Hi, my name is Rachel Hauck and I. . .

. . . am a rule bender.

Yes, I bend rules. Not major ones now. I'm a stickler for integrity and honesty, but yeah, I bend a few rules. Mostly personal ones.

But I've bent universal rules like, "no drinks in the sanctuary but water." I mean, my Diet Coke isn't going to hurt anything, is it?

Yes, I plan on getting up for exercise. . . bend, bend.

I did put down for two hours of prayer today. . . bend, bend.

But the truth is, bending rules can go too far. And, if someone were to confront me, "what are doing in here with a soda?" I'd back out of the room with an apology.

Most of us are rule benders in some way. Though I know a few of you who are not. You're my friends and I love you. You remind us all rules have a purpose.

How does this apply to our faith? We start bending God's rules. Is homosexuality a sin? Is God's Word really true? "I mean, do I have to do all it says?"

We've started to let people bend the spiritual rules. There's a church movement doing this. They're questioning if it matters Jesus was born of the virgin, Mary, of the line of David. They ask, "Why does it matter?"

It matter's a lot. If he's not born of a virgin in the line of David, then He's not God. Prophesy is not fulfill and we are without hope.

We have to confront the rule benders. Not in a harsh or judgmental way, but in love and truth. "You many struggle with homosexuality, but God calls it sin. We are to turn from sin, hate what He hates. Let me help you walk through this toward truth."

To say your sin is okay is to call God a liar.

For some, sin isn't call out sin anymore. They're trying to fold lies into the gospel. The good news is God is able to redeem His name and reputation. I just don't want it to be because of me, my action, my sin. I don't want to sully His name.

The "church" does need to reach out to the poor and hurting. I agree we've let doctrine hinder our methodology. We're so comfortable in our churches, with our preaching and fellowshipping among ourselves. (It's the way of most sects of society.)

Getting outside the church walls is messy. It's not always successful. It's hard work. But we can't lower the bar to make it easy for ourselves. Sin is sin and we have to call it. Otherwise, how will the world know to repent and change. We leave them in worse bondage by not speaking out the truth.

My name is Rachel Hauck, a recovering rule bender.