Be Weird Like Jesus

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Be Weird Like Jesus


Let's face it, Jesus was weird. He was a rabbi, yet he seemed to ignore basic rabbinical laws. He was a holy man, yet he hung around with sinners. He didn't fit into what his culture said he should be. He knew things about people that were beyond explanation. He raised people from the dead. In fact he was, by the very definition of weird, strange, extraordinary, supernatural, and fantastic. So, when scripture calls us to be like Jesus, to pick up our cross and follow him, to be a fool for Christ, it's calling us to be weird.

I know it can be hard to embrace your inner weirdo. As youngsters one of the worst names we could be called was, weirdo. Anything that made us stand out from the crowd was seen as bad. Peer pressure, along with some well-meaning parents, told us to stop be so "weird." Be normal, fit it. And so we did. We squashed the unique creative part of ourselves and conformed.

As followers of Jesus, however, we claim to have been made whole through Christ. Salvation comes from the same root as salve. Salvation heals our sin sick souls and makes us whole. Part of that healing is to embrace our uniqueness and live a fully integrated life. Salvation allows us to be Weird for Christ. It is in our weirdness we connect to our creative mind. Olga Khazan wrote "The Perks of Being a Weirdo" in the April 2020 Atlantic Magazine. She wrote, "There appeared to be something about being a weirdo that could uncork your mind and allow new ideas to flow." She also wrote that not caring what others think is crucial to creative thinking. Weirdos don't fear failure.

In this VUCA (Volatile, Uncertain, Complex, Ambiguous) World we need to learn not to be afraid. We need to embrace that which makes us unique, and therefore weird. We go through life as if it was a scripted movie. In fact, life is improvisation. You never know what it's going to throw at you. By fully being who God made us to be, we can not only survive, but thrive in this world. It takes knowing who you are and, actually, some practice. Yes, you can practice creativity. You can practice your "innovation muscle." There are many ways in which you can accomplish this, and one of the best is Improv. Improv teaches you how to know yourself, listen to others, lose the fear of failure, and find that inner weirdo. 

If you would like information on improv classes for individuals or groups, contact me. 

"Find out what it is that makes you unique and special, then cultivate that out and bring that to the party. That is your unique frequency, your own energy source." RuPaul


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