Authentic Faith Amid a Culture of Counterfeits

By Lakin King

The world gives countless counterfeit solutions to this problem of authenticity, whether it be influencers who carefully engineer their image and aesthetic to appear authentic (all while promoting idealized lifestyles that promise fulfillment), online simulations of real connection, or a million different ways to redefine one’s identity in pursuit of the authentic self. As Christians, we know that if we are looking for true authenticity, what is really real, we need look no further than Jesus who is the way, the truth, and the life.

The Authenticity of Jesus

As a community of people who have come to know Him personally, we have the opportunity to be the answer to the burning questions of today’s culture and provide a witness that is radically different than anything the world has to offer. If we are to do so, we must focus on building authentic faith in our churches modeled after the authenticity of Jesus.

Jesus spent time investing in those around Him, seeking out the hurting and broken and inviting them into relationship. He broke outside of the bubbles of His day, spending His time with those from all walks of society, from the elites to the untouchables. He did not allow Himself to be molded by the expectations of the world, but instead stepped across cultures to build relationships, always being secure in His own identity no matter the social or cultural expectations He was surrounded by. He remained committed to truth at all times, remaining compassionate without being compromising, and He took time to invest in the craft of carpentry, displaying His creativity and love for creation.

All these things were key parts of His authenticity that made it obvious He was different, and all of these things serve as examples to us of what the authentic Christian walk looks like. Imagine if our churches were filled with people like Jesus, who invited people of all walks of life into relationship, who could walk into any room and be confident in their God-given identity, who could hold truth and kindness together, and who could celebrate creation, making the world more beautiful wherever they showed up. I believe the world would take notice.

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 “Jesus spent time investing in those around Him, seeking out the hurting and broken and inviting them into relationship.”

This can often seem counterintuitive to us. We live in a world that tells us we have to capture attention, be provocative, and get with the times if we want to be listened to. This kind of thinking can sometimes infiltrate the church, and we can turn away from the humble pursuit of the cross and only emphasize flashy, exciting, and performative faith in order to maintain relevancy.

We fall into the trap of thinking that if we just made God a little cooler, we could get the youth interested in church. The problem with this — other than the fact that God is already cool just how He is — is that there’s nothing less cool than trying to be cool. What people desire most in today’s world is authenticity, and authenticity can’t be forced.

This is one of the great challenges to those of us who are church leaders. There is no program, sermon series, outreach ministry, or evangelism plan that will ever revitalize the faith of our younger generations in the absence of authentic, abiding relationship with the living God.

Rooted and Surrendered

I believe Gen Z and Gen Alpha desperately crave the kind of faith that is rooted in steadfast love and surrender to God’s grace; the kind of faith that is humble and honest, that isn’t showy or boastful, that seeks the whispering voice of God rather than the loud, incendiary, self-serving voices the world constantly shows us. They crave a faith that is not tied to cultural uniformity, but is rooted in being not only oneself, but the truest version of oneself: the unique reflection of Christ that God perfectly designed each one of us to be.

This is something that is infinitely frustrating to us. We want to know how we can manufacture the right conditions for revival, how we can attract the right people, how we can put something down on paper that shows growth, and what we can do to make a difference. The problem with all of that is that we can’t make a difference through our own power.

No amount of human effort ever saved a single soul. All we can truly do is surrender to God, and allow Him to make a difference in us. That is how we develop authentic faith.

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 “No amount of human effort ever saved a single soul. All we can truly do is surrender to God, and allow Him to make a difference in us.”

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