’ team anymore?

Good News: they aren’t the Captain, Jesus is, and he says, “don’t stop him/her/them.”

And so consider this your permission slip, my friend, to keep going - please, don’t stop … the world needs your voice. Keep living your truth.

Much love,