Authentic

In a world of fakes, want-a-be's, and masquerades, its hard to decipher what is true, genuine and authentic.

Dictionary.com defines Authentic as:
genuine, real, veritable share the sense of actuality and lack of falsehood or misrepresentation. Authentic carries a connotation of authoritative certification that an object is what it is claimed to be.2Corinthians 6:6 says “But we have kept ourselves pure and have been understanding, patient, and kind. The Holy Spirit has been with us, and our love has been real.”

2Timothy 3:5 says “Even though they will make a show of being religious, their religion won't be real. Don't have anything to do with such people.”These scriptures sum up what we are trying to communicate when we say we are authentic. We are tired of “playing church;” no more “Fake it until you make it.” I am in no means discounting faith in its purest form, I believe that without faith it is impossible to please God, but all to often people are trying to “look the part” so much that they don't allow anybody to know they really are hurting and genuinely need some help!

One of the greatest things I ever heard was by a good friend of mine named Dan. He is a CEO for a large food chain and prides himself on hiring only the best. He said, “Darian, what is the most important part of communication?” Of course all my years of book reading mustered up a complicated but seemingly true answer, only to find out that I was wrong! The most important part of communication is “listening,” and not just listening to hear what they are saying, but genuinely putting yourself in the shoes of the person you’re talking to and seeing it from their point of view.

This form of listening takes effort. It’s not easy, it requires that you put yourself, your beliefs, your thoughts aside for a fraction of time and genuinely see things from their point of view. Easier said than done. It is said that if you were to suck all the air out of this room right now, your greatest need in life would be oxygen---well, next to air alone, the single greatest need in a person’s life is to be “understood.”

At YPC we are Authentic in our worship, in our service, and most importantly in our life. We don't just “Clock-In” when we get to church, we live it every day of our lives. We genuinely want to know people and display the REAL love of Christ to everyone we have the opportunity to meet and talk with.

Take a step back today and ask yourself the question, “Am I living an authentic life in Christ?”

God Bless

Darian