We always thank God, the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, when we pray for you, since we heard of your faith in Christ Jesus and of the love that you have for all the saints, because of the hope laid up for you in heaven. Colossians 1:3-5Why Authenticity MattersThere is a lot of talk these days about authenticity. According to most "experts", authenticity is among the very highest values in our culture's two youngest adult generations. That reality has brought authenticity to center stage in most churches' efforts to more effectively reach those two generations. All of us, after all, are deeply troubled by the mass exodus by our adult children's generation from the church. But, while everyone seems to understand how important authenticity is (especially for the church), I wonder how much consensus there is among church leaders about what authenticity even looks like in the church corporately? When it comes to being authentic (as a church), what does the "win" look like? More specifically, are there metrics? Are there particular, measurable characteristics or attitudes in a church that translate into actual authenticity? I believe there are. And, while there are probably many places we could find such descriptions in scripture, the Apostle Paul's letter to the Colossians is particularly compelling.Why the Letter to the Colossians is HelpfulPaul wrote his letter to the church in Colossae having never met them. He did not start this particular community of believers and, to our knowledge, did not know them as of the writing of his letter. So, his introductory remarks wherein he found them to be particularly authentically Christ-centered, were grounded strictly on characteristics that were observable and measurable by others. In other words, he was not biased by any personal relationships within that church. For ...The post What Does "Authenticity" Even Mean for the Church? appeared first on Christian Unity Ministries.
