Unhidden City

Over the past few years, I've grown to admire Bono (lead singer/songwriter for U2) as a follower of Christ that gets it. Some of the more "traditional" Christians feel the need to criticize his language or lifestyle, but in my opinion, he's the new face of what it means to be a follower of Christ. I think, with Jerry Falwell's recent passing, a new era of belief in America is emerging.

For the past 20 years or so, there's been a steady inward turning of the church. We've isolated ourselves from the world in an attempt to protect our holiness from the evils of society. We select leaders solely upon their view on abortion or stem cells. If you identified yourself as a "Christian", people already knew a lot about you: judgemental, Republican, selfish, isolated, fearful of change or free thought.

In my reading in Acts this past week, this was more the exception than the rule. Jesus' disciples were passionate about people, moving into areas of ebb and flow that were strange, but they looked at it like an adventure - a place for faith, rather than a place for fear. So many Christians concern their time with simply not sinning. They forget that we are called to a life of impact, of serving others and bringing God's love to everyone we encounter.

Bono was on Nightline last night. He shared about his passion for Africa, for ending the extreme poverty in that region. He said, "It's not about charity, it's about justice." He even became a co-editor for Vanity Fair, focusing the issue on THE issue.



As followers of Christ, we are called to be a light for the world. Jesus says that a city on hill cannot be hidden. We are to let our light shine before others, that they may see what we do and glorify God. I hope that Hutto can be that city as we approach this new partnership with Chililabombwe. Today I'm having two more meetings that will help us get there. I want what we do there to be life-changing, if not world-changing.