I’ve really loved doing this series the past few weeks. I felt like God wanted me to speak to the misfits like me, people who feel like they don’t fit in, but have been made with purpose unlike anything else. I started writing it when I was dealing with my own fears and thoughts about feeling like I didn’t fit in with people. During this time, I felt like God wanted me to start reading through the first couple of books in the new testament, primarily focusing on the misfits that surrounded Jesus. What I saw was how people who never fit in were used, and they ushered in the church and spreading the gospel. It is quite an amazing thing to see, and it culminated in this last post which I am writing now. I want to talk about being a misfit in community with other misfits. The thing that’s hard about feeling like you don’t fit in, is the fact that many of us stop there and begin to believe there’s no place for us. The truth is, we can come together as misfits and be in community together, because when we do this, we become the church.

It’s so easy for me to use the idea that I don’t fit in to isolate myself from community. If you get anything out of this post, always know that you should never isolate yourself. Many times, we look at the church as the place where you only fit in if you can check all the Christian boxes. You know all the classic bible stories, check. You go to every Sunday service and the special events, check. You’ve totally never sinned in your life, check. Now as you can probably see, this is me being sarcastic. Not everyone was born in a church family to know the stories. Sometimes life can get very hard and you can’t get to every service. Finally, everyone makes mistakes, stop pretending to be perfect. The way the church should be is a group of people who are all unique and different, coming together to share the gospel. It’s simple, and it’s the way we are designed to be. The thing I love about the disciples is that they were all different (which I talked about in previous weeks), but most importantly, they came together and had community. We need that same community. We need to come together as misfits.

Power in community.

Everyone loves stories where misfits come together. Things like Star Wars, Harry Potter, and Power Rangers are some of my favorite examples of misfits. Each story has people coming together in order to face a great challenge that they cannot do alone. Even Batman understands that sometimes you need a Justice League to survive. I say the word survive, because we will not survive without community in our lives. I’ve watched this happen too many times in my life, friends isolate themselves and this can lead to greater dangers. Depression, suicide, shame, rejection, and the list goes on. Community is power. Community is a place where people come together and fight for each other when we cannot do life on our own. Community strengthens our relationship with Christ, because in community we have accountability and people to join us in our fight against the attacks of the enemy. We have a very real enemy trying to hold us down. You need a Justice League, you need community. In community, there is a strong power.

Freedom in community.

This past semester I joined a small group called, “Write with God.” It has been an incredible group to be a part of, with writers from my church coming together to do life. This past week we were able to have a writing prompt that was exactly what I needed to do, and it was perfect for everyone else to. We were able to talk about it and find freedom, and that’s what community is all about. Having the freedom to share our struggles and encourage each other in the midst of it. We are not designed to live life alone, God designed us for community. Back in creation he saw that it wasn’t good for Adam to be alone, so he made Eve. Over and over we see that community is what we were meant to live in. When we choose to isolate ourselves, we are hurting ourselves by willingly choosing to live in bondage. God made us to live in freedom, dependent on him and in community with others. You need a community. In community, there is freedom.

The thing I love about misfits, is the fact that we are all misfits. We are set a part from the world. We all have unique gifts and talents that make up the body of Christ, and no other part is better than the rest. Each play a vital role, you play a vital role. There are challenges in life that you cannot face alone. You need Christ most of all, but you need a team to rally behind you and push you forward. Don’t fall into the church trap of believing you are better than someone else, each of us is necessary and we need each other. There is power and freedom in community, so seek a community. Even when it feels like there isn’t anyone around you, look for the fellow misfits around you. We are all searching to be accepted, so seek out the misfits in your life. We need community, because there is life in community.

Be a misfit in community with misfits.

-Joshua Thomas