I'm A Christian But...
The hastag #ImAChristianBut, has been floating around a lot lately with the Buzzfeed video coming out and being super controversial. And I really actually like it. So instead of spamming my Twitter followers all day, I decided to compile them into a giant list on here. Now, this isn't a "oh look at me I'm a cool Christian." or a "laugh at Christian culture" or a "I have an excuse to sin" thread, it's just honest truths about me. Because I know that I've always (and especially as of late) sort of struggled with Christianity; not my love for Jesus, because that's been a thing, but my love for the church and for the whole organized religion. I've always felt like the worlds worst follower of Jesus because I can never seem to get even the simplest things right. But now, let me be real with you. I'm not going to pretend to be someone I'm not, and maybe this post will surprise some of you. Oh well. Here we go.
I'm A Christian But...
...I don't listen to KLove
...Sometimes church freaks me out
...I screw up. A lot.
...I feel like Jesus would call Caitlyn Jenner a she
...Side hugs can go die
...I hate the way we watch out for ourselves first
...I watch How I Met Your Mother
...I'm always afraid I'm doing it wrong
...Me and theology don't mesh well
...I went to Warped Tour
...I want to see the Deadpool movie
...I think crop tops are super cute
...I kinda want to have my first kiss before I get married
...I disagree with a lot of teachings and concepts in the church
...I believe God speaks in more ways than just the Bible (although He will never contradict Himself.)
...I love going to secular school
...Sometimes I don't act like it
...I like old school feminism
...I love people. Gay, straight, black, trans, nerd, hipster, whatever
...I don't really want Jesus to come back
...I wear leggings as pants
...I freaking love tattoos and piercings
...Sometimes Christians (myself included) make me want to smash my head into a wall
...I talk about sex
...I can't ever see myself marrying your typical, nice Christian boy
...Sometimes I don't know what I believe
...I don't like it when we push evangelism/apologetics. It should be natural not forced
And with all those things that lowkey suck about me or the things that are controversial about me or frowned upon in church or whatever, But just because I'm the things above, doesn't mean I'm not a Christian, because down here I'm going to put more truths; some may seem contradictory to the ones above, but I think they go hand in hand.
I'm A Christian SO...
...I take God's word very seriously
...I do believe homosexuality is a sin
...I think you should go to church
...I do believe you should be careful of what you watch/listen to
...I know a lot of what I do is wrong and I'm trying to correct it
...I would rather be labeled the "Jesus freak" than hide my beliefs
...I read my Bible every day
...I believe premarital sex is wrong
...I don't believe in compromises
...I need you to have patience with me when I fail
...I'm not going to see the Deadpool movie (even though I really want to.)
...I believe in total forgiveness
...I'm not finished yet
...Jesus is my life
...I'm not a fan, I'm a follower
So there we have it. The uncut version of my faith. Let me end this post by saying something to you: The Bible should be taken very seriously and handled with all diligence and care and wisdom, but we are all still sinners. You can't use the "I'm a Christian so whatever" excuse. Because that isn't gonna cut it. Yes, you're saved by grace, but don't use that as an excuse to sin.
And if you don't know about Christianity or have doubts or questions, email me or a pastor or a believing and knowledgeable friend, or just talk it out with someone. I promise we're not all hypocrites and selfish and all that. We're sinners just like everyone else.
If you are a Christian and looking to get real about your faith and to stop living like you're not saved, I would highly recommend reading Not A Fan by Kyle Idleman. And even if you're not even a believer, read this book. I just finished it and basically I'm in love with it so everyone go read it.
Feel free to add comments as well or your own "I'm A Christian But..." confessions.
God bless you.
I'm A Christian But...
...I don't listen to KLove
...Sometimes church freaks me out
...I screw up. A lot.
...I feel like Jesus would call Caitlyn Jenner a she
...Side hugs can go die
...I hate the way we watch out for ourselves first
...I watch How I Met Your Mother
...I'm always afraid I'm doing it wrong
...Me and theology don't mesh well
...I went to Warped Tour
...I want to see the Deadpool movie
...I think crop tops are super cute
...I kinda want to have my first kiss before I get married
...I disagree with a lot of teachings and concepts in the church
...I believe God speaks in more ways than just the Bible (although He will never contradict Himself.)
