Authenticity

Last week we had a youth event for local missions. My church has had a very strong presence in the flood clean up over the last couple months. And there is still plenty of work to be done. This was a three day event where they helped with flood relief during the day, hung out during the afternoons, and had worship at night, followed by more time to hang out and get to know each other.

Due to having a 8-5 (or 9-6, depending on the day) job, I was unable to be around for the full event. Though I would have much rather been installing dry wall with those kids than what I was really doing. I was able to stop by the church Wednesday night to help serve dinner and be there for worship and to hang out for a bit. I was asked if I could help lead the discussion for our campus after worship. Little did I know what that meant.

At the end of worship, these 25 middle and high school kids gather around the steps of the stage to discuss confession and sin. And that's when the conversation turned incredibly real. I wasn't expecting the the things we discussed to surface, but it was the most real, raw, authentic conversation I've heard in a long time. One by one, they opened up their hearts and shared with other people, what was really going on. What they were really struggling with. What they were really afraid of.

And one by one, I saw these kids breathe a little easier. I could physically see that their load was lighter. So why is confession something that doesn't seem to get much attention. Why do we try to fix things ourselves? Why are we so afraid to be completely authentic?

After thinking about it for a few days, I really think that it's fear.

Fear of rejection.

Fear of not being loved.

Fear of failure.

We should be able to come together with other believers and be truly authentic. And I'm so proud of that group of students for opening up and letting others see into the deepest, grittiest part of their unexposed hearts.