One thing I always admired in a religious mentor is someone who is "real". Pastor Frank has been a mentor to me and is about as "real" as it gets. What's funny is how sometimes that "real-ness" is hated by those who want more of a figurehead than a "real" person.
I recall sitting in a meeting one time and hearing one of Pastor Frank's congregants complaining the he didn't act like he cared about the people in his church. I was a little taken back. I kind of smiled and said, "I mean, he spends most of the week visiting people at their homes and checking-up on visitors; why do you feel he doesn't care about the congregation?" They said that they were mad that he didn't spend more time in his office and they were irritated that at the end of the service, he didn't walk to the rear of the sanctuary to shake people's hands when they left the building. [This is a true story.] I brought this up to Pastor Frank later. He smirked and said, "Well, if loving my congregation means I spend all my time locked in an office and stand in a designated spot in the sanctuary, then I guess they're right. I must not know what it means to love my congregation."
Looking back on it, it sounds funny. However, it showed the contrast between what it means to be Christian who was a real person, interacting with the world and loving people, versus simply being a Christian figurehead with a title. Pastor Frank could have done exactly what some of these people wanted; his life certainly would have been easier. Instead, he chose to roll up his sleeves and spend time with the people who needed him rather than worrying whether he satisfied the expectations of the self-fashioned "religious elite".
In Galatians, Paul talks about Peter (some Bibles may write 'Cephas') who struggled with his "real-ness". In chapter 2, Paul writes...
11 But when Cephas [Peter] came to Antioch, I opposed him to his face because he stood condemned. 12 For he regularly ate with the Gentiles before certain men came from James. However, when they came, he withdrew and separated himself, because he feared those from the circumcision party. 13 Then the rest of the Jews joined his hypocrisy, so that even Barnabas was led astray by their hypocrisy. 14 But when I saw that they were deviating from the truth of the gospel, I told Cephas in front of everyone, “If you, who are a Jew, live like a Gentile and not like a Jew, how can you compel Gentiles to live like Jews?” 15 We are Jews by birth and not “Gentile sinners,” 16 and yet because we know that a person is not justified by the works of the law but by faith in Jesus Christ, even we ourselves have believed in Christ Jesus. This was so that we might be justified by faith in Christ and not by the works of the law, because by the works of the law no human being will be justified. (Galatians 2:11-16)
There is a lot to unpack in this section, but what we can see in verses 12 and 13 is a Peter who socialized and ate with the Gentiles... until his Jewish brethren showed up. He felt shame because he knew the Jews would expect Peter to act like a Jew, which would mean pushing aside the Gentiles. As a result of his influence, others were led astray. Paul confronted Peter by reminding him of the Gospel's truth: that Jew and Gentile are both a part of God's promise and inheritors of God's grace.
As we continue to mature in our walk with Christ, we must be careful not to get sucked into a tendency to merely "act holy", Instead, we should act like ourselves, and move to make "ourselves" a greater reflection of Christ's teachings. In general, I have always said that the general public can tell when we are being inauthentic. By being ourselves, people can see a God who impacts us in our day-to-day lives; not just when we show up at church or get around our Christian friends, but at all times and in all circumstances.
As a pastor, I have always said that I wanted to ensure people saw a "real person" when they looked at me. I didn't want them to see the cookie cutter of 'what they think a pastor should be'. I want them to see my flaws, my struggles, and my imperfections. And through my faults, I hope they can see how God can forgive and work through someone even as wrenched as me. Maybe in seeing that example of what God can do, they would be comforted and encouraged to move deeper in their walk with God.
I encourage you all to take on this example, first lived by many in the Bible and many great religious leaders since then. Don't worry about being the religious person others think you should be. Instead, search your heart and work towards being the individual you feel God calling you to be. People will see that authenticity. By being a "real" Christian, they may be encouraged to wonder who God can 'really' be in their own lives.
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