The Challenge of Authenticity

Being a pastor in the city is so interesting. Every single day of my life is different, and I really never know what to expect. One of the things I'm working very hard on is authenticity. Strategy and programs are important, but a good foundation in ministry starts when people can look at my life and see that I am trying to actually live out what I am challenging others to do.

This approach to life plays itself out in many different ways. When I challenge people to pop the Christian bubble and intentionally spend time with people who are not Christians, then I had better back that up with the choices I make on how and where I spend my time. I send my kids to the local public schools in the city because it helps our family to spend a lot of time with people who may not be Christians. I try to spend a lot of time out in the streets of my city meeting new people because that's what Jesus modeled. As a pastor, I hope to eventually spend at least 50 percent of my time with people outside the church. I am also called to be a pastor to the followers of Jesus who attend the church where God has placed me in leadership. When I challenge our church to disciple new believers, I need to be intentionally discipling newer believers myself. That's why the LAMP mentoring is still such a big part of what I do each week. It's life on life, it costs me time and resources, and it is deep discipleship with people who really need it. When I challenge people to live out the biblical mandate to care for the poor, I had better be spending a lot of my time caring for the poor. When I challenge business men and women to live out of their hearts, passionately, in their vocational callings, I had better be spending a lot of time visiting them and spending time with them where they work. When I challenge our church to do something about the violence in our city, I had better go out into my community to have God work through me to minister to people when I hear gun shots. I need to be the same person in the streets as I am standing talking from the platform to hundreds of people on Sunday morning. When I challenge people to reject materialism and cultural Christianity, then my own lifestyle had better reflect that. If I challenge men to stand up and be the husbands and fathers that he has called us to be, then I had better be loving my wife and children as God intends.

I am a work in progress, and I still have a lot of transformation that God needs to take me through over the years that God may give me. I mess up every day. If I am open to God guiding me every day, then I will know that I am fully equipped to take on whatever may come my way as an urban pastor on any given day. My goal is to die to my self every single day so that God can use me however he wants to use me to advance his mission to reach people in this world who are desperate for good news. I could lose my life tonight, or I might have many more decades to live. That's all up to God, and I trust him completely. My prayer is that God would help me to be able to authentically, relationally, and passionately live out his purposes on a daily basis. I'm finding that to be a huge challenge!