The hard thing about our seasonal Bible studies is that people come in with years of pain and sorrow and suffering just to have an hour and a half of being around people who will listen to them. What do you think of church, and Bible and religion? Is it not fancy churches or massive choirs or even quality preaching? It can be, but makes it special? Every venue in the world has people willing to sing or perform or say a clever word. What makes Christianity different and special is transformation.

Real change doesn’t come quickly. It looks like reading the Bible, praying, getting together, sharing about life and praying some more. The hard thing is the real thing.

Have you seen those shows where they have a dirty rug and then they wash it and rinse it and wash it and rinse it and wash it and rinse it? It’s like that. What started out looking something headed to the refuse pile turns out to be a hand-knotted Persian carpet. That’s what small groups are like. It’s people coming together to read the Word, acknowledging each other‘s life experiences, and praying for each other. 

There are so many people announcing from stages and screens that they are Christians calling for people to follow them, but it’s just like a lot of stores selling costume jewelry. While it can be hard, at first, to tell the difference between a $1000 ring and a Dollar Tree knockoff, time gives up the counterfeit. After a week or two of wearing a fake ring, your finger turns green and the soft stone gets all scuffed up. A real diamond is the hardest substance on earth, so you can wear it every day and it won’t get scratched. Pure gold is non-reactive, so it does not tarnish when constantly touching skin. 

This is real Christianity: the spirit of Christ experienced through community. Real Christianity will see you through the dark, and the hard, and the difficult and the ugly. It doesn’t turn its face away from suffering, but walks through it with you. Anything less, is a fake.