The Netflix show, Comedians in Cars Having Coffee with Jerry Seinfeld is my newest treadmill obsession. It’s a great show with really good insights from some of my favorite people…and it’s funny. Really funny. Consequently, it’s my inspiration for this post.
I had the marvelous experience attending this year’s BlogHer Creators Summit in Brooklyn sponsored by SHE media. I learned a lot about managing my online presence, including that Facebook is for “old retired people with money to invest.” Who knew?! But the most important lessons I learned over the two day event was how to be a Keto Christian at a conference full of millennial lifestyle bloggers who eat pumpkin spice munchkins for breakfast and pizza for lunch.
Listen, Jesus fed 5000 people with two fish and five loaves of bread…not keto-friendly…but miraculous. It’s impossible to please everyone when it comes to conference food. There are hundreds of popular lifestyle diets now and most people on those diets are smart enough to bring their own food. I was not counted in that smart number. So… as I passed on the very perplexing combo of Zoodles and quinoa I spent my lunchtime meeting new people, fantastic women who cringe at the term “faith blogger.”
I’ve said before that being in these Keto Christian streets makes you a bit of a pariah in the lifestyle blogging world. For that, I was prepared at BlogHer. I came up with a way to break the ice by introducing myself with my instagram profile. It’s my IG profile that shrinks the 500 pound “faith blogger” gorilla into a cute little chimpanzee…not the kind that rips your face off, per Jerry Seinfeld. My IG profile puts my issues right out there. I’m trying not to get diabetes or cuss. I’m in recovery for my addiction to carbs and sugar. I still have a (not so) secret love of comedy and witty Hip Hop lyrics that are often punctuated with profanity to make a significant point. Not exactly what you’d expect for someone repping Jesus. Yet, I’m all conference on #teamJesus, a starter and likely going to the hall of fame. Jussayin.
I didn’t come up with this strategy on my own. I actually pilfered it from the great 90s philosopher, Lauryn Hill who understood that sometimes you have to add an *expletive* so some folks can hear you. It’s why I so loved the show GCB…which I hear is getting a reboot. Despite my own human failings and challenges, despite being an overlooked, often ignored GenXer who can’t eat sugar or carbs, Blogher Creator’s Summit was an awesome experience. I’m going back next year but I plan to pitch Samantha Skey on a GenX track of BlogHer U.
I learned a lot. I laughed a lot. I left Brooklyn remembering that Christians who express faith openly are not going to be the first names on the red rope list. For me, as a Christian who expresses my issues openly, I’m not going to be at the top of the church speaking list either. It leaves me in the very complicated, narrow place between the rigor of religion and the wildness of the world.
When I think about it, it leaves me right where Jesus was when He was here. I’d say that’s a pretty good place to be.