Repenting the "Sexy Christian" Image

“If you could speak to the entire female population on this campus, what would you want to tell them?”

We had gone out late to get ice cream cones and were back on campus throwing philosophies and thoughts back and forth. Cans of worms are my favorite late-night snack, and I was offering this one to Archie. 

It took him a while to think, but here is what he, interestingly, responded with. He said he would tell them not to be easily convinced by the men around them who aren't all who they say they are. He said there's a lot of fakers and masks, specifically one called the "Sexy Perfect Christian Man." He said too many guys are trying to put on this image in order to be accepted and get girls’ attention without truly being themselves and truly being all in for Jesus.

“I know; I’ve tried to be that guy.” He was blunt and honest. 

When being a Christ-follower becomes the “cool” thing to do, we need to reevaluate. As far as I can see, Jesus was murdered, abandoned, and hated. His disciples were slaughtered, his people targeted. The church, HIS body, has been attacked since Pentecost. Jesus promised us this. Exhibit A: Mark 13:13, John 15:18, Matthew 10:22. 

There is no such thing as a popular Christian; it’s an oxymoron. The world is SUPPOSED to hate us. Granted, I hope that among ourselves as believers, we love one another, but a consequence of our Bible-college-campus subculture has been this subtle erection of a hierarchy. It’s like high school at times, and, as Archie described it, there’s the Christianized version of the jocks: the brooding, deep, theological men who dress well and act all serious and the girls love them.

There is a sad ring of truth here that applies to believers everywhere. Because of the heavy individualism of American culture, I feel it's hit the USA the hardest. Unfortunately, as our faith has become juvenilized over time and the world has seeped in, the normal human struggle of wanting to be well-liked has morphed into this perverted, Jesus-ified version of a popularity contest for guys and girls alike. If left unchecked, we find we're not studying the Word to know God but rather to impress others; we're praying to look good; we value appearing like solid Christians over actually being solid Christians who can think apart from the fallen culture around us.

Jesus addressed such matters—the people who know what is right but put on a false image in order to squeeze admiration out of those around them and be viewed highly in society. We know them from the Gospels and from history: they were called Pharisees, and Jesus called them hypocrites.

Would you give up your “cool” if Christ asked you to? Well, this is gospel: He has.

Being a Christian is never about you. The only thing individual about Christianity is that Christ calls individuals. Being in the body of believers is collective, for Jesus died not for just your sin but for SIN. Our carefully cultivated images shatter when it comes to the grace of God. We are free to be ourselves, not a distorted copy of what some obscure subculture declares as attractive and “cool.”

See the truth. Drop the mask. Be who you really are.

“Then He said to the crowd, ‘If any of you wants to be my follower, you must turn from your selfish ways, take up your cross daily, and follow me’” (Luke 9:23).  

That One Time I Almost Jumped into Lake Michigan at Midnight

I love my friends.

Here we are, Saturday night, heading out to the observatory next to the Adler Planetarium to get a picture-perfect view of the last summer fireworks. The skyline is breathtaking over there. Navy Pier is lit up like a birthday cake. There's a substantial group: twenty of us or so. 

We're talking, telling stories, discussing our churches and experiences and thoughts. As the fireworks die down, half the group decides to cash out. A few more folks leave. Finally, it's just six of us, getting our stuff together when someone says, "So, are we doing it?"

Uh, what?

Turns out for the past twenty minutes three of my friends had been formulating a plan to jump into Lake Michigan. With their clothes on. Right there, off the walkway.

I'll admit, part of me was tempted to join them, but I will also admit, it was only a very small part. All I could think of when I looked into that water was sharp rocks and scary fish. It was just as entertaining to watch and enjoy the ridiculous scene before me. It was also entertaining trying to beat the mad crowd of adolescent girls leaving the One Direction concert on our way back.

I am eternally grateful for experiences like those. It's far too easy to take friendship and community for granted. When Christians are together, it naturally should be an uplifting and encouraging time because of the Spirit in us. Without fellowship with other believers, we can easily stray off the path and become dull instruments. 

The writer of Hebews was onto something when he wrote in chapter 10:24-25:

"And let us consider how we may spur one another on towards love and good deeds, not giving up meeting together, as some are in the habit of doing, but encouraging one another - all the more as you see the Day approaching."

I have a lot of introvert friends. I have some introverted family members. I understand it can be a struggle to get out with other believers and do things and pray and learn from one another. This passage implores us not to give up meeting together and truly consider how we can spur one another on, all the more so as Christ's return is coming closer.

I had the privilege today of attending a college-age group that meets after church and meeting other believers from all over the city. One was studying at the Art Institute, another was about to enter grad school for opera performance, another was from IIT. What a blessing to know that God has people all over Chicago. My classmates and I are hardly the only believers around!

Sharpen up (Proverbs 27:17). Go. Treasure time with other believers. Grow. Be equipped. Learn what it means to encourage one another in these dark days. See the light of God in others as you live life with them.

See Jesus in your brothers and sisters around you. I am blessed to say that I have.

