When I Don't Fit in part 1

 This 2-minute Anomaly video describes my life perfectly.




In fact, it described my life so accurately that I actually got emotional. The emotion-evoking part was the way LeCrae vividly described his life with words that sounded like he was describing my life. 

I can relate to LeCrae. I don't fit in. 

I love hip-hop. And I hate hip-hop. I'm not a Republican. I'm not a Democrat. Not a conservative. Not a liberal.The all-black and the all-white church - neither or which has a scriptural precedence - can both be uncomfortable places for me. 

As I wrote in an article for Rapzilla, it's been an interesting journey for me and some friends to find a church that is eager to embrace the Christians who make their cultural home in hip-hop. 

One comforting thing in all this is knowing that other people feel the same. A few weeks before my wife showed me the LeCrae video, she sent me a blog post by pastor Thabiti Anywabwile on the Gospel Coalition.  Again, I felt like someone was writing about my life. 

Please take the time to read the article and watch the video! 

There are two reasons I think the blog and video hit me so hard. 

1. It was so freeing to know I'm not the only person who feels this way. You may know how you feel, but there's just something about having someone else voice your same concern that comes as a relief. You think, "Maybe I'm not crazy after all." 

2. There is freedom in not fitting inside the box.  When people put you in a box, they expect you to stay inside the box. The problem is I almost suffocated inside of the box. It's hard - actually it's really hard - not to fit in, but there is also a freedom not trying to conform to fit inside the box. 

At the end of the day, I'm learning to be more comfortable with who God has made me to be as He shapes me more and more into the image of His Son. 

I write these blogs to create discussion. What did you think of the Anomaly video, the Anyabwile article or both? 

Chris Lassiter is a Christ-follower, a husband to Emily (read her blog here), a father to five kids and a freelance writer for Young Life Relationships, HipHopDX.com, JamTheHype.com and other publications. His first book, You're Grounded, was published by Moody Publications last year. You can order the book here.