“In church we are allowed to speak of past victories over sin, but not battles that are still underway. As a result we promote a gospel of our own construction. This is not the gospel the New Testament talks about, the foundation strong enough to bear the weight of the world and the depravity of the redeemed. Ours is flimsy, too fragile to carry our failures.

On Monday nights and throughout the week, my friends and I challenge each other with this mandate: “Bring the full weight of who you are into your relationships.” When we “show up” fully in our relationships, we give others the chance to know us, and we give them permission to be known.

Every man has something in his life that makes him unique — some brokenness that sets him apart from those around him. Though we have similarities to one another, our differences lie in the way joy enters into our secrets, the way light exposes our darkness. Ultimately it is our redemption that looks unique. It is the way healing comes, how long it takes, and who is involved that displays the endless creativity of God.

Our church culture and our Christian music community have not given us permission to be ourselves and bring the full weight of who we are into our musical conversations, our movies, our pulpits, or our youth group halls…and watching this, I have decided that perhaps, after all, it is best to keep the weight on.”