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Prompt
What has been meaningful for your faith development?
Response
I can feel myself starting to turn red. I’m in front of classmates, reciting a three-minute speech about my faith journey in a course titled “Faith, Education and Leadership.” In 27 years I had never declared my religious affiliation in a public forum; in fact, more often than not, I had hidden my faith in secular life. So, stamping “Christian” on my forehead in front of my peers was nerve wracking to say the least.
Religion is a salient part of my identity - why do I hide it?
I was always worried about what someone may associate with Christianity and that it would affect my career, popularity, friend circles, or that I would be perceived as forcing my belief on others. However, I think one can only grow so much in private before they hit a ceiling. If I’m openly Christian on Sundays and Wednesdays and put my relationship with Jesus in the back seat during the in-betweens… my faith development is no doubt stunted.
What a rewarding experience it was to proclaim my faith. I got closer to God, and others, as I revealed my authentic self. I’m still figuring out what authentically owning my faith during the in-betweens looks like, but know that it’s key to meaningful faith development.
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