That One Time I Wore Harem Pants

In four seconds, my schedule got full.

Yep, it's that time of year again. School.

I love it. School is my favorite. Always has, always will. Add in the fact that I have the blessed privilege of living life with other Christians in the greatest community I have ever known....well, it's pretty awesome. 

As I methodically recorded syllabuses, coffee dates, weekly meetings, and Gospel Choir rehearsals into my planner, I realized that a lot is coming. It's almost the weekend, and so far, I've had plenty of time. But that commodity is about to come at a high price. Cue the 12-page papers, overlapping ministry events, and forgetting I had planned to meet someone for lunch today.

When a lot is coming, or a lot is here, we tend to be swept up into the chaos and, before we know it, things that used to be on the priority list get dropped like hot rocks. I find it unusually ironic that the first thing I tend to kick away is my daily quiet time. Here I am, future teacher and minister of God's Word, and here I am, putting off the reading and studying of God's Word.

Looking cute in my new harem pants and heels? Check. Facebook? Of course! Calling my parents, talking with friends, reading for class? Certainly.

But what about the Bible....

I am the guilty culprit of this far too often. Why is it so hard? I absolutely love to read! Yet, there I am, staring at its leather cover with bleary eyes at 12:37am apologizing to God for not doing what I know I should. Not to mention how easy it is as a Bible college to slide into the "Bible equals textbook" mode of thinking. 

As the year kicks into gear, I have to remember the importance of this daily time reading about how my Father wants me to live. Without this, the Bible simply becomes another "resource" instead of the absolute truth I need to live life by. I fail often. Apathy creeps in even more. But, I must fight it. There is no temptation placed in my path that I cannot bear and HAVE to give in to (1 Cor 10:13). Because I am a saved daughter of our Lord, I don't have to give in to sin anymore. I am redeemed and can make the right choice. Commitment and discipline get harder as more life happens, but I can still do what I am called to do!

I pray, Father, that you help me to choose what is right. Even when my planner catches fire, help me to see clearly the importance of your Word.

That One Time I Came Back

The hazy skyline reappeared as a jumbled assortment of lights. A siren, no, make it TWO sirens, screeched in the distance. I walked onto campus. I was back for another round of Chicago, Bible college, and life lessons.

Since arriving on Sunday night, I've been caught in a weird sort of limbo. Let me put it this way: it's going to take a lot longer than I originally thought to become familiar with the unfamiliarity. 

The average college turnover rate is minimum 25% because of graduating seniors, let alone the people who transfer, take time off, or don't return at all. Things have to change; that's life and growth and moving forward. It's exciting, it's weird, it's hard to like, it's great....

It's difficult, but in the best way.

I know the Lord has much in store and much to teach me. He's already teaching me by default by throwing twelve new freshmen girls into my life. My prayer is to love them well. 

Being a part of the campus women's ministry group has thrown me together with some excellent and driven individuals who seek to disciple our campus through Gospel-centered events and small groups. I'm so excited to be a part of it all, especially on the event-planning and administrative side of things. We had a great time tonight kicking off fall training. I love watching people grow in Christ and come together like that.

However, it's been strange not having the same people surrounding me as last year and being (essentially) forced into meeting new ones. I love it, but I don't....it's complicated.

One thing is constant! One thing is sure! "Jesus Christ is the same yesterday and today and forever" (Hebrews 13:8). Jesus, thanks for not changing. Thanks for being here--with me, all the time. Sure, I can't really "feel" God with me, but I can know and trust he is here.

When change comes, we must remember that A) we are not alone, in more ways than one, and B) without change, we cannot grow!

This will be an interesting journey. I can't see what the end looks like (and I've stopped bothering to try), but I want to come out more like Jesus. I want to love and know God. I want others to see him in me. 

Let's begin. Round 2.

That One Time I Couldn't Accept Canadian Currency

So there's this thing about living and working in the Northwoods. It's called "meeting Canadians." Now, to be honest, my Northwoods are still a few hours from the Great White North, but it's still close. Once in a while, the following happens at the toy store:

"Hi there, all set?"

(nods)

(scanning items)

"Alrighty, your total is $7.54."

(customer fishing around in wallet and/or pockets)

(silence)

"Uh, do you accept Canadian quarters?"

The hard thing is that these people (Canadians or otherwise...don't get me wrong, this isn't just something Canadians do. Also, I have some dear Canadian friends back at school, so nothing against anyone here) are sincerely genuine. They really hope and believe that their foreign currency will work. After all, it's still a quarter of some kind, and it looks like an American quarter, and it has value to the Canadian government. But, being an American store, no matter how far north we are, we can't accept it. It's not the right kind of cash. There is only one kind of quarter we can take, and that is the American one.

It makes me think about the Gospel. Think of how many good people are out there--nice people who volunteer at the local soup kitchen, knit scarves for unwed mothers, and donate money to the cancer research fund. Most people attend some kind of religious service, and a lot of folks might even read their Bibles. However, Jesus says in John 14:6: 

"I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to Father except through me."

