Monday, September 25, 2017

Claiming the Past, Discerning the Future: Where to Now?

I just finished reading the short, softback, 97 page book titled, "Our Father: Discovering Family" witten by Mitch Carnell, Ph.D. It's a very inspirational and devotional book as he shared his story of overcoming an eyesight disability and growing up in the racially segregated South in the 1950's and 60's. I highly recommend it to you. It's a honest recounting of the Southern Baptist struggles and his involvement as the Southern Baptists and Cooperative Baptists went their own ways in the 1980's and 90's. I lost friends in that divide and fortunately multiplication and growth were secondary outgrowths of that organizational conflict. I guess that's the silver lining interpretation. He is the founder and CEO of the Charleston Speech and Hearing Center and a Fellow of the American Speech Language and Hearing Association. He hails from Woodruff, SC and he is a longtime member of the First Baptist Church Charleston.

I was baptized and had my first holy communion in the Catholic church in the 1960s. Then in 1982 I had an adult faith experience and was baptized by immersion and joined a Southern Baptist church. The rest is history as they say. I want to integrate Dr. Carnell's book and story with my own story. We can claim all that God has allowed and brought to our lives, even as we have made personal decisions. Yes, I am a person who really honors and respects humanity's free will. I think it is one of God's greatest gifts to us. Even so, there are some things that happen to us, like my infant baptism and first holy communion. I was guided and lead into those experiences by my parents and the larger church. That is the truth.

I invite you and me to own all of our religious and spiritual traditions if that is your desire and will. It is certainly mine. In fact it makes my life so much richer, even complex at times. It's true in life that we are complex beings with beliefs, values, traditions and worldviews that change.

Most importantly for me, the question is now, "Where to from here?" Once the traditions are owned and integrated then it is my job to move forward, under God's leading, to be a positive influence in this world. I have choices to make. Where do I want to invest my time, energy, values, beliefs, good works, and educational experiences? I am continually working on that question. Dr. Carnell's book left me feeling spiritually inspired based on his good works and his life but it also left me asking the question, "Where do I go now? and "How do I take all I have and move into a good and hopeful future?" At the very least I plan to seek God and God's guidance in answering those questions. I feel like the LORD will lead me just like he lead Dr Carnell and I hope God will lead you too if that is your wish.

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