...I love going to secular school
...Sometimes I don't act like it
...I like old school feminism
...I love people. Gay, straight, black, trans, nerd, hipster, whatever
...I don't really want Jesus to come back
...I wear leggings as pants
...I freaking love tattoos and piercings
...Sometimes Christians (myself included) make me want to smash my head into a wall
...I talk about sex
...I can't ever see myself marrying your typical, nice Christian boy
...Sometimes I don't know what I believe
...I don't like it when we push evangelism/apologetics. It should be natural not forced
And with all those things that lowkey suck about me or the things that are controversial about me or frowned upon in church or whatever, But just because I'm the things above, doesn't mean I'm not a Christian, because down here I'm going to put more truths; some may seem contradictory to the ones above, but I think they go hand in hand.
I'm A Christian SO...
...I take God's word very seriously
...I do believe homosexuality is a sin
...I think you should go to church
...I do believe you should be careful of what you watch/listen to
...I know a lot of what I do is wrong and I'm trying to correct it
...I would rather be labeled the "Jesus freak" than hide my beliefs
...I read my Bible every day
...I believe premarital sex is wrong
...I don't believe in compromises
...I need you to have patience with me when I fail
...I'm not going to see the Deadpool movie (even though I really want to.)
...I believe in total forgiveness
...I'm not finished yet
...Jesus is my life
...I'm not a fan, I'm a follower
So there we have it. The uncut version of my faith. Let me end this post by saying something to you: The Bible should be taken very seriously and handled with all diligence and care and wisdom, but we are all still sinners. You can't use the "I'm a Christian so whatever" excuse. Because that isn't gonna cut it. Yes, you're saved by grace, but don't use that as an excuse to sin.
And if you don't know about Christianity or have doubts or questions, email me or a pastor or a believing and knowledgeable friend, or just talk it out with someone. I promise we're not all hypocrites and selfish and all that. We're sinners just like everyone else.
If you are a Christian and looking to get real about your faith and to stop living like you're not saved, I would highly recommend reading Not A Fan by Kyle Idleman. And even if you're not even a believer, read this book. I just finished it and basically I'm in love with it so everyone go read it.
Feel free to add comments as well or your own "I'm A Christian But..." confessions.
God bless you.
Nice post! Some of those are really good, and I'm glad you made a "I'm a Christian, SO" category too. :) I definitely fall into the unconventional Christian category with many things too. One thing though, I totally think the " ...I love people. Gay, straight, black, trans, nerd, hipster, whatever" one belongs in the "SO" category! I think you should leave it up to the people who call themselves "Christian" but don't love everyone to say "I'm a Christian but I don't love everyone," not the other way around. :D
ReplyDeleteohhhhh good point!
DeleteThanks for the feedback/lovely comment :)
Love the pics!!:) I'm a Christian too! I pretty much grew up in a devout Christian family. My mom doesn't celebrate Halloween or let us watch Harry Potter (which can seem kind of crazy for people). Sometimes, I felt like I was blindly following the beliefs of my parents. Over the past few years, I've doubted some of my beliefs but I still believe in God. This was so interesting-love the post:)
ReplyDeleteYour honesty is extremely inspiring, Faith. I really admire you sharing who you really are. Thank you for being you. <3
ReplyDeleteI love this so much... <3
ReplyDeleteThis has got to be one of the best posts I've read this week. So many people have expectations of Christian's that just aren't right...
ReplyDeleteI also go to a secular school, I mess up A LOT (thankful for God's grace!) and I also wanna have my first kiss before I get married.
Love it :) Just followed your blog too, it's da bomb!
The real-life factor of this post is eye-opening, especially to me, a girl who grew up immersed in Church culture. The fact is, life is messy and Christians all mess up, and reading your statements about your mistakes and also your beliefs is very refreshing and encouraging!
ReplyDeleteGo Jesus!
Hannah ~Grace in Everything~
So basically this post is perfect.
ReplyDeleteAnd I have a feeling that I'm going to have a lot more to say about it later.
♥,
abbiee
Thank you so much for sharing this. A lot of my friends disagreed with the "I'm a Christian, but..." video, and it made me wonder a little. I love that you made your own lists. I think there are a lot of misconceptions about what a Christian really is. And don't beat yourself up about failing a lot. I have been doing that lately, but I see now that the whole point is that we CAN'T do it without Jesus. I've been learning more about grace this past year, and how Christ provides grace for every moment. But yeah, thanks again for sharing this! Cool post fo sho.
ReplyDelete