Essential Shift

Shawn had yet another post that really made me think the other day. I usually hate when he does this, because usually when he does this I end up feeling convicted. However this time I don’t feel convicted, mainly because this topic has been on my mind for a while… because of an earlier post he made. The basic question he asks is as follows;

They [your readers] are asking you a question: “How do you define going hard after God?”

What you say and do through your weblog will answer their question and them give permission to follow.

So what are you giving them permission to do?

What am I giving you, my readers permission to do? What kind of influence am I on my readers? In all reality I can not answer this question, I am not you guys. I don’t know what you think when you come to my site and read what I have to say. I can tell you what I hope I give you permission to do, and how I hope I influence you.

I hope I give you permission to be yourself here, I don’t want you to be fake while you are reading and commenting. Christ says that you should come to him as you are, and I say the same. I want you to be real with me, if you agree with what I say in my post that’s wonderful, let me know. If you don’t agree one bit with what I say, that’s cool, let me know why. Neither one of us gets anything out of this experience if we are not real with each other. I try to be as open and honest with you guys as possible, and I hope for the same in return. I also don’t want you to just be honest with me, I want you to be honest with yourself as well, once again no one grows if they are not honest with themselves.

And I hope I influence you in a way that causes you to do these things, to be honest. And I hope I influence you to see God for who he really is. I want to do this by sharing my life with you, and show you hoe he influences me. I am not perfect as all of you know, but that’s ok none of us are. I know I will never be the perfect influence, and I will never be able to make you guys believe what I say, but if I just live and write truthfully and honestly, maybe you will see what I believe for yourself.

I never want to hinder you guys from being yourselves, I will never edit what you say. I want your reactions to be honest, I want this to be a place for friends, and friends don’t always agree. I have taken several steps to make this place more comfortable to be honest. I took down the comment moderation on my part, meaning I don’t need to approve your comments before they appear. I also took down the comment guidelines, I don’t want to restrict you from being who you are.

I would love to hear from you, in your opinion what do I give you permission to do here? Do I influence you any and if so, how?