I received a facebook inbox tonight from someone who I didn’t know, but went to the Creek and was obviously on my friends list because that’s what I do….try to connect people with the Creek and make their experience authentic. Sometimes that works out and other times, not so much:) 

I won’t post her name, nor will I give too many details about what she said, out of respect and fairness to her. She told me how disappointed she was that I wasn’t the pastor she was hoping for. Here on facebook. My posts weren’t spiritual and she expected more out of me. There were many other things she just didn’t understand about me but we’ll leave it at that…

In the end I told her it was best to ‘unfriend’ so she didn’t keep getting upset by me. So we did. TOTALLY cool. I respect her honesty and I told her so. There was really no need to stay friends on FB with all she was bothered with. 

Here’s my point: I don’t write these things so you tell me how awesome I am…that makes me sick, that it would be perceived that way. I tell you because I want you to understand something about me: I do NOT clock out when I leave CedarCreek. She felt I did and who I was on FB was something horribly unpastorly. 

I am as genuine as I know how to be, I let you all in as much as I can without going too far for my wife, family, few friends I love and do life with and the elders at CedarCreek. I can only go so far on facebook. It’s as real as I can let it be. I’ll continue to do so in the future, not to try for some kind of false awesomeness I get from facebook…but because you all deserve it. A church where the pastors are REAL. A church where we don’t clock out….who we are on stage is who we are in real life, love it or hate it. 

I have unfriended this girl and she was perfectly fine with it. We agreed to disagree…we both said we look forward to meeting someday in the lobby. It just made me think….if you’re reading this and you feel the same way she does….just understand that we’re doing everything we can to get into people’s lives, show them we’re real.

To show them Jesus WILL save them JUST THE WAY THEY ARE. Realness is what we’re after. It’s what Jesus was after. It’s truly been awesome to get to know so many of you on here.

We’re called to be all things to all people (short of sin) to win them to Christ and help them grow….sometimes, just sometimes you have to be ok with not being all things to some people.