How Inauthenticity Kills the Church

Want to know what my favorite quality is in a person? Authenticity. From tomboys to hippies to pageant queens, my closest friends are all over the weird scale. The one thing they have in common, though, (besides their ability to put up with me) is their authenticity.

 In fact, research shows the organizations that are reaching my generation the best are authentic organizations, ones whose product and message align. Michele Serro, a professional marketing consultant who targets young buyers says, "Millennials can see when they're being marketed to or told a story. False messages make the company seem untrustworthy, which is often a deal breaker when so many companies are vying for their attention.”

Unlike any preceding generation, my age group desires transparency, realness and vulnerability, not only from the media, but also people. I develop trust with someone instantly who is obviously being bare-to-the-bones real.

 So why do so many Christians have it all wrong? The church realizes it's not adequately reaching my generation, but fails to realize why. The media gets it, but the church is lagging. There is a lack of authenticity.

 Inauthenticity used to be a marker of my life as well.

 I grew up with as an “all together” Christian. And having it “all together” meant showing people Jesus, I thought. I smiled, talked about Jesus, carried my Bible, invited friends to church, and smiled some more.

Then College Happened. 

Those four years were the best of my life in many senses, but secretly held the worst moments of my life as well.

 From lost friendships to strained relationships with my family to depression to dependency issues, my life was spinning out of control quickly.

And how did I handle it as a Christian? I tried to keep it “all together.” My teammates and friends couldn’t know what was going on. If they knew what I was going through, what I was thinking, what I was doing….if they saw my weakness, they would surely never believe in Jesus. I could have no weakness. This battle was between God and me.

 So I isolated myself from just about everybody. I kept it “all together”…because a real Christian is always smiling. Always reading their Bible. Always trusting God. Right?

Wrong.

I look back with regret on those years, not for struggling, but for hiding it. Why?

Because THIS is Christianity:

 “But he said to me, ‘My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.’ Therefore I will boast all the more gladly of my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ may rest upon me. For the sake of Christ, then, I am content with weaknesses, insults, hardships, persecutions, and calamities. For when I am weak, then I am strong.” 2 Corinthians 12:9-10

What? Paul boasted in His weakness?

That hit me like a ton of bricks.

 So showing Christ meant telling my friends my struggles, my flaws, my weaknesses, my sin. Not hiding them. Because when I am weak, THEN I am strong.

If I could go back to college, I would take off my fake smile in the day that was replaced by secret tears every night. I would admit my weaknesses to all my friends. I wouldn’t allow Satan the foothold he gained through my isolation and dependency on one person to carry me through. Instead of hoping a person could deliver me from the darkness, I would wait on God to deliver me. And with the wisdom I’ve gained now, I would realize that I already was, already AM delivered.

Christ delivered me years before college. He delivered me the day I turned from my sin and chose Him. I was delivered because Jesus rose from the dead and defeated death after taking my sin to the grave. I am delivered.

That doesn’t mean I’m free from a present life of suffering and pain. Chances are I’m going to lose the people I love the most in this life at some point. Someone else, maybe me, is going to get deathly ill. My sinful nature is going to wage with my freedom in Christ until I shed this body and join the Lord. This life is full of more misery to come.

But I finally get that there is so much beauty in the misery.

 There is hope. 

 And Christ’s power is made perfect through my weakness. 

When it all falls apart, I don’t have to keep it “all together.” In fact, it’s wrong to put on a mask. I have the expectation and freedom in Christ to authentically show my sin, my weakness. To be transparent. To be real. When I show weakness, I show God’s power and the hope I have in Him. People see the Lord when Christians humble themselves and are authentically broken.

 So again, why do so many Christians have it wrong?

Well if they are like me, I think it stems from a misunderstanding of the purpose for which Christ came. Jesus didn’t come for the people that have it “all together.” In fact, the people that tried to look like they had everything figured out were the ones that were actually the farthest from God. No one has it together- THAT IS WHY JESUS CAME.

 So if you are a child of God, I urge you to show your hardships. Don’t put your perfect mask on. Be authentic. Be real. Let the power of Christ shine through your weakness. Show how you have no choice but to rely on the power of God in those times. THAT is what sets us apart from the rest of the world.

To my friends reading who knew the “all together” Jordan during my college years, I ask that you forgive me. I am so sorry for not being a genuine friend. For trying to BE God by attempting to seem perfect, rather than allowing you to know my struggles and eventually see the God that delivers. I did anything but show you the love and hope of Christ in those moments.

 I’ve now learned to gladly boast in my weaknesses, therefore putting Christ’s power on display. I don’t want to be a crappy marketer- proclaiming a message that says Christ saves sinners and brings comfort to the broken, when I am covering up that sin and brokenness.

So mask off.

I suck.

But take a look at how magnificent my Savior is.