When I first decided to follow Jesus, I was afraid for many reasons. I had not gone to church growing up so everything was new and somewhat unfamiliar. The fear of becoming and being labeled as a hypocrite was at the top of my list; And I know I'm not the only one. I was taking on a new name with my entire life, and not just any name, it was the name of God himself. Talk about filling some big shoes...

I have begun to see this same fear pop up in other's life stories as well, and I think there is something revealing about our culture in light of it, and some encouragement to walk away with.

Why might a new Christian feel nearly paralyzed by the idea of being a hypocrite, or being seen as "fake"?

Millennials have shifted culture in many ways, especially regarding what is and is not socially acceptable. We replaced the Seven Deadly Sins with one deadly sin; being a fake. Frauds, cons, hypocrites, and posers are scorned by us Twenty-Somethings, which I think helps explain why our generation can be particularly cynical. Not to mention the existence of a widespread distaste for politicians and evangelists. This big "no-no" walks hand in hand with one of media's most repeated messages; be true to yourself.

This shift is significant because people are no longer held to an external standard, but rather, the standard is ourselves.

How often have you heard a person word vomit a highly biased, hurtful, and emotionally charged opinion wrapped up with "well I'm just being honest"? This phrase is extremely revealing as it points out that its OK to say just about anything because being "true" to how you are feeling is the ultimate standard.

This poses a dilemma, not only for a Christian, but for anyone who aims for a high goal. This mindset poses a dilemma for the person abusing alcohol who wants to become sober, the person addicted to substances who wants to get clean, the entrepreneur who wants to change the world, the athlete who wants to win, the person who wants to follow Jesus with their whole life, and the dreamer.

I like to call it the "Dreamer's Abyss". Here are some definitions;

Dream: Any goal, desire, hope, or vision that challenges a person to reach for a higher standard, a brighter future, or a better condition than the present state.

Abyss: A chasm that separates two points.

The Dreamer's Abyss is the gap between where a person currently is versus where the person wants and hopes to be. Its the messy process in between the conception of a dream and its actual birth into reality. When an entrepreneur has an idea, the vision is clear, but its not yet tangible. A person can envision sobriety, yet that burn in the back of their throat seems to have more control than the mind and will. This awareness of how far we are from the dream we hope in is an extremely uncomfortable existence.

Macklemore captures this Dreamer's Abyss in his song Starting Over:

"Those 3 plus years, I was so proud of
And I threw ‘em all away for 2 Styrofoam cups
The irony, everyone will think that he lied to me...
And will they think that everything that I've written has all been fake
Or will I just take my slip to the grave?
Uh, what the f*** are my parents gonna say?
The success story that got his life together and changed
...the trust that I once built’s been betrayed
But I’d rather live telling the truth and be judged for my mistakes
Than falsely held up, given props, loved and praised
I guess I gotta get this on the page."

Unfortunately, our culture puts so much pressure on people to not be fake that it can discourage us from pursuing whatcouldbe. Fear of being labeled a fraudallows little room for mistakes in the process. We know we aren't perfect, so we get overwhelmed by the thought of even trying and decide to just stay where we are.

Here's my encouragement - be "fake" and grow.

You are an imperfect human being, and the process of life will take you to new heights, but that process will require failure and mistakes. Other people might see your mistake, point out your inconsistency and label you according to it. However, you are not limited by a moment of failure, but by how you choose to handle it.

"A righteous man falls down seven times, and rises again, but the wicked stumbles in calamity."

This proverb does not chastise the righteous for falling, but rather distinguishes the righteous from the wicked by who gets up after difficulty.

No matter what you are wrestling with, lets do this together. Let's not be found at the bottom of the mountain our whole lives because we are afraid to stumble on our way up.

Let's promise each other that when we see our brothers and sisters fall, we will remember there is a much bigger story and lift each other up. And when I fall I hope you will be there, but even if you're not,I am going to keep climbing anyways.

See you at the top.