In “A Renegade's Guide to God,” David Foster, pastor of “The Gathering” — a Nashville area worship community, issues a call to all believers — forget the rigid rules, religious agenda and guilt scripted by many churches, and become an R4G — Renegade for God. Read an excerpt:

You might be a renegade if ... Four real reasons renegades are allergic to all things religious
Paradoxically, what propels people toward atheism is above all a sense of revulsion against the excesses and failures of organized religion.
— Alister McGrath

Steve was my big brother and though he was shorter than me, I still looked up to him. I wanted, no I craved, his approval. I would do almost anything to make him think I was cool, so talking to him about my newfound faith was about the most uncool thing I could think of doing.

Religion was a touchy subject for us both. We swore once we got old enough we would never darken the door of a church again. But, I had just experienced a radical conversion. Today, we might call it a "total spiritual makeover." Without intending to, I became an all out, full-bore follower of Jesus. All I wanted was a chance to break the news to him gently, face to face, in my own words. Knowing his aversion to all things religious, it was going to take a careful, sensible explanation to convince him I had not gone "religious weirdo" on him. I wanted him to see "it's still" me, only it was a different me.

We decided to meet at Gary Force Ford in Bowling Green, Kentucky-the town where he lived and where I was going to college. We both liked cars and since the new Mustangs were out, it seemed like a perfect place to spill the beans. As we walked to the new car lot, I looked for a way to begin the conversation. I started by talking about religion, something we both disliked. As carefully as I could, I told him the Jesus we heard about had become real to me. I poured out my heart about how Jesus changed my entire outlook on life. Because of this experience, I felt more alive and excited about my future. Every day was different than the one before. I faced each day full of energy. I sensed my life mattered. I assured him this wasn't a religious phase and I wasn't going to turn into the kind of "goody-goody" guy we'd always made fun of. As I shared my faith as sanely as I possibly could, I could see the disapproval moving across his face like dark clouds advancing a storm. The tension thickened. He'd stopped listening and started waiting for me to breathe. And when I did, he leaned in and with fire in his eyes said, "Why in the hell would you want to waste your life being a G___ D____ preacher?" My heart sank. Man, I'd messed up big time. If I had known this would be our last conversation on the subject, I'd have lingered longer. But I was mortified.

SPECIAL SERIES Video: Role of religion in Americans' lives Nov. 16: The "Today" show's Ann Curry talks with Jon Meacham of Newsweek and Sally Quinn of the Washington Post about the role religion in our lives. Video: Eastern religions Video: Evangelicals in America Video: A look at Christianity in America How to become a ‘Renegade for God’ Darfur violence spreads to Chad Ann Curry returns to Darfur's edge Video: Ann Curry reports on tragedy Video: Religious violence increases Video: More of Olmert interview

This was not the response I prayed for. But instead of being angry or hurt, all I could think about was, "You know, he's got a point. Why would I want to spend my one and only life talking about a dead guy who lived 2,000 years ago?" Without thinking through what I was about to say, and as he climbed into his flaming red GTO to leave, I blurted out, "You gotta waste your life doing something. It might as well be about something big." What I blurted out as a seventeen-year-old nobody from Barren County, has stuck with me from that day to this. Little did I know I'd stumbled onto something that would become the prevailing principle of my life. I believed then as I do today: Jesus is the key to everything about the life worth living.

The renegade spirit
Everyone I've ever known is looking for a way to fit in and stand out all at the same time. Reputation and persona are important. No one sets out on a bland, boring, meaningless march to the mediocre middle. That's why we dress cool and drive cars with image. We want to be the person people want to be with and like. I saw a great example of this in a recent TV ad for the new Hummer 2. It opens with a bunch of kids racing homemade go-carts. The commercial has a rugged retro feel to it, harkening back to a simpler place and time. The kids are hunched over the steering wheels of their slick formula-one racers high-tailing it down the hill. But there's the one lone-wolf kid who defies convention in his homemade, rough-hewn Hummer go-cart screaming straight down the hill, oblivious to the winding, gradual course set out for the normal people.

He loves knowing that his is the most unique machine in the race. This kid has guts. He's cutting his own way through the great outdoors, blazing his own trail, and to everyone's utter chagrin he glides across the finish line in first place and wins the race-all to the accompaniment of the Who's "Happy Jack": a song about a boy who dares go his own way. After he wins the race you hear playing in the background, "But they couldn't stop Jack with the waters lapping and they couldn't prevent Jack from feeling happy."

Each time I watch it, it stirs something deep inside me. What are the Hummer people trying to tell us? A Hummer 2 isn't for the average person with prosaic aspirations. It's a machine with personality, crafted solely to inspire the soul of those who love kicking back against the encroaching boundaries of convention. Hummer people revel in the rockier road less traveled. They pride themselves on having a bigger and better machine and they are very pleased to outsmart all the others. They're unafraid of unrutted roads or unfamiliar territory. They live for it.

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