Permission to Speak
I’ll be honest, when I first heard about the concept behind Anne Jackson’s newest book, Permission to Speak Freely, I was skeptical. I thought “a christian version of post secret? eh.” I didn’t get it, and as you probably know I hate that we think we have to have a christian version of everything (music, movies…T-shirts).
Then I started to read it.
There I was all snuggled up in a hotel room in Chicago when my skepticism turned to frustration. “Darn you Anne Jackson! I was only going to read 1 chapter and I can’t put the darn thing down.” I read nearly half of the book that night until finally reminding myself that I had an early morning.
The honesty and transparency of the book is captivating. It’s the kind of book that sticks with you, adds a new filter to my thinking as I look at church and how I live my life as a Christian. Especially the first portion of the book as it speaks to the facade we’ve created as Christians, the curtain I walk through as I enter church becoming the perfect husband, father, worship leader, christian, etc.
Even as I type these words I feel my emotions rising up. Why can’t church be the place where we can be the most real, the most ugly, the most true? If church is to be a beacon of grace and forgiveness it’s time to tear down the curtain.
Yes go ahead and wish that girl didn’t wear that outfit, that the gay couple didn’t have to be so gay, that that guy didn’t smell of alcohol…and yes that I would tuck in my shirt…but tuck it away and rejoice that they’re in church, eyes and ears open to how Christ sees them.
Maybe then we wouldn’t have to ask people to raise their hands to signify that they want to follow Christ, maybe it will just begin to show naturally.
How beautiful would that be?
How do we get there?
(the images are all confessions (ala PostSecret) and can be found on the Permission to Speak Freely site. These turned into a beautiful addition to the book and I while I was at first cynical about it, I found myself wanting more.)
