![\"#blessed,](\"https:\/\/wp-media.patheos.com\/blogs\/sites\/615\/2017\/06\/060217_600x300_Blessed.jpg\")
<\/a>That\u2019s what I was told after I proudly mentioned to my neighbor, a white haired and thoroughly religious grandmother-type, to check out the blog I sometimes wrote for, Sick Pilgrim. A couple of days later, she got back to me with that assessment. And she didn\u2019t mean it as an insult, just a blunt and honest statement from a very kind lady who respects and looks up to me very much. So when she said I didn\u2019t sound very Christian in my writing, she only meant to help me improve my writing \u2013 and make it more suitable to the majority of Christian readership.<\/span><\/p>\n Apologies to Mrs. Betty, but the knowledge that my voice is atypical of most Christian writers doesn\u2019t rush me to change my voice; it encourages me. I wear not-sounding-very-Christian as a badge of honor.<\/span><\/p>\n \u201cSlain in the spirit\u201d\u2026 \u201clay on hands\u201d\u2026 \u201cmy toddler has a heart for missions\u201d\u2026 the Bible as a \u201csword\u201d or just \u201cThe Word\u201d\u2026 \u201cloving on *enter unfortunate person\/people*\u201d\u2026 \u2018anointed\u2019\u201d\u2026 \u201ccalling you out in love\u201d\u2026 \u201cLet\u2019s unpack this\u201d\u2026 and especially among my Protestant friends, \u201csaved\u201d and \u201csovereignty.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n And inarguably the worst Christian-ese quip \u2013 \u201cOpen the eyes of my heart, Lord.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n When among the like-minded, we Christians tend to revert to our own made-up language. And I\u2019m especially guilty of it \u2013 describing my early days of making my faith the obvious center of my life can so easily be described as being \u201con fire for God.\u201d It just comes naturally.<\/span><\/p>\n But Christians didn\u2019t always revert to their own languages. Pentecost, the feast we celebrate this weekend, reminds us of the birthday of the Church, wherein the followers of Jesus spoke so that all gathered could understand their words despite their own language, <\/span>as the story goes<\/span><\/a>.<\/span><\/p>\n In under 2000 years, Christians have switched from being divinely inclusive to ridiculously exclusive with their language. \u201cThe Lord laid it on my heart.\u201d \u201cI feel called to *any action*.\u201d And, the most evil and disgusting \u201chashtag blessed.\u201d Who, beyond our own echo chambers, talks like that?<\/span><\/p>\n I take from this year\u2019s remembrance of Pentecost a challenge\u2013not a historical story I refamiliarize myself with annually. Connecting with others outside of my own echo chamber may mean sounding different from the echoes inside of it. And it\u2019s not about sounding like others so that they\u2019ll eventually agree with me. It\u2019s about connecting with others, because others\u2013even those with opposite\u00a0thoughts and beliefs\u2013matter.<\/span><\/p>\n Maybe that\u2019s what loving our neighbor looks like.<\/span><\/p>\n Does that sound Christian enough for you?<\/span><\/p>\n God, I hope not.<\/p>\n \u00a0<\/p>\n
\n<\/a>I don\u2019t sound very Christian.<\/span><\/p>\n