Not a Popularity Contest

Faith is the center of my existence.

As previously noted, I am willing to sacrifice everything to follow my Savior to the Cross (Galatians 2:20). I don’t evaluate things from a human standpoint; the life I now live, I live by faith.

It’s easy to say those words, and most professing Christians do. But they don’t mean them. As soon as they actually start walking by faith, their own brothers and sisters call them “crazy.” This is a critical element in tribulation: We face persecution from our own.

John the Baptist was labeled a madman. Even as so many were coming to him for the cleansing ritual, most were just getting their ticket punched, just in case it turned out he was the real deal. They had no clue about God’s heart, so they regarded the situation as a crap shoot. So it is with churches today; they don’t actually know the Lord they claim to serve. It’s religion based on sentiment and tradition, not a living awareness through conviction.

This is why we do not hesitate to withdraw into a more cloistered existence. Sure, it could include simply heading out in the wilderness and living off-grid, as it were. However, that’s not required. What’s required is maintaining a strong awareness of the boundaries of conviction. We live by the Covenant. It’s largely private, with a conscious awareness of when and where we have to make it visible to others.

It’s not that I don’t need other believers. What I don’t need is their lack of faith. For too many, it’s a matter of putting religion first, a cultural adaptation. They mistake that for faith. Too often the word “faith” in their minds means the traditions and sentiments of men. We use the same methods as the disciples did in their nation during Christ’s ministry on this earth. We go to them and try to gain a hearing, but at some point we should hardly be surprised when they run us out of town. Genuine faith proposals threaten established interests. We get good practice in the ritual of shaking the dust off our feet.

Until they repent and call us back, we don’t go to them again. I’ve abandoned various Christian forums over the years, despite how much I enjoyed the fellowship, because they rejected the centrality of faith. They kept promoting various incarnations of human reason in place of raw faith in God. There’s nothing wrong with knowing stuff on a human level, but if faith does not rule, it’s just noise.

Tradition has its place, as long as you recognize that it is never more than a contextual adaptation humans make to save time and resources. Tradition is not to be an idol. If you can’t be bothered to examine what it all means, then you have no business proposing to lead anyone else in any way at all.

The biblical model of leadership is a man who is going about his business serving the Lord and finding himself with followers drawn to his convictions. No good shepherd sets out to lead. He simply wanted to do his best to protect what God had given him. Somehow, that was what made the Lord’s flocks want to follow. Sheep are herded by voice, not by force. If you are the shepherd, they will follow when you move.

The traditions of certifying with established human authority are just traditions. Sometimes the Lord is ready to do His work in new ways. It’s too easy to invest so much authority in the system that you cannot hear when God says it’s time to change. I’m convinced He says it’s time to change a lot of things right now. You don’t have to believe what I say; check your own convictions.

But I see no need to justify ditching a fellowship that stands more on human tradition than on faith. I’ll stand where faith moves me. You can join me or not, according to your own convictions, but I’m not moving back to you. I cannot in good conscience surrender my faith to please your system. If this means standing alone, I’ll do so. This is not a popularity contest.