for all the world to see.

Lately at the start of each weekly Sunday morning service, our church has been airing a series of short, simple video clips.

One or two people speaking to the camera.  White background.  Subtle music under the voices.

The people in the videos aren’t strangers.  They aren’t actors.  They aren’t promoting any agenda or urging me to try anything new.

It’s just people who attend our church.

The guy who sits in front of me, two rows over.

The lady I know attended the same Bible study I attended.

Regular souls.

(Like me.)

Lots of people that I know by sight but not by story.

And each week I find that I am loving these vignettes.

Loving these glimpses into real lives filled with real struggles and real victories.

Each week some person is bold enough to let a video camera record their retelling of a personal moment of failure or faith – generally of both mingled together.

And I love it.

Not because I like hearing about people’s mistakes.

Or knowing some other person’s garbage.

But because I love grace.

I need stories of redemption.

I love to see restoration.

I adore transparency.

I dig honesty.

I think vulnerability is beautiful.

And I think the sharing of all those details in a community of believers is vital.

Is life-giving.

Is soul-inspiring.

I think it’s rare and important and so much bigger than ourselves.

It’s raw and it’s scary.

But it is completely divine.