Authentic

authentic | involved | eclectic | missional

Authentic [aw-then-tic]

1.	not false or copied; genuine; real

2.	having the origin supported by unquestionable evidence; authenticated; verified

3.	entitled to acceptance or belief because of agreement with known facts or experience; reliable; trustworthy

Source: http://www.dictionary.com/

We at The River seek to be a community of faith that is authentic. But what exactly does that mean? Isn't every church authentic? Well, maybe... and maybe not. But we're not trying to presume the motives of other groups in this discussion. We are simply asking what the shape and priorities of our church should be if we're seeking to be (as in definition number one) "genuine" followers of Jesus in this little corner of the world.

One thing that comes to mind for me is that we need to see people here as loved by God - no matter where they are in their beliefs. There is a huge population of spiritual believers and seekers in the Pacific Northwest. But - here's a shock - not all of them are looking for... or finding their answers in Christ. I don't know if that is the church's fault or not... but I do know that we have kind of settled into a polarized society here: Essentially, the Christians and the non-Christians.

We have a decent (if not statistically low) number of Bible-believing, regularly church-attending folks who make it to worship service each Sunday. And then we have a massive group of people who don't fit into that category... probably because there are so many outdoor activities in (or close to) this little valley. Why mess up a perfectly good chance to go skiing or snowmobiling by going to church?

I don't have a great answer to that last point. Sometimes I wish I could go fishing, or skiing, or hiking, or camping, or river-floating (or whatever) on a weekend without having to go to the modern version of church. But hey, that's the price you pay to be a disciple, isn't it? By now, you may be asking yourself... Does Jeff have a point to make here? Actually, I don't know for certain - but I do know I'm kind of sick of the polarity.

Perhaps it's just the nature of the beast, but why do Christians have to be so different than the rest of society? Why do we have to put up so many walls... blocking the way for people to experience what we have to offer... that is, the person of Jesus in our midst? Why have we positioned ourselves as so different from (i.e., out of touch with) our unbelieving friends and neighbors?

I understand that not everyone wants to know about Jesus... BOY do I understand that! But how many people would demonstrate more interest in the Christian faith if they encountered more authentic Christ followers in their daily lives? What if - instead of taking pride in our separation from the "sinners" among us - we took pride in our integration into the lives of pre-Christians... that is, people who don't yet know (but have a destiny with) Christ?

Okay... a controversial point perhaps... but let's say we agree that we need to be more integrated into our local community... Somehow we need to overcome our collective "holier-than-thou" reputation, and earn a new reputation as authentic, empathetic and completely trustworthy. But how do we go about it? How do we change our reputation? Is it even possible? How do we allow others to see that we're real people... with real problems and concerns? How do we live among the people and tell them the truth... the compelling story of God's relentless pursuit of our salvation... without coming across as jerks and self-seeking manipulators?

Wikipedia says that authenticity "refers to the truthfulness of origins, attributions, commitments, sincerity, devotion, and intentions" and "a particular way of dealing with the external world." Wow... If we could stop trying to build a church... (yes, that's what I said). If we could stop trying to win more people to Jesus (don't faint... stay with me). Heck, if we could just somehow, some way resist the overwhelming sense of "us and them" syndrome for just a little while... If we could live our lives before God with "truthfulness of origins; attributions; commitments; sincerity; devotion; and intentions"...

Who knows what God could do with that kind of authenticity from His followers!

So, blog reader... what does authentic Christian discipleship mean to you? I know, I know... online comments are about as popular as a root canal... but just this once, give it a try... There is no right or wrong here (well, unless you're really off the deep end). I'm simply curious what people think when they hear the term "authentic follower of Christ." How does a little, emerging, and (hopefully) out of the box gathering of everyday people live in, and connect with folks on a deep level... and find creative new ways to "deal with the external world?"

How do we spread the good news authentically (that is... with our actions as well as our words)? How do we speak the language of "outsiders" so they hear the relevance of Christ... and positively respond to Him? Just what does it mean to be aw-then-tik?

Hmmmmmm... I'm curious to read what you think.

Thursday Mornings with Roger

In the early days, we met at Starbucks. We'd get up at some ungodly hour, sip coffee, and talk. Frankly, the conversation had no rhyme or reason - just whatever was on our minds. Often, we'd step out of the Starbucks and join the geriatric crowd as they strolled along in the massive empty mall in which the Starbucks was located. On nice days we'd even go outside, and encircle the big, strangely built metropolitan mall located between State Line and Ward Parkway in Kansas City.

Sometimes the conversation was very spiritual - often we'd even drive to a nearby park or walk to one of the many isolated corners of the mall and pray together. But usually, the tone of our conversation was simply about life - sometimes life as two Christian men trying to be light in our world... and sometimes just two guys trying to maintain their sanity in the midst of a busy, overtaxing, meat-grinder kind of world. On any given week, it might be me or Roger (or both) who needed to talk - you know, just sort of unload all the junk stored up in our heart to a caring friend with a listening ear. Confession of sin... griping about something or someone... sharing a victory or key family event... any number of things could potentially set the tone of our mornings together.

Always, however, our mornings tended to revolve around two primary things: God's holiness and good coffee. Everything else may have randomly fallen together, but those two topics provided our conversations with a liturgical order and purpose. That is to say, we always enjoyed a great cup (or more) of steaming hot coffee, and inevitably the conversation always found its way to the personal, profound - albeit sometimes frustrating - grace of Jesus Christ, and the various ways He continually weaves it into our lives as imperfect, yet willing disciples.

After a couple of years at Starbucks, another option presented itself to us, which deepened our commitment to Thursday mornings together - Panera Bread became our new place to meet and talk and pray and laugh and cry. And our new location gave us three very important new motivators to get our butts out of bed on any given Thursday morning: (1) A private booth way back in a corner of the store... right next to the fireplace; (2) free online access (personal gripe: why in the world doesn't Starbucks have this?); and (3) Way-awesome breakfast! Wow, how I miss those bacon and spinach souffles. I admit, the coffee wasn't exactly Starbucks, but what the heck, we found a new home (church?), and it was almost heaven. The wonderfully-aromatic, most comfortable place on the planet (aka, Panera) became our weekly home away from home for the next couple of years.

But then I graduated and moved to Washington State. That's it, no more Thursday mornings with Roger. No more accountability. No more sounding board. No more prayer partner. No more fellow laborer in Christ to just whine to and be encouraged by. No more bacon and spinach souffles. No more iron sharpens iron. No more conversations about the emerging church, pastoral ministry, adoption (as in, Roger is in the midst of adopting a child internationally), parenthood, photography, and whatever else may have been going on in our lives at the time.

Oh, we've tried, and will continue to try other options like video chat... but it's just not the same without all the human and environmental trappings like eye contact, coffee aroma, guys washing the windows in the background (hey, it was part of the morning ritual), and Anna... our favorite waitress who knew us by name and always gave us the best looking souffles.

Lord, please send me another friend. Perhaps no one will ever be like Roger... and no other place will be like Panera... but send me a friend whom I can trust with my deepest secrets and fears... and someone to celebrate my victories with. Someone who'll listen to my stupid ideas without laughing at me (too much). Someone who will pray for me, confront me when necessary, and be my friend even when I don't deserve it. Someone I can laugh with, cry with, occasionally argue with, and always appreciate. Oh ya, and Lord... please send someone like that for Roger too. (Or just make it easy on all of us and Send Roger to the Pacific Northwest)! Amen.