Speaking from Experience
To anyone who actually takes the time to read this blog post and visit this site, thank you! Allow me to briefly introduce myself.
My name is Tyler Hodge. I was raised Apostolic Pentecostal in a North American Home Mission's family in a small mountain community called Lake Isabella in the Alta Sierra Mountain Range in Central California. I'm currently pastoring the Apostolic Lighthouse Church of Oildale (the northside of Bakersfield, CA). I'm married to my high-school sweetheart, Breana, and together we have four amazingly beautiful children (three boys and our oh-so-spoiled daughter).
Growing up in the church and being considerate of our outward presentation and practicing principles of modesty definitely set us apart from our peers and friends in our home mission's town of Lake Isabella. No one understood our standards of holiness and separation from the worldly fads and fashions. We didn't expect them to either. In a desperate attempt to seem cool, I remember one day in my freshman year of high school, I donned a bright neon blue "zuit-suit" (as my dad teased) with my white faux-alligator skinned dress shoes. I definitely stood out that day. I got a lot of fun and ego-charging compliments, and now I had gained the attention of the entire school. Most of the kids were so caught off guard that they thought it was cool. Others thought I was the weirdest kid on campus and proceeded to tell me what they thought.
The only problem was, I had gotten their attention and I didn't know how to go back to normal. So the next day, I wore my bright red suite that literally glistened in the sunlight accompanied with the same faux-alligator shoes. I was establishing my presence as the eccentric, cool and oddly fashionable kid who had unique and totally random clothes that most of the kids in the school had never seen in person. The only problem being, I wasn't going to wear my church clothes to school every day... Their eyes were on me. I couldn't just slip in and out anymore. And when things went to normal, they started to notice that I only wore long sleeves and I didn't wear shorts when I dressed out for gym. They gave me names like "Senior Pantelones" (Mr. Pants in Spanish) and called me an "Aposta-holic." I went from being that brave weird cool kid, to being just the weird kid at the center of many jokes in the halls and locker rooms.
I remember the immense pressure to cave on my convictions. The temptation to fit in went much further than to simply look like them and to let go of the principles of holiness and separation. I compensated for my peculiar appearance by beginning to laugh at their jokes, talk and behave like them, act like I was up-to-date on all the latest of Hollywood trends and sports alerts, and feign interest in their party lifestyle. THANK GOD His hand was on my life and I was able to renew my convictions before I went to far down the rabbit-hole of worldly approval, but it did teach me a valuable lesson.
We ought to stand out from the world. We are a peculiar people. In an age where modesty, holiness principles, personal convictions, standards of righteous living are absent in the world, they should be present and thriving in the church. We don't have to be ashamed of who we are. We are a peculiar people, yes. But we are also a chosen generation and a royal priesthood. We are a holy nation who ought to shine forth the wonderful things of the God who has saved us and set us apart from the darkness. We don't need to seek the approval of the world. We will just be weird to many, but some will see our differences and wonder why. And if it gives us an opportunity to share the gospel or offer someone the option for a life they aren't currently living - that's pretty cool.