Not Belonging

Ever feel like you don't belong? Totally out of place?

Maybe you've seen Rambo - any of them. Remember his beef with society? He goes through the harsh realities of war and then comes back to the states and tries to fit in. He can't. He's not accepted.

Or.. there was a Lord of the Rings trilogy on TV tonight. At the end, the hobbits go back to the Shire and they find themselves just staring at each other in the pub. They used to fit in, but after all that had transpired, they no longer did.

In both cases, the 'people' involved had lived through a reality that the rest of their peers had not. They'd been somewhere different - somewhere that had changed them.

When you have a God-encounter, just going through the motions of church-as-usual is just a waste. It's worse than a come-down. It's just so religious... isn't it?

Lest anyone think I'm speaking from atop a high horse... don't. It's not about that at all... it's not about me. Really, I'm just trying to make clear what it feels like to pretend because I've been there done that. I'd save others the trouble, if I could. If anyone reading this ever feels like it's just 'church as usual', drop me a line and we can chat about what it might mean to feel different. Are there churches you can go to where they aren't pretending? Naturally, I can't speak for everyone in the pews, but yes - there are churches who have leadership that care more about Jesus and His Kingdom than they do about themselves. Don't give up on all the disciples just because one went bad. And don't give up on one because 11 went bad...