On the call for nonconformity...

First things first: if the word nonconformity is a bit out there for you as far as understanding its meaning, take a little detour to dictionary.com and check it out. Or email Nate. Or call him. Or call Cindy Thornton. (just kidding about Cindy) :)

Yesterday, we plunged into Romans 12:1-2 together...if you wanna read the sermon, go here.
This section of Scripture may be the most central batch of Scriptures for us today, because it makes us aware of our temptation (to look as much like others as possible), and calls us not to some specific goal that is easily achieved without much work, but instead to a lifestyle of actively being transformed until the day we leave this Earth.

We dealt with some hard questions, such as:

Why is Christianity so often as an unattractive religion when Jesus, the person on which it is founded, is considered to be one of the most compelling and attractive figures in the history of the world (even by critics of Christianity)?

Why can folks call themselves “Christian” and never set themselves apart from the rest of the folks around them who are bored, cynical, and headed nowhere as if being a Christian held no way to escape that reality?

Why can professing Christians talk about “their faith” as if its a phrase they’ve gotten bored with rather than a story of something profound, mysterious, life-changing, and beautiful?

Why can’t professing Christians seem to discuss their “faith” with anything near the passion, enthusiasm, or imagination they have for hobbies, sports, celebrities, films, or music?

Those seem to be very important to keep going in our minds, as we all have unique temptations according to our unique created nature to be aware of...as well as many temptations we all share. How can we flip around the temptations to focus beyond the temptations themselves and on towards growth?

And would you agree that where we live, we often think of church as forming us to be "good people," and that that goal is inadequate (read: unfaithful) for the life God has called us to (transformation)?

Next Sunday, we'll talk about some of the nitty-gritty ways we can make this transformation work on the practical, daily level; cause it's important to keep the goal in front of us...but equally important to be willing to link up and wade through the muck along the way!

And remember, where was the only situation in the gospels where the same word is used as the one Paul used for transformation? Maybe the picture will provide a hint.




Imagine the reality that this explosion of light is happening in your life as you pursue Christ!