The original article can be found at: http://www.abc.net.au/religion/articles/2011/12/02/3382170.htm
Christians, homophobia and trying hard to follow Jesus (David Pocock on ABC Radio, 2011)
In the lead up to the World Cup I was pursued by the Bible Society to be part of a project that brought together international sporting personalities to write about their faith to be included in a publication of the Bible.
To be honest, I found it hard to know what I could "add" in value to the Bible and thought maybe the words of some sport stars might be a distraction rather than help. I also thought there's no shortage of people talking about the Christian faith, so my approach should be to get on with trying to follow Jesus and hope people might see something in my life that looks like him.
For all these reasons, I was tempted to say no.
But I know how much it meant to me to be able to look up to people who were unashamed of the Gospel of love and the God of peace. Dorothy Day, one of my heroes, said, "If I have achieved anything in my life, it is because I have not been embarrassed to talk of God."
I'm only twenty-three and there is a lot I want to do. Like many Christians my age, I'm looking to the example of amazing women and men like Dorothy Day and trying not to be embarrassed when talking about God – or, I want to do it without embarrassing God!
I'm not at all ashamed of my faith but I'm often embarrassed to be associated with much that passes for Christianity but that looks nothing like Christ.
So with all of that in mind, I wrote a piece to express my faith journey. Sadly, the Bible Society decided not to include my contribution.
The full article can be found at: http://www.abc.net.au/religion/articles/2011/12/02/3382170.htm
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