James adds:

"You believe there is one God. Good! Even the demons believe that--and shudder" (1:19). 

You can believe in a god, or even the One True God, all you want. Without belief in Jesus Christ, though, it doesn't have any value. It doesn't mean anything simply to "believe" (take that, you lying secular inspirational office posters). After all, even the minions of Satan himself believe in God!

Jesus is the only way. He is the gate to the Father. You cannot know the Father without the Son (John 14:7, 8:19). 

What do you believe about Jesus? What do you think about his claims to be the Son of God (John 8:58, John 4:24-25, Mark 14:60-62, and more).

I have seen the truth, and His name is Christ. 

That One Time I Watched a Movie by Myself

I don't frequently spend time alone. I love to be with people too much, BUT yesterday night I was really needing some Kaitlyn time. (Translation: half watching a movie on my computer and half watching my brother play video games.) So, I was feeling an old favorite--you know, a "classic," so I started watching the movie "Grease." You know, that great movie with John Travolta and Olivia Newton-John, with the great music, and the great '50s stuff.

Since when is that movie all about sex?

It was one of the huge, double-take, what? moments. I've seen the film before, but I never remembered it being this bad. I had to skip so much of the movie, and it bothered me how this is hailed as a classic, yet its content is completely focused on the sexual encounters between a bunch of teenagers.

This is what the world celebrates, promotes, and encourages. As Christians, this is not what we are called to believe, and yet it would so easy to walk away from a film like that and subconsciously agree with its messages. Throughout the film,  the male characters talk about how girls are only good for "one thing" (sex), and the heroine of the film isn't "cool" or truly a part of the gang until she turns herself into a sex object and gives up everything she stands for in order to keep her guy. Sex is treated lightly, virginity is seen as gross and stupid. Sex is seen as an "everyone's doing it" sort of thing. Unfortunately, "Grease" isn't alone in this. The majority of media today are promoting, whether subtly or blatantly, that sex is the answer and the goal. Worse, sex is equated with love.

The Word of God points to purity with our bodies: sexually, emotionally, spiritually, and mentally. It's not simply avoiding certain things; purity is to pursue righteousness, that is, to pursue living the way God calls us to live. "Flee from sexual immorality," Paul writes to the Corinthians; he doesn't say "Don't have sex and that equals purity." Purity is living according to the Word of God (Psalm 119:9). Purity is being washed from our sins by the blood of Christ and striving to live in step with the Spirit, who is working in us to make us more like Christ (Galatians 5:16). Purity is treating sex the way we are supposed to: between one man and one woman in marriage,  reflecting the intimacy between the Trinity, between Christ and the church, and between God and the individual believer. We are "to control [our] bodies in holiness and honor" (1 Thess. 4:4). 

Do you have a biblical view of sex? Have you been simply ingesting what the world has been telling you? What do you really believe about these things? 

Our bodies were not meant for sexual immorality, but for the Lord. Therefore, let us glorify the Lord--with our bodies (what we do), with our minds (what we think), and with our lives (in everything). See clearly. See the truth: you were made for more than what the world is telling you to pursue. 

That One Time it was My Birthday

I got mistaken for a twelve-year-old today. Kind of a weird deal, seeing that I'm nowhere close.

I celebrated my birthday this past week, It was awesome; I love birthdays. However, it's strange to really sit down and think about time. Have you ever done it? I mean, really: we cannot stop it. We cannot control it. It just...goes. Time flies, passes, moves, and rolls on. We cannot feel it, but we are all encased by it and it affects everyone. The fourth dimension. Attempts have been made in vain to slow it down, to control it, to manipulate it, but answers don't lie in our hands.

As a matter of fact, they lie in a Book. They lie in the hands of the Master.

I find it comforting and yet also astounding that God is outside of space and time. What does that mean? What does that look like? How would that feel? It's like trying to explain the smell of blue or coax ice cream from a flower. How does that even work?

For our Lord, a day is like a thousand years, and he is everlasting forever and ever (Psalm 90:4, 2). He makes all things happen at their proper times, cannot change, and does not age like we do (Hebrews 13:8). He is beyond; he is holy, wholly other and separate. 

And yet, he loves us. Not the kind of love the world gives, but the deepest, most profound, sacrificial love. He died so we could be with him (Romans 5:8). He cares for us when we, who are constricted and conflicted by time, cannot even begin to give back the praise he deserves. 

This is the Jesus I follow. I am a selfish worm, but he forgives me. He has given me light and life and hope. He is eternal, and  because of his great love, we can spend that "time" with him in forever.

Time was invented by God and belongs to him. He has given me today, and how I choose to use this time is up to me. I pray for the Spirit to help me glorify him with this time and not waste it doing things that don't matter. Do you waste it? Or serve the Lord with it? Do you love people? Or do you ignore them? Do you foolishly drain it on worldly entertainments, sin, or lusts? Or do you invest in prayer and the Word of the Lord? Do you share the Gospel? The choice is yours.

Look up and see the Father of all. He has given you the gift of life, and I pray you steward it well.