You would probably have to be living under a rock to not have heard by now about my friend, Jon Acuff’s, new book Stuff Christians Like.

Not only does Jon have one of the funniest blogs I’ve ever read.  His book is now becoming a phenomenon.  I’m so proud of him and it truly couldn’t have happened to a nicer guy.

He has an amazing gift. He can make fun of you and you just sit there and laugh. He poked fun of me here and here and as always, did it in his brilliant fashion.

If you haven’t bought his book yet, you’re truly missing out. Do yourself a favor and go grab it now!
Honestly, we all need to laugh a little more.

Do you have a favorite Stuff Christians Like post?

Mine? THIS ONE

My main concern for the church everywhere is that we often do not look like what we are talking about. We make great claims for Christ, but there is often a credibility gap between our words and our actions.

No where is this more true than the church’s claims of authentic community. We love to throw the “authentic community” words around, but rarely are we willing to live with the risks associated to create such environments.

Most Christians I know are chained to their fears of being found out. However, you need to know, for every fear you accept in your life there is always a corresponding consequence.  The damaging consequence of this fear is that our churches are full of people running around hiding their sin, their addiction, their doubts and their hurts.  We’ve learned this kind of secret behavior is not only allowed, it’s actually rewarded.

I love it when Jon Acuff talks about “the gift of going second”. When you go first and admit the sin, the junk, and all the crap in your life you give others a gift allowing them to follow you. It’s always easier to go second.

I think those of us who have been placed in positions of leadership in the church have got to “go first” creating environments where people feel free to bring their junk into the context of community where they can find grace and healing.

So, let me go first today.

Last week I was  I was doing some research for a message online when I stumbled on a pop-up ad that was very enticing.  All I had to do was click on the image and I knew it would take me to a place where I could escape the current writing pressures I was facing.

For more than a minute I sat there debating whether to click or not. There was a war raging in my mind.  I would go from praying for strength to trying to justify what I wanted to do.  In the end I didn’t click.

You know why?

Because, I have Covenant Eyes which reports to one of my accountability partners every website I visit. I knew I would be busted.

However I’m still disappointed in myself. I want to get to the place where I don’t click, not because I’m afraid I’m going to get caught, but because I don’t desire. I don’t desire it because I know what that junk does to my soul. I know how it destroys intimacy in my marriage. I know how it keeps me from growing in Christ-likeness.

I want to not want.

That’s a glimpse into the darkness that can raise it’s ugly face in my heart from time to time.

So there you go. I went first today. Where do you need to go first in order to encourage others to bring their sin into the context of community where they can experience grace and healing? What do you think we need to do in the church to back up our claims of authentic community?

Most of you know I was at the Catalyst conference last week. I experienced so many incredible things while there that I can’t even begin to blog about all of them.

One of my favorite experiences was a backstage interview I got to be a part of. It was supposed to be a simple interview which included myself and John Acuff (Stuff Christian Like) when all of the sudden, seconds before we go LIVE, Seth Godin walks up and decides to participate.

CLICK HERE to see what happened next (and yes, I was caught on a live feed sticking my gum on the wall before the interview).

If you haven’t already done so, do yourself a favor and check out both of these guys’ blogs. Their blogs couldn’t be more different, but both of them are reaching thousands very effectively. There are now 80 million blogs that exist and Seth has the #1 business blog in the world!

Check out Seth’s blog RIGHT HERE. You’ll be challenged.

Check out John’s blog RIGHT HERE. You’ll laugh your head off.

If I had time to check out one new blog today, what blog do you think I should check out?

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