The Shape of Faith
UpReach / InReach / OutReachArchive for Spiritual Formation
cul-de-sac living
I really like the thoughtful writing of Ken Gire. Here is a piece from his, Windows of the Soul. It gave me a good start to my day.
It is, I suppose, possible to speak of the soul without speaking of God, just as it is possible to tour a cathedral without stopping to worship. Most of us, though, have taken that tour. And for most of us, it’s not enough.
The pursuit of self is what most of us have been doing for much of our lives, even our spiritual lives. But the self is a cul-de-sac, and eventually we end up where we started. Footsore and just as frustrated, just as unfulfilled. Feeling we’re a failure, or worse, a fraud.
The pursuit of soul, if soul is all we’re pursuing, is not much different. It’s a longer walk down a nicer street, but the street is still a cul-de-sac, and in the end, regardless how invigorating the walk, it doesn’t lead beyond the neighborhood of who we are.
… We long for something more than a routine walk around the religious block. We long for the companionship of God. We long for the assurance that we are not taking this journey alone. That He is walking with us and talking with us and intimately involved in our lives.
This new year, as you begin again, don’t just take the tour. Stop and worship.
Faith Is Not An Evacuation Plan
Many of us grew up with a heavy dose of heaven hymnology.
Sing To Me Of Heaven
When We All Get To Heaven
In The Sweet By And By
Beyond The Sunset
Face To Face With Christ My Savor
There’s A Land That Is Fairer Than Day
To Canaan’s Land I’m On My Way
There Is A Habitation
Great songs, and for some, heaven is thought of as the natural conclusion and climax to a life filled with a growing faith, lived for God here on planet earth. But sadly for others, this longing for a future home in heaven is not really connected to life here in the present world. Habits remain the same. Plans for each day are not altered by a developing faith. Speech, relationships, behavior do not surrender to the spiritual leadership of Jesus. In fact, once the “salvation” ticket is punched, life continued on just as it has been, with little or no growth or change.
A friend of mine once asked the question, “What’s the difference between a man with ten years of experience and a man with one year of experience, ten times?” The answer? The man with tens year of experience actually grew each year. There was a slow but steady change in his life as one year built upon the progress of the previous year. But the man with one year of experience, ten times, just repeated his first year over and over. There was no real change. He was in a rut. He probably hated it, but as we sometimes say, “He had become adjusted to his rut.” It was familiar, even comfortable in a twisted sort of way. I think that popular writer Brian McLaren had the first man in mind when he said,
The Gospel is not an evacuation plan
but a transformation plan
Other, much older writers follow the same line of thought.
Heaven is not to be looked upon
only as the reward,
but as the natural effect
of a religious life.
– Joseph Addison
The main object of religion
is not to get a man into Heaven;
but to get Heaven into him.
– Thomas Hardy
Do not conform any longer
to the pattern of this world,
but be transformed
by the renewing of your mind.
– Romans 12:2
Will heaven be a ticket that I purchase and then put away until the day that I have to pull it out at the end of my life? Or, will heaven be the next logical, seamless step in a life that has been constantly growing and changing since the first day that God’s grace entered? Is your faith an evacuation plan or a transformation plan?
Artificial Time
I’m not exactly sure how I feel about my thinking on this topic. I’m not sure where I will land. I’m not even sure what to call these wandering thoughts. But I have given a lot of thinking to the subject, so consider this a draft.
It’s not really about artificial light or manufactured energy or propped up activity, although these are certainly on the same team. I guess I might call it “Artificial Time.” This thought comes to me whenever I leave my own culture of extended hours. When I visit my friends in West Africa I quickly notice that our day is more likely to slow down and come to an end when the sun goes down. The time of activity is not artificially extended. We shift into a lower, slower gear. Physical activity gives way to quiet conversations, and eventually to silence and sleep. Yes, there is electricity in the remote area where I visit. And, of course, there is a lot of artificial light in the large city two hours away. But even there, in the capital of that country, I notice that the city lights are dim, as our jumbo jet lands in the evening hours. Not so, in Dallas. When my West African friend, Isaac visited me two years ago, his plane landed at night. His first question had to do with the bright lights he saw from his window as he descended. We discovered that he was referring to the many car dealerships that brightly light up the night sky, not to mention the businesses that proudly advertise “we never close.”
If time were not artificially manipulated, when would we begin our sleep, and how long would it last? When would noise subside and silence carve out an end of the day time of reflection and evaluation? As it is, there is no time to think or reflect. Not only is the time awake artificially extended (which means that the time of sleep is artificially shortened), but it’s not given to thought or creativity. We are not actually thinking our own thoughts. No, we have asked the networks to decide what we should think about, and they, in turn, have been told by the advertisers what messages, themes, values and questions we should ponder.
