Dear Christian,
God hasn’t created you to be like anyone else but Jesus.
This declaration has been rehearsed repeatedly in my own mind over the last few months as I’ve transitioned into a pastoral ministry. As a minister many have an expectation of what I should look like, act like, and even be into. But when those expectations aren’t met, someone’s idea of who I am will begin to either stretch or deteriorate. The option selected of these many times determines the future ministering I get to have with that person. And this is unfortunate.
Let’s back up for just a moment. There can be some extreme, unhelpful responses to my original statement no matter your calling in life. One such response is to “throw the baby out with the bathwater.” To say we are all different and therefore all societal pressures for any conformity are pure evil is a bit extreme. Such a belief would include clothing, law-abiding, walking on our feet instead of our hands, etc. Conformity to the first alone is enough for the sane among us to shout, “Amen!”
A second unhelpful response, as a Christian, would be to cast aside any desire for mentorship. Mentorship at its very essence is for one to impart knowledge to another, many times from one’s own life experience. But how will we be willing to learn from someone else’s experiences if we believe we are all different and therefore no one but Christ can be seen as an example to follow? (Hint: Christian mentorship is grounded on being led by those who are more like Christ than the one mentored. Those are the traits to be passed down. —cf. 1 Corinthians 11:1)
A last, unhelpful response to this statement would be to refuse to know who Jesus really is when such a statement is made. To not know who Jesus is would make it impossible to become like He truly was. And for someone to say the statement above in complacent ignorance of how He lived would simply prove it was said as an excuse for their lifestyle choices, not a description of their spiritual goals.
So, what am I actually saying with that beginning statement?
How can one respond to it in both a truthful and helpful way?
As I pointed out in the beginning, church leadership can come with some baggage in the minds of many. For some, a suit and tie bring thoughts of man-made tradition and a look of irrelevance. For others, the absence of such attire might invoke thoughts of worldliness, rebellion, or the last prophecy needing fulfillment before the Lord’s imminent return. In other words, the mouth of a minister may say nothing at all while many already have made-up minds of who he is. And it doesn’t stop there.
Reading theology books by dead preachers, Christian fish on everything, and ministry being the only hobby—those are the things a preacher should be “into” right? You might laugh but the stereotype is out there. I have my fair share of deceased commentators on my bookshelves but I also have some that are still breathing (the authors that is). Christian fish have become extinct from my current decor of randomness in my office. And the truth is, in addition to those theology books I also like to read fiction…some of which aren’t necessarily “Christian.”
I dabble at writing. I listen to nerdy podcasts that aren’t always theological in nature. I like football, British mysteries, and the occasional Alfred Hitchcock film. (Weird. I know.)
The stereotypical apple fell far from the ministerial tree when I stepped into the calling…or so I thought. Come to find out, there were others the same way. Which begs the question—why is God using people that don’t fit the mold we’ve created?
Answer—because that’s how He has always done it.
There is no Christian personality, only a Christ-like person.
And there is no greater example of this than Christ’s own disciples.
Not every disciple seemed to have an outspoken personality like Peter for some never had a single quote in the entire Bible (e.g., James, the son of Alphaeus). Not all of them were fishermen. Some worked for the Romans previously (e.g., Matthew) while others saw the empire as nothing more than the enemy of their beloved country (e.g., Simon the Zealot).
Same calling, different gifting.
Unifying Person, different personalities.
Working together by being individually different.
But if all Christians, like the disciples, are seeking to become like Jesus, how can we remain so diverse?
The sanctification of the believer is not making everyone become like you (or me); it is God making everyone become like Him (cf. Romans 8:29, Galatians 5:22-25). And although this gradually purifies our personality, it does not eradicate it. Because how God made you remains even through how Christ is changing you.
In the conclusion of every post, I try to end with a well-worded quip or a fun play-on-words, but with this one, I would like to leave you with something else. This song of caution is what happens when we fail to believe as the body of Christ that becoming like the same Jesus in many ways looks different for us all. This is not a call to discard discipleship but the opposite. It is a call to understand what discipleship truly is—becoming like Jesus, not one another. And then understanding that’s a good thing.
Did you hear of the city on the hill?
Said one old man to the other
It once shined bright, and it would be shining still
But they all started turning on each other
You see the poets thought the dancers were shallow
And the soldiers thought the poets were weak
And the elders saw the young ones as foolish
And the rich man never heard the poor man speak
Each one thought that they knew better
But they were different by design
Instead of standing strong together
They let their differences divide
But it was the rhythm of the dancers
That gave the poets life
It was the spirit of the poets
That gave the soldiers strength to fight
It was the fire of the young ones
It was the wisdom of the old
It was the story of the poor man
That needed to be told.
And one by one, they ran away
With their made-up minds to leave it all behind
And the light began to fade
In the City on the Hill.
And the world is searching still.
(Casting Crowns, “City on a Hill,” Come to the Well, 2011.)
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