I met recently with “Jessica” (not her real name), a new and growing Jesus-follower who has so much to learn, and so much stuff from her past to overcome.
But boy, is her ‘infant’ faith inspiring.
I wish I saw this kind of drive and determination in long-time ‘christians’…
Alright, I wish I had this kind of drive and determination.

She is a missionary, without realizing it.
She is always encouraging her friends to get their life straight with God.
They see something different in her, not a perfect something but a new something.
One friend wants to be on what she is on.

Jessica does not look like your average ‘christian’ pew-sitter.
She personally struggles with the things in her life that she knows ‘christians’ look down on.
She figures that everyone is looking down at her.
How can I convince her that she is no better and no worse than anyone else she sees here?
How can I convince her that she is not stupid, or a failure, or a bad person?
How can I convince her that she is EXACTLY what the Lord is looking for in a follower – humble, aware of her failures, eager to be right with God and eager to bless/help others.

Often I get this funny feeling that our attempts to get people to ‘church’ are misguided.
When I compare the energy and eagerness of Alpha participants, for example, with the energy and eagerness of church attenders, I see no comparison.
The issue is not, ‘how can we get these new believers to go to church’, but ‘how can we get these church goers to go to Alpha’…
No, not to Alpha, but to become eager and energized about their faith in the Lord.

So Jessica, be encouraged, you are a lot closer to the Lord than you realize.
And a lot closer to the Lord than many of us ‘christians’.
Welcome to the family of Jesus-followers!