Step 1 - Say A Prayer
Out of your heart, there must be a willingness to acknowledge that you can't do life as you know it alone. That you have a deep need. A deep need that you can't fill by yourself.
The self-help books fall short. The programs and the seminars and the goals and the resolutions don't produce the results you are looking for. That relationship didn't fulfill every longing. Neither did the new job. Or the new thing. Or the new line of Oreos.
The deepest longings of your heart grow louder than ever.
And in that moment, where you know that heaven and earth are coming together, where the life that you're living and the life that you are being invited to live begin to collide, you surrender. You give up. You walk away from your own personal agenda, the one you've had since the seventh grade, or since January. And you know you can't do this anymore. That you have a NEED for something greater. A need for a connection TO something greater.
In this moment, you are invited to acknowledge that God has been and is, closer than you've ever realized.
If you must, use words to say these things. But know that the deepest guttural instincts within you will suffice.
This is where you begin.
Step 2 - Go To Church
Find a place, any place that is quiet will do. Make a spot. Sit down. Quiet your body. Turn off your phone. Take a nap, if you must. Pay attention. See that God is meeting you there, for God is on a mission to meet us in the world where we live. It's called Incarnation. God is here. God is present. If you can wake up to that, you are being more Christian than most Christians.
Learn to breathe the Spirit of God who walks with you. And learn to submit to the Spirit of God that grows in presence where two or more are gathered in God’s name.
Step 3 - Read Your Bible
The story found in scripture is your story. It is our story. It is the story of God in the world, before the world, and after the world. And when we read it, we begin to discover how the story of God intersects with the story of our lives. This intersection is called Grace.
And be forewarned: there's a ton of crazy stuff in the bible. It's just how it is. Like your life, all messy and messed up and shocking and full of imperfections. That's what makes it interesting. And, it's what gives God an opportunity to step into your story, full of pain and brokenness, and say, "Behold, I am making all things new."
Step 4 - Honor Your Body
God gave you a mind, full of logic and rationale and structure and chemicals. But there's a reason Jesus didn't come into the world to simply inhabit your mind. Jesus came as a flesh-and-blood human being, and as Peterson says, he "moved into the neighborhood." Your neighborhood. Your street. Your sub. Your home. Your field. Your garden. Your bedroom. Your marriage. Your parenting. Your body.
Do as Barbara Brown Taylor suggests, and every so often stand naked in front of a full-length mirror, and pray. See what God has made, and see that God has called it good. Notice the shame that you feel, and let God transform that into kindness and curiosity. When you begin to sense that faith is becoming a mental exercise, go plant a garden or cut some wood or hang some clothes on the line. Feel your muscles ache, and bandage your wounds. Practice being human, and letting God sing over you a blessing that the body you inhabit is not only as it is meant to be, but it is good. That God is indeed making all things new, even your body. Join God in THAT work. And remember, the voice of shame is NEVER the voice of God. Ever.
If, at any point, you begin to only BELIEVE Christianity, and reduce it to a cognitive exercise, begin again at Step 1.
Step 5 - Live A Life Of Gratitude
Thank you for my wife. Thank you for my two boys. Thank you for my friends Ryan D. and Andy S., who I spoke on the phone with yesterday, who love me and encourage me. Thank you for my coffee, right now. Thank you for Luna, my dog, who shows me how to live fully into who I have been created to be - she is such a dog!
Thank you for the bird songs. Thank you for the crisp morning air. Thank you for scrambled eggs, and oranges, and roast chicken with the sticky bits at the bottom of the cast-iron skillet. Thank you for life, and breath, and muscles, and oxygen, and money to give away, and vacations to look forward to, and surprises, and really good books, and sunshine, and physical pain, and failure, and waterfalls, and SWV sampling that one Michael Jackson song. So good!
These are ALL GOOD GIFTS. And they are all around us.
So may you be a Christian today.
If you find yourself not knowing how to have faith, or how to make sense of the bible, or how to pray, or what to do with your anger, or unhappiness, or despair, follow these Five Easy Steps To Becoming A Christian.
And consider seeing a counselor, finding a pastor, or throwing a dinner party. Those things can help too.
As a professional Christian, this is my best summary. Let me know how it goes. The Peace of Christ be with you on your journey.
Amen.