You’re Not Broken You’re Wired Differently
Have you ever felt like your faith doesn’t quite fit the mold? Like everyone around you is crying in worship, raising their hands, riding an emotional wave — and you’re just… standing there, present and steady, but wondering if something’s wrong with you?
Nothing is wrong with you. You might just be wired differently.
That’s the heart of this week’s book review on The Invested Life podcast. I want to introduce you to a book that has radically encouraged me on my faith journey: Blessed Are the Misfits by Brant Hansen.
Why I’m Recommending Blessed Are the Misfits by Brant Hansen
I read a lot of books — business books, faith books, even World War II history (don’t ask). Every fourth episode or so on this show, we do a book review, because leaders read and readers lead. Books mentor you. Books challenge you. And every once in a while, a book just feels like it was written for you.
Brant Hansen is what I affectionately call a “Christian comic book author” — not because he writes comic books, but because his style is so conversational, so disarmingly funny, that you forget you’re being mentored. I’ve read Blessed Are the Misfits twice and listened to the audiobook twice while running at 4:30 in the morning. (Yes, I run four times a week. It’s good for me. It’s good for society.) I have literally laughed out loud at 5 a.m. on a quiet street because of this book.
The Big Idea: Faith Isn’t Measured by Feelings — It’s Measured by Trust
Brant structures the book a bit like the Beatitudes — hence “Blessed are…” — but his focus is on Christians who don’t fit the emotional or experiential mold of modern church culture. If you’ve ever felt sidelined because you don’t cry on cue, don’t raise your hands, or don’t ride the same emotional highs as the people around you, this book is for you.
He plants his flag firmly on four words:
- Trust
- Faith
- Action
- Obedience
That’s it. That’s the plumb line. Not your feelings. Not your tears. Not the goosebumps you get during the worship bridge.
“Faith isn’t measured by feelings. It’s measured by trust.”
Think about it: the people you trust most in life — your one, your three, your twelve — you trust them with your heart, your emotions, sometimes your finances. That trust didn’t come from a feeling. It came from a relationship. The same is true with the Lord.
God Recruits Misfits On Purpose
Look at the twelve men Jesus recruited. They came from different backgrounds, different parts of the region, different vocations, different temperaments. They didn’t talk the same. They didn’t think the same. They were distinctly, beautifully different — and that was the point.
We’ve all heard a hundred times that we’re “fearfully and wonderfully made.” But too often in Christian circles, we turn around and try to pigeonhole each other into acting and worshiping exactly the same way. That’s a dangerous equation. It’s also bad theology.
There are non-negotiable principles every believer is called to: honesty, servanthood, generosity, prayer, worship, reading the Word. Those are the fundamentals. But how God wired your personality, your gifts, your calling — that’s yours. Don’t trade it in trying to look like the person next to you.
A Quick Word on Emotionalism
I’ll be the first to admit: I cry on this podcast. A lot. I’m wired emotionally. But my emotions are not the plumb line — and they shouldn’t be yours either. Emotionalism is a slippery slope. Before Christ, I was a high-low train wreck. Now? The people I live with would tell you I’m a disciplined man. Passion is good. Passion is not the source. Trust and relationship with the Lord are the source.
If you’re called to the marketplace like I am, hear me on this: God is not afraid of you being logical, action-oriented, and even-keeled. He is okay with you being exactly who He made you to be.
Dan’s Musings: Two Stories About Being Different
1. The Milk-in-Your-Tea Incident
Quick context: my mom is British. My biological father immigrated from Santiago, Chile. There’s a meaningful cultural gap between the UK and Chile, and I grew up bouncing between both worlds.
For nine years I watched my British mom drink tea twice a day — always with milk. My grammy did the same. To me, that was just how tea worked.
Then I went to live with my Chilean side of the family. Twelve of us in one house. One day my uncle offered me tea. I said, “Sure. Where’s the milk?” He looked at me like I had three heads. “For what?” My uncles and aunts roasted me for a solid five minutes. I was ten years old. They love me — it was family jest — but I felt the difference. I felt a little ridiculed. And I never forgot it.
That’s how it can feel when you walk into a new environment with a different background, different experiences, or a different way of being. Familiar to some of you, I’m sure.
2. The Yellow Satin Shirt Dance
Seventh grade. First junior high dance. Coming off years of New Year’s parties with my Chilean family — where everyone dances: grandparents, aunts, uncles, cousins, guests, all of us, together — I assumed that’s how dances worked everywhere.
I borrowed my step-grandpa’s yellow satin butterfly-collar shirt. Probably paired with jeans. Looked like a complete train wreck. Everyone else was in T&C, Billabong, and Nike t-shirts.
The music starts. Nobody dances. Hundreds of seventh graders, frozen. So I went out into the middle of the circle and just went for it — because I had four years of New Year’s training. Later in the night, a very popular ninth-grade girl I knew from choir walked up in front of my friends and said, “Hey, Danny — you want to dance?”
I went from sub-cool to actually cool in about three seconds. She just wanted a dance partner — but my friends didn’t know that.
The point isn’t the dance. The point is: be different so you can bless the people around you. Be different so you can bless the Lord and His people. You are in community, and that community needs to hear your message — not a copy of someone else’s.
What’s Your Message?
God made you a specific way and likely gave you a specific message that someone else needs to hear. Mine is provide, protect, promote. There were seasons of my life where I didn’t feel any of those three things — and that’s exactly why they’re now near and dear to my heart. I want others to feel provided for, protected, and promoted.
You don’t need a podcast. You don’t need a TV show. You don’t need a radio show. You just need to be you, in the conversations you’re already in.
If you know what your message is, I’d love to hear about it. Email me at dan@dancantillana.com or visit dancantillana.com. I want to know what God is doing in your life and how I can help.
Law of 72: Your Action Step
Here’s the easy part:
- Buy or download Blessed Are the Misfits by Brant Hansen.
- Read it. Or listen to it. Or both.
- Send Brant an encouraging note — text, email, courier pigeon, whatever works.
- Forward this episode to someone in your life who is, lovingly, a misfit. They’ll listen.
Brant — if you ever hear this — thank you. Thank you for your honesty. Thank you for the way you intertwine faith, trust, obedience, and love for the hurting. You’re the real deal.
Closing Encouragement
As followers of the Way, we are called to speak words of life. Proverbs 18:21 — “The tongue has the power of life and death, and those who love it will eat its fruit.” Eat the fruit of encouragement. Speak the words of encouragement. It will only grow.
If you’re a little bit different — so am I. Amen. Let’s ride with our Savior and bless other people out there.
I’m Dan Cantillana. Thanks for investing the time to invest in yourself, so you can invest in others.
Go out there. Love, trust, and bless others.
