When's the last time you heard a pastor say, "Get Into Trouble" at church? It's my first point this weekend. What can I say? I'm a renegade at heart. Can't help it. I'm not a deserter. I don't betray. But, I do like this portion of the definition: a person who behaves in a rebelliously unconventional manner. I've tried to hide it my whole life because I felt judged. Here's the deal. I don't like fake Christians. I don't like Christian talk. I don't like saying "I love you" to a dude, I don't like church services that are goofy church services. Give it to me real, medium rare. I've said it before but I'm often more comfortable around non church goers because they don't pretend to be anything more than who they really are. And I'm not throwing anyone under the bus here. If the shoe fits. I'm the first one who has to check his pretension quotient. That's why I love (Ha!) Stephen. He's my man. I've been thinking a lot about him. Not too cool to serve tables of widows and orphans. Not too scared to stand up to a bunch of religious bigots. He wasn't a crowd pleaser. He said it like it was. If Jesus is our one and only God in the flesh, savior, messiah, and resurrected Lord, then so be it. No pretense. This got Stephen into trouble and cost him his life. I can't say we all will lose our life like Stephen, but I will say God uses certain individuals to get a mass movement going. Certain individuals. But the rest of us can join in on the movement.
Todd
