a call to get REAL

Some people think I am a “speaker.” I think I might just be a walking AA meeting that just shows up places and says, “My name is Willow and I am… in need of help.” God continues to invite me into places to share who He is in the midst of who we find ourselves to be. I often feel like I just show up and share what a mess I am and how much Jesus has entered that mess and been real and powerful and alive! And for whatever reason, that seems to bring hope to people. I am continually amazed at how often people open up their lives and their stories because someone else in the church is doing it. When we are real, we give other people permission slips to be real too!

This is huge and so needed in the capital C church! The messy world looks upon Christians as a bunch of hypocrites whose lives don’t line up with our pridefully held beliefs and our God must not want much to do with real people with real problems. That is the vibe we are giving off and that vibe is making waves and a reputation of us and our God that we don’t want!

And this my friend is perhaps the biggest problem the Church faces. We have lost our voice because somewhere along the way we lost our authenticity. And it’s time we get it back! Jesus is for real, messy, broken, hurting people. It is there that He shows up and is most powerful. When we as the church are real, Jesus’ power will be even more so!

So tomorrow morning, I was asked to deliver a message called “Authentic Impact” to a room full of women.  I find myself being asked to show up in another church to be a “speaker” but instead I will be a fellow sojourner who travels this road of life having incurred a few bumps and bruises and truly some deep wounds that continue to hurt and I will invite others to travel with me towards Jesus and the healing that only He can bring when we are actually REAL. Please pray that God breaks through our pretending, our false faith, our put together facades and makes a way for real faith in a real God. – Willow