do super-christians exsist?
May 29, 2008 at 7:24 am | In Church | 12 CommentsTags: Christian, Jesus, Steve Brown
Do we have others up on pedestals?
I don’t know about you, but at this point in my life I’m looking for the “real people.” But in the past, I have put those who seem to be extra-strong, or extra-spiritual, up on pedestals. And you know what? They always fell off! It was rather frustrating… not to mention hurtful, to see the ones that I looked at as larger than life fall off their chair, oft times broken to pieces. Funny enough in my case, it wasn’t the falling off that hurt me… it was the scrabbling and posturing, looking for ways to cover up their failings and put the righteous mask back on at any cost that did the damage. Apparently not only I had them on the pedestal, they had themselves on one.
It is hard to be free when we are constantly comparing ourselves to an unattainable standard. Perfection. And worse yet, when we believe others HAVE attained such a lofty perch, we become despondent, knowing that we shall never reach that divine standing in our own humanity. So we build a throne of pretense, and it is just a matter of time before we come crashing down. Or worse…perhaps we never crash, at least not publicly, and our entire life is just a role we play.
(( Jeff McQuilkin at Losing My Religion wrote a great post on Superhero Christianity. You can read it here.))
I’ve been listening to Steve Brown’s series on Scandalous Freedom. Last night I listened to a section about putting people on pedestals, and he made this statement:
There are no super-Christians, and if you found one, you’ve diminished yourself. When you have demeaned yourself that way, you’ll find yourself in a prison of shame and guilt and impossible expectations. The false idol of super-christians has destroyed the freedom of those who aren’t. -Steve Brown
Just thought that was interesting….
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Great post, Heidi, and something that needs to be talked about. Awhile back I wrote a post that relates to this. You can click here if you’d like to read it.
Comment by Jeff McQ — May 29, 2008 #
Jeff, I linked to your post above! Thanks! Great stuff!
Comment by HW — May 29, 2008 #
Oh, hey. You’ve got to join The Church of Misfits!
Comment by TheNorEaster — May 29, 2008 #
The theme song was… ummm… interesting, NE.
I’ve always been a misfit.
Comment by HW — May 29, 2008 #
That’s just it. “O Come, All Ye Faithful” is the THEME SONG. We just chose the video to play with people’s perceptions.
Comment by TheNorEaster — May 29, 2008 #
I was more of a Def Leppard kind of girl. Steve was a Motley Crue Fan. Of course, we are now perfect Christians (HA!).
It was funny to have them break into O Come, All Ye Faithful.
So where do I sign up?
Comment by HW — May 29, 2008 #
I’ve been thinking about this too lately. And wow, you linked to vintage Jeff (One of his first posts before he was famous;0
Comment by Barb — May 29, 2008 #
well, to be fair… he pointed it out.
Comment by HW — May 30, 2008 #
I’ll keep you posted on how you can sign up, Heidi. I was thinking of coming up with some “guidelines” for people who want to start their own Church of Misfits.
Meantime, there is an Official Interview with one of the Co-Founders! Enjoy!
Comment by TheNorEaster — May 30, 2008 #
Well there is Bible Man and Larry Boy. After that it is pretty slim pickin’s as far as super-christians. I usually feel more like a Bizzarro super-christian
Seriously though. If in your ministry you feel that because of your “position” you can’t relate on the same level as those around you, or that you can only really be friends with others in the same “position”. Even if you don’t feel elevated, but rather outside. You are believing a lie and are cheating yourself and others out of the community and fellowship God intended.
Of course I mean a general “you” not any particular you. Ok, maybe one particular you, but probably not any you that will read this.
Comment by j3susg33k — May 30, 2008 #
I love this, it so ties into what He has been showing me for the past couple of years — we are ALL equal in Christ, we are ALL his annointed. Some of us may be more flashy, and unfortunately it is the epitome of fleshy human nature to attribute the loudest, or most spiritual sounding voice, or the exciting ministry, as somehow above the retired widow who regularly opens the door to the young mother next door and just loves on her, or the addict who is just trusting in God to get him through the next day. Amen sis !
Comment by Tyler Dawn — May 30, 2008 #
Steve (j3susg33k)… thanks. Larry Boy is my hero.
It is really sad that leaders feel the need to be above other people somehow.
Tyler, it is great that so many people are learning the same things. I love it when I find out that what God is showing me is also what others are learning about.
A pastor we knew some years back would tell us that he had to “keep an edge… a distance, between his flock and himself so that he could effectively lead. He also confessed to being very lonely because of this.” He wouldn’t change his mind though, and he was unable to truly allow himself to be friends with us, when he was supposed to be ‘over’ us. His true fear was that if people knew the real him, he wouldn’t have authority anymore. The sad part about that is that it was a false authority, based on the lie of his perfection, rather than his call to serve a body.
Comment by HW — May 31, 2008 #