Keenan Mintz: The Courage to Be Known

Being known by others takes a step of courageousness.

Growing up, I didn’t place a high value on friendship and, due to being homeschooled, didn’t have many opportunities to cultivate connections outside my family. As I moved into adulthood, I chose to stay on this beaten path, and this was further exacerbated by COVID and moving to Atlanta in 2021.

Throughout this time, my relationship with God often felt mostly in my mind, and my perception of faith was simply assent to a set of intellectual propositions.

In 2023, Walter said in a sermon that, “It is our faith that changes us,” and this shifted my understanding of what it means to live as a Christian. I realized that if I was going to put faith in God on a personal level, I would also need to have faith in His people and be willing to let myself be known.

God was inviting me into a more intimate relationship with Him by guiding me into deeper relationships with those around me.

In the fall of that year, I joined a Grace Group and began this process with slow and halting steps. God used those feeble efforts, though. When He compelled me to tell the truth about myself—my sins, struggles, and fears—those relationships became a source of love and grace that transformed my life and my relationship with God.

Spiritual disciplines like Bible reading and prayer became consistent habits because they were a way to be with God, not just download knowledge or upload prayer requests. I have begun to discover the joys of self-forgetfulness as I seek to live for the glory of God. Since seeing how God uses ordinary relationships to accomplish His purposes, I now have a greater desire to lean into friendships, and I look forward with hope to how He will continue to conform me to His image.