Follow Your Passion

I just started reading The Barbarian Way today and I am already loving it. It is written by Erwin McManus...Here's a little excerpt from some of what I read today:

"Although anyone who understands the heart of God knows that the Crusades were a tragic lesson in missing the point, the power of this story awakens within me a primal longing that I am convinced waits to be unleashed within everyone who is a follower of Jesus Christ. To belong to God is to belong to his heart. If we have responded to the call of Jesus to leave everything and follow Him, then there is a voice within us crying out, "Fight for the heart of your King!"
Yet Christianity over the past two thousand years has moved from a tribe of renegades to a religion of conformists. Those who choose to follow Jesus become participants in an insurrection. To claim we believe is simply not enough. The call of Jesus is one that demands action. Jesus began His public ministry with a simple invitation: "Come, follow Me." His closing instructions to His disciples can be summarized in one word, "Go!" A quick survey of the modern church would lead you to believe His invitation was, "Come, and listen," and His closing mandate would be summarized in one word "No!"

I just want to say I am glad to be a part of a church that doesn't just tell people, "no." C3 welcomes everyone...no matter what you look like, what problems you have, and what your past is like. So far, the book has encouraged me to follow my passion for Christ and let go of tradition and ritual. This is something God has been teaching me through C3 over the past couple of years. I am so grateful to be able to let go of what gets in the way of reaching people for Christ. Lost people don't care about a churches tradition...they come wanting help...they come searching for something and I can tell you for sure that it isn't tradition. I have never really been one that clings to change but after attending church for a little while I did start to believe things had to be done a certain way. Of course, now my view on that is totally different, but it was something that God had to teach me...It was an adjustment, as I'm sure it was for many.

I pray I continue to learn, let God teach me, and never stop following my passion for Christ. I pray I continue to always strive to love God and love others with all that I have...