Growing up in the Bible Belt South, I was both blessed and frustrated by
church culture. In terms of blessing, I experienced a world where it was
safe, and even encouraged, to speak of one’s relationship with God. Bible
studies, youth groups, and Sunday morning church were simply a part of a
normal life. Being a child of the 80’s and 90’s in Augusta, Georgia with a
supporting cast of parents, aunts and uncles, and grandparents who loved
Jesus made the beginnings of a Christian life an easy decision.
But what about the frustrated part? In many ways I grew up amidst a real
blend of authentic Christianity and unhelpful Christendom. The unhelpful
Christendom came in the form of popular theology. Statements like,
“Everything happens for a reason” and “God will never give you more than
you can handle” were often quoted as if they were Bible verses.
Additionally, the church world was clearly developing a subculture. A
subculture that valued your spiritual life more for the music you listened to or the political candidates you endorsed, rather than your actual experience with God.
When I turned 15 God began to reveal himself in a tangible way. My spiritual life was like that scene in the Wizard of Oz when the picture goes from black and white to color. Thanks, in part, to the powerful preaching of Brennan Manning, the love of God became very real to me and it colored my world in deep beauty. So for the past 22 years I have been blessed to be on a journey. A journey of both theology and experience with God. In addition to growing to know God personally, I also developed a ravenous thirst for better theological answers. That thirst eventually led me to Asbury Theological Seminary where I received a Masters of Divinity.
It’s been said that Soren Kierkegaard’s mission was to reintroduce Christianity to Christendom. In many ways, I now sense a similar call in my own life. In the Gospels, Jesus empowered His disciples to heal the felt needs of those around them and then He commissioned them to make disciples. Healing was Jesus’ evangelism strategy and discipleship was His plan for world transformation. My deep hunger is to see the “every-man” and “every-woman” Christian walk in God’s power to both bring healing to hurting lives around them and to make disciples of Jesus Christ. I hope the Methodist Melody helps you on that journey.
God Bless,
Christopher