God loves variety

Yesterday, I went to the Christian Homeschool Association of Pennsylvania convention for the Truth Project training seminar. During break time, I walked around the convention vendor booths to peruse what they had to offer. Ever since I met homeschooled students at WOLBI, I was convinced that homeschooling was an excellent option. Those kids were highly intelligent and well socialized, unlike the unfortunate stereotype that homeschooled kids have a narrow-minded and limited education and that they are socially inept. Now it's the issue of figuring out what I can do to prepare Em and myself to homeschool our child. My schedule right now in second shift can work, but we'll see what actions I need to take these next few years to make things work smoothly.

Walking around the convention, I was amused to see the great number of Mennonites. I knew there were going to be a good number of conservatively dressed Christian groups, but I should've expected that there would be upwards of 80% of the attendees to be of those groups. I was in the middle of Amish country in Harrisburg, so I should've expected it. I'm sure there were Independent and Fundamentalist Baptists as well, since about a dozen vendors were Baptist. There were also some normally dressed people and some hicks. I only saw a few who were tattooed and pierced, with a punk or gothic look (I'm sure a BJU rep was trying to witness to them).

That's the beauty of Christianity - our variety. We have an incredible amount of freedom to express our devotion to Jesus, be it the highly structured and regimented like the Mennonites and some Baptist groups, to the decentralized Brethren groups, to the often rowdy Charismatics. Variety is merely the result of individualized thought, even in those who are more uniform in their lifestyle and outlook. Anti-conformity or non-conformity is very Christian and Biblical in its origin. And to be precise, we are not to be conformed to this world, be it the evils of the flesh or the religious structures of man. We are transformed by the renewing of our minds. By doing so, we are then conformed to Jesus Christ, the Word of God, the ultimate Non-conformist.