What does it mean to be real? The word itself is vast in definition and application. Maybe the first thing that comes to mind is not fake, or not an imitation, but the real deal. And in most every situation in life, what is real is what is best, right? (except maybe in the case of imitation cheese—that powdery, Kraft goodness holds a special place in the hearts of a lot of people, haha).
But seriously, being real is really special to us at Real Life Church, not only because it is part of our name and vision, but also because it’s at the core of who we are and the church God is leading us to plant.
So what is the definition of being real? At Real Life think being real means being authentic and transparent in everything we do.
au·then·tic
ôˈTHen(t)ik/
adjective: authentic; adjective: auth.
1. of undisputed origin; genuine. 2. genuine, real, bona fide, true, veritable; More legitimate, lawful, legal, valid; 3. made or done in the traditional or original way, or in a way that faithfully resembles an original. 4. based on facts; accurate or reliable.
◦ synonyms: reliable, dependable, trustworthy, authoritative, honest, faithful; More accurate, factual, true, truthful;
Words like genuine, reliable, trustworthy, and honest are words at the core of what Real Life is called to be. We believe authenticity is so important that our second core value is Authenticity: We choose real love, unity, and community over fake religion. This means our church will always choose being real (or authentic) over being right. We believe our authenticity will encourage and inspire you to love and live for God so much that it’s okay to belong even before you believe.
We believe that one of the biggest barriers to daily authenticity is living the guarded life. You might have been taught (whether inadvertently or overtly) that who you are and what you do isn’t enough, so you hide your true self. Religion teaches you to hide your faults, put on your Sunday smile, and suffer through a religious service. Our enemy is the mastermind of this plan, always convincing you, that you are alone in your struggles and that everyone else is thriving in a far more excellent life.
But Jesus has something better for you.
At Real Life, we want you to fully encounter all of the best of God. Coming to meet him has nothing to do with how good you are, or how good you can look in your news feed.
God wants us to come how we are. He wants the best for us and we believe that results in the best from us. Our leadership and the people of Real Life don’t “have it all together” either, and that’s okay. We are doing life together, the good and the bad, the joy and the pain, our best and worst days, and that’s the way it’s supposed to be. Whether you’ve had a relationship with Jesus for half a century or you haven’t quite made the leap yet, we want to be open with each other to know we don’t have it all together, but trust we can know the God who does.
Christ arrives right on time to make this happen. He didn’t, and doesn’t, wait for us to get ready. He presented himself for this sacrificial death when we were far too weak and rebellious to do anything to get ourselves ready. And even if we hadn’t been so weak, we wouldn’t have known what to do anyway (Romans 5:6)
God doesn’t need us to clean up our lives to come to him. At Real Life, we believe that this authentic life (or Real Life… get it?) comes when we make a choice to choose love, unity and community over our fears, over our struggles and over our guarded life.
Now that we are set right with God by means of this sacrificial death, the consummate blood sacrifice, there is no longer a question of being at odds with God in any way. If, when we were at our worst, we were put on friendly terms with God by the sacrificial death of his Son, now that we’re at our best, just think of how our lives will expand and deepen by means of his resurrection life! Now that we have actually received this amazing friendship with God, we are no longer content to simply say it in plodding prose. We sing and shout our praises to God through Jesus, the Messiah! (Romans 5:9-11).
We want everyone to feel a part of what God is doing here no matter where you are in your faith journey. At Real Life, authenticity isn’t just our name, it’s our heartbeat and we hope you will come to find it as a place where you can relax, be yourself, and join us on this crazy journey of life.
God has great and awesome things planned for your life, and for all of us, and at Real Life Church, we can’t wait to experience this journey together.
Join us on the Road to Real Life by coming out to our next Interest Social, April 23rd. You can find all the details on our Facebook page!
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