Notorious Sinners- Mike Yaconneli

..............
I was reading this afternoon and ran across this passage. I thought "Thank You Father. You planted me sweetly within the midst of "Notorious Sinners."
.............
You might say Christianity has a tradition of messy spirituality. Messy
prophets, messy kings, messy disciples, messy apostles. From God’s people
getting in one mess after another in the Old Testament to most of the New
Te s t a me n t ’s being written to straighten out messes in the church, the Bible presents
a glorious story of a very messy faith. Sounds like you and I are in good company.
..............
A few years ago, I was introduced to a group of uncouth Christians who call
themselves “the Notorious Sinners.” These are men from all walks of life
who meet once a year to openly share their messy spirituality with each other.
The title Notorious Sinners refers to the scandalous category of forgiven sinners
whose reputations and ongoing flaws didn’t seem to keep Jesus away. In fact,
Jesus had a habit of collecting disreputables; he called them disciples. He still
does. I like people who openly admit their notoriousness—people who
unabashedly confess they are hopelessly flawed and hopelessly forgiven.
Graciously, these men invited me to be a part of their group.
The Notorious Sinners meet yearly at spiritual-retreat centers, where from
the moment we arrive, we find ourselves in trouble with the centers’ leadership.
We don’ t act like most contemplatives who come to spiritual-retreat centers—
reserved, quiet, silently seeking the voice of God. We’re a different kind of contemplative—
earthy, boisterous, noisy, and rowdy, tromping around our souls,
seeking God, hanging out with a rambunctious Jesus who is looking for a good
time in our hearts. A number of us smoke cigars, about half are recovering alcoholics,
and a couple of the men could embarrass a sailor with their language. Two o f t h e Notorious Sinners show up on their Harleys, complete with leather pants and leather jackets.
I admit I run with a rough crowd—Christians whose discipleship is blatantly real and carelessly passionate, characterized by a brazen godliness.Unafraid to admit their flaws, unintimidated by Christians who deny their own messiness, these guys sometimes look like pagans and other times look like Jesus. They are spiritual troublemakers, really, which is why they look like Jesus (who
was always causing trouble himself ). They are full of mischief, laughter, and
boisterous behavior, which is why they look like pagans. Truly messy disciples.
The Notorious Sinners are definitely a bizarre mix of the good, the bad, and the
ugly, living a spirituality which defies simple definitions. Oh, and they are some of the most spiritual men I know.

In The Problem of Pain, C.S. Lewis wrote, "God whispers to us in our pleasures, speaks in our conscience, but shouts in our pains: it is His megaphone to rouse a deaf world." Through the pain in our lives, we learn to rest in God and nothing else