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I refuse to believe I can’t change the world.

I refuse to believe that divorce is a death sentence.

I refuse to believe that my past failures and mistakes will determine the quality of my future.

I refuse to believe that God is pleased with the status of Christian culture.

I refuse to believe that teenagers are in the way.

I refuse to believe that teenagers should be shoved off into a corner and only called a “youth group” because I refuse to believe the church shouldn’t focus on them, feature them, and cater to them.

I refuse to believe teenagers are difficult to raise.

I refuse to believe God only likes one kind of music.

I refuse to believe that Jesus has any interest whatsoever in the way you dress for church.

I refuse to believe the church can’t be relevant to our current culture.

I refuse to believe the church can’t be the most powerful force of love on earth.

I refuse to believe that Jesus cares how much money you have, and therefore I refuse to believe the church should care.

I refuse to believe that single moms should be looked down upon in any way whatsoever.

I refuse to believe that pregnant teen girls should be scorned by the church because I refuse to believe they shouldn’t be accepted, loved, redeemed, and celebrated. I refuse to believe that loving them and celebrating them endorses their promiscuity.

I refuse to believe that any of you could tell me anything that would make me think less of you. It is easy for Christians to quote scripture, argue theology, enforce a myriad of rules and regulations, condemn sin, and campaign for their favorite politician, but NOT so easy to live out the commands of the “love Chapter” when it says that “Love believes all things, endures all things, and hopes all things.

I refuse to believe that Jesus Christ views any member of any race of any culture with even one ounce of contempt.

I refuse to believe that there is one person on the face of the earth that doesn’t matter to God.

I refuse to believe that if Jesus appeared in the flesh in our world today, that He wouldn’t be hanging out with gay people, with prisoners, with drug addicts, with gangsters, with poor people, with depressed people, with angry people, or with mentally ill people.

I refuse to believe that it doesn’t break the heart of Jesus when church people won’t hang out with the same people that He would hang out with.

I refuse to believe that people who’ve been told they’re good-for-nothing are actually good-for-nothing.

I refuse to believe that modern Christianity is what Jesus had in mind when he started the church.

I refuse to believe that the church cannot be both spiritually deep and culturally relevant at the same time. In fact, I refuse to believe the church should be anything else.

I refuse to believe that abortion is anything but a national tragedy. But I also refuse to believe that screaming “baby-killer” at 15-year old girls and the display of angry bumper stickers is the way Christians should handle the problem.

I refuse to believe that any of us have ever looked into the eyes of a person that God didn’t deeply love and care about.

I refuse to believe that an illegitimate child has ever existed, because I refuse to believe every person on the face of this earth is anything but legitimate to God.

I refuse to believe that I could ever have as much fun as when I’m hanging out with broken, hurting people, because it is those occasions that I feel most like Christ. I Love broken people.

I refuse to believe that it isn’t a complete disgrace and embarrassment when prominent Christian preachers blamed 9-11 on America’s homosexuality and abortion.

I refuse to believe there is any transgression that should keep someone from fulfilling Gods plan in their life. If there is, the Bible isn’t true and the cross didn’t work.

I refuse to believe that my good performance of religious guidelines get me anywhere with God. If that were the case, the Bible isn’t true and the cross didn’t work.

I refuse to believe that our feelings self-righteousness, piety, our holier-than-thou disposition, and spiritual arrogance is anything but nauseating filthy rags to Jesus. If not, the Bible isn’t true and the cross didn’t work.

I refuse to believe the churches requirements for participation should be any greater than those applied to Peter, who cursed Christ as he was crucified and then preached the sermon that birthed the church within days. The concept of scorning people who have failed, which is all of us, is disgraceful. There must be…MUST BE… a church where Gods grace is more than just a good sermon, more than just a nice song, more than just something we cry about, more than just a word in the name of a church. There must be…MUST BE... a church where grace is a real thing, where grace is the only rule, where grace is insisted upon, where grace is given by PEOPLE, as well as God.

I refuse to believe that God likes me better when I’m succeeding and less when I’m failing. In fact it’s probably the opposite. In fact, Jesus himself said that he had come for those who were sick and NOT for those who were well.

I refuse to believe that it doesn’t break the heart of Jesus when his precious establishment of the church has split up into over fourteen hundred different denominations, and that we spend most of our time yelling at each other, rather than doing whatever it takes to reach the world for him.

I refuse to believe that I’ll ever regret loving someone.

I refuse to believe that any kind of love besides unconditional love counts for much of anything.

I refuse to believe that any kind of forgiveness besides unconditional forgiveness counts for much of anything.

I refuse to believe in the word “hopeless”.

I refuse to believe in the word “impossible”.

What do you refuse to believe?