The book unChristian: What a New Generation Really Thinks about Christians… and Why it Matters has really stuck with me these past few days as is evident by this post and this post. I have found myself thinking about all of the people who are represented in the survey data that is presented in unChristian and I have found myself wishing that there were some way to let them all know that Christians are supposed to do better. I have found myself wanting to say that there are Christians who do truly love you where you are at. And I think this is true. I at least know that my faith tells me that Jesus loves you.

But in my anger and frustration at other Christians who have not loved people different than them well, I started to become uncomfortable and realized that I also have failed to love my neighbor as myself. Sometimes I ignore or don’t see others who are hurting. Sometimes it is hard for me to know how to love someone who is living a very different life than I think God would want them to live. But I agree with my friend Joseph’s comment in one of my previous posts that God has never asked me to show more love or grace to anyone else than God has already shown to me.

So, I want to say that I am sorry. I am sorry for my failure to love my neighbor as myself. If you have ever felt unloved by my actions or inactions I am sorry. I am without excuse, because my faith tells me to love my neighbor as much as I love myself.

I remember reading in one of Donald Miller’s books (I can’t remember which one it was… Blue Like Jazz?) that several Christians set up a booth on a college campus to confess their sins to others on campus. It was a powerful story and to me represents the kind of humility that Christians need to risk showing to others. This gave me an idea – If you have felt unloved or hurt by something a Christian has done to you, I would like to apologize to you. I want to tell you that I am sorry for the pain that you have felt. If you want to leave a comment with a specific way that you have been hurt or wronged, I would like to specifically apologize to you.