When I was first introduced to some of the members of this church by our District Superintendent, I believe he said something like “You will discover that Rodney is not your typical pastor.” Now I have often celebrated that type of introduction, but there are other times that I, like you, just want to be normal. I really don’t want to be different. As a matter of fact, I have been doing a lot of thinking about words like ‘normal’ and ‘different’ lately.
What is normal? By definition it means usual: conforming to the usual standard, type, or custom. It can also mean healthy: physically, mentally, and emotionally healthy. "Not normal" is often used in a negative sense to refer to the improper or sick. A quick test to see if you are normal:
During a visit to the mental hospital, one newspaper reporter asked the Director 'How do you determine whether or not a patient should be admitted to the hospital'.
"Well," said the Director, "we fill up a bathtub, then we give a teaspoon, a teacup and a bucket to the patient and ask him to empty the bathtub'.
'Oh, I understand,' the reporter said. 'A normal person would use the bucket because it's bigger than the spoon or the teacup.'
'No.’ the Director continued, 'A normal person would pull the drain plug. Do you want a bed near the window?'
The question ‘What is normal?’ is often followed up with the question ‘Is this normal?’ I must confess that as I age, I ask the later question more and more. In behavior, normal means not deviating from average behavior. So, what constitutes average behavior? Take a look at these average American stats and see how you measure up:
• The average American consumes 156 pounds of sugar per year.
• The average American consumes 17.9 pounds of bacon per year.
• The average American consumes 50 gallons of soda a year.
• The average American watches 35 hours and 34 minutes of TV each week.
• The average American gets 6 hours of sleep per night.
• The average American consumes 4 pounds of pasta per year.
• The average American consumes 120 pounds of potatoes per year.
• The average American works 46 hours a week.
• The average American wastes 16 hours per week at work.
• The average American consumes 24 pounds of candy a year.
• The average American consumes 13.8 pounds of turkey per year.
• The average American teen “texts” 3000 times per month.
• The average American wastes 40% of their food per year.
I thought I grew up normal, but as I grow older I am not so sure. I played in the street. I played video games in an Arcade and recorded songs off the radio on to a cassette tape. I knew how to program a VCR. I watched cartoons with Cowboy Bob. my bicycle had a banana seat. I traveled in a car w/out air-bags. I grew up without a cell phone, a flat screen tv, surround sound, iPods, Facebook, Twitter, computer or the Internet. I grew up doing what I thought was normal stuff. “But you know what is weird? Day by day nothing seems to change, but pretty soon everything is different” (Bill Watterson creator of Calvin and Hobbes).
I wouldn’t have a problem with our pursuit of being normal, if normal was working. If the pursuit of being normal produced happy people, then I would be all for it. But it doesn’t. Normal doesn’t work because in our effort to be ‘normal’ we are left feeling empty and wanting more.
What if being normal is not what we are supposed to be?
What if we were called to be weird?
Now before we go too far . . . I have to admit that in suggesting we become weird – I want to clarify. After all, isn’t being Christian, weird enough? I am not asking you to become a cable TV, purple hair, bright colored suit wearing, get a blessing by making a contribution, Jeee-zuss! Be healed – weird?
The weird I am talking about is Jesus weird – not people weird. I am talking about the weird that Jesus was talking about when He said,
Go in through the narrow gate. The gate that leads to destruction is broad and the road wide, so many people enter through it. But the gate that leads to life is narrow and the road difficult, so few people find it. Matthew 7:13-14 CEB
Over the years of my life, I have learned to embrace this weird so much that I became a pastor. Weird!
I became a pastor that is described as not your ‘normal’ pastor. Even weirder!
In the coming weeks, I want to challenge you to jump off the normal path and take the narrow, albeit weird, path. I want to talk with you about how we spend our time, use our money, engage in our relationships, and live our faith. We all strive to be normal in these areas, but it isn’t working. As a matter of fact, it is getting harder and harder every day to be normal.
Being normal requires more and more of our time. There are not enough hours in the day to buy, sell, drive, cook, clean, call, shop, eat, plan, study, work, write, review, schedule, and follow through on everything. The effort to be normal leaves you overwhelmed, overloaded, and exhausted. Truth is everybody wants more time, but they want it so they can catch up. Normal is busy and normal is getting busier and busier.
When it comes to money, normal is being in debt - so far in debt that you can’t see your way out of it. Most people are making more money now than they ever have before, and yet the vast majority of us are living paycheck to paycheck. Now more than ever, it is expensive to be normal.
When it comes to relationships, we are so busy, stressed, and exhausted that we seek normal relationships that require little and provide less. In our sexual relationships, premarital sex, extra-marital sex, friends with benefits type sex have all become the norm in our relationships. In our family relationships, we would love to spend more time with our kids, but there isn’t enough time. It would be great to have deep meaningful conversations with our children, families, spouse – but that isn’t how normal relationships work.
Normal even affects our faith and our values. Normal is lukewarm, self-centered, consumer driven. Shallow faith is the norm. God is a means to the end. Normal is claiming to know God, but denying Him by your very actions.
You see, normal isn’t working. So, what if you choose not to coast along the world’s wide-open (normal) road and instead chose to blaze a narrow trail with Jesus as your guide. What if you never had to settle for being normal again?
What if God only asked one thing of you – Be different – Be weird.
and what if being different was good?
This is part of a series of messages inspired by Weird written by Craig Groeschel
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