Last week the power went out at my house. I walked outside and confirmed that the whole neighborhood was dark. There was nothing else to do, so we began to prepare for bed. Then, just few minutes before turning in, the power suddenly came back on. I honestly wish that we had correctly guessed and successfully turned off all the lights in our house, because when they came back on, I gave in to artificial time. I got back up. And I stayed up longer than natural time would have allowed.
I don’t know if artificial time has helped us. Not if we sleep less, reflect and meditate less, and operate on less real energy. Not if we walk and talk less. Not if we sit the same room with those we love having no heartfelt conversations. Maybe its time to have less artificial time.
What’s in Your Small Group Toolbox?
I am excited that Buddy Bell from Montgomery, Alabama will be in Dallas for a tightly packed few hours of small group learning and discovery. He comes specially equipped to help anyone wanting to grow and improve their small group skills. Whether you’re new to small-groups, a committed group member, or a seasoned group leader, you’ll leave this seminar with new inspiration and tools.
In 2001 Buddy founded Share Him Ministries which has helped literally hundred’s of churches around the country set up successful small group programs. Playing the dual role of preaching and small group minister at his own church has given him a unique viewpoint to see how small groups can be tightly integrated into the ministry of a local church.
After the seminar your small group toolbox will be filled with:
- Leadership Tools: What is the best preparation for leading a group? How can a leader find and train new leaders?
- Curriculum Tools: How can we build the discussion on God’s Word? What are some good curriculum ideas?
- Relationship Tools: How can we make the atmosphere open, honest, encouraging and non-judgmental?
- Involvement Tools: How can group members can find their place and purpose in the group? What are some positive options for children?
- Discussion Tools: How can the leader create great questions, anticipate answers and affirm participation?
- Expansion Tools: How can the group evaluate its size and plan for the future?
The seminar is free. There will be free childcare. We are guarding your valuable weekend time with a 3-hour morning session on Saturday, November 14.
I hope anyone in the Dallas area with join us from 9:00 to Noon (Registration is at 8:30 unless you register online) http://tinyurl.com/yfb6heo
Prestoncrest Church of Christ
6022 Prestoncrest Lane
Dallas TX 75230
972-233-2392
The Love Exercise
If you were to ask a follower of Jesus for the clearest, most complete description of love, you would probably be directed to 1 Corinthians 13, the “Love Chapter.” It has found a place in wedding ceremonies, inside Valentine Day cards, and on counter-cross-stitch pillows. And while I am sure it is not best understood lifted out of its painful, real life setting, it is a powerful chapter all by itself.
Verses 4-8 describe love in terms of what it does, feels, plans, and desires. In fact, the description almost sounds like a living being.
Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. It is not rude, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres. Love never fails.
Here are 16 direct statements about what love is and isn’t. But does love really have to be thought of as an “It?” Is love inert, non-living, and inanimate? Does it make sense to say that love has no capacity for emotion? Could love be a living being?
Twice in 1 John 4 the text says, “God is love” (vs. 4, 16). And so, take a few minutes and go through this little exercise.
First, if God is love, then it is appropriate to exchange terms, so that the description in 1 Corinthians now reads, “God is patient, God is kind … God is not self-seeking, God is not easily angered, etc.”
Second, John 3:16 says that God loves the whole world. But his love is specific to each of us. He knows the number of hairs on my head (Luke 12:7). He knows the status of each bird (Matthew 6:26) but says that I am much more valuable. And so, since his love is so entirely specific to each of us, add your name to the end of each description so that it reads, “God is patient with Bob, God is kind to Bob … God is not easily angered by Bob, etc.”
And please don’t allow this exercise make you feel childish. Be honest with yourself. For most of us, it’s not difficult to picture an abstract concept of love. It’s easy to conceive of “It” with these glowing terms. “It” is patient and kind. For some of us, it’s more difficult to picture God in this way. We have to personalize the concepts. But, the life of Jesus, makes this much easier (John 1:14, Hebrews 2:14). But for many of us, it’s very difficult to put our own name down as the recipient of God’s love.
And so, third, make an honest note of the phrases that are the most difficult for you to believe or accept. You may find it easier to believe that “God is patient with you” than to believe that “God is not easily angered by you.” Do you believe that “God keeps no record of wrongs on you and that God always trusts you?” You see, our ability to accept a dimension of God’s love will affect our ability to extend it on to others.
Frederich Buechner, in his book, Wishful Thinking, has written,
“Of all powers, love is the most powerful and the most powerless. It is the most powerful because it alone can conquer that final and most impregnable stronghold which is the human heart. It is the most powerless because it can do nothing except by consent.” (53-54)
Do we believe that God loves us? Until we give our consent, and open our hearts to his love, the deepest power of love will continue to elude us.
