Experiencing God's Presence: Creating Space for Others

Lately I have been spiritually and emotionally impacted by the fact that relationships with others and God are simple yet profound ways to grow spiritually.  Even more importantly I would venture that a deeper spiritual experience is sure to blossom as we converse, share thoughts and feelings, or even have a meal together.  Solitude and the inner journey have their place for sure, but so does the need for spiritual connectedness and that most easily happens when we create non-judgmental space for others and God to be with us and us with them.  Spiritual growth is an inner experience and an outer experience.  Today I am talking about the outer experience and the way in which others become catalysts and sparks for spiritual growth.  For example, just sitting and attending to another person allows me to know and to learn from others.  I need that.  I cherish the reality that another person’s presence and my interaction with them can be a point of trusting, spiritual connection.  In a mystical sense the whole (other, self, God) is greater than the sum of the parts.  God’s grace and essence are found in our midst as we create space for others.         

Doing Nothing

It all starts when I turn off my iPhone.  That right there is a feat unto itself, and it is almost life and death—not really but it feels that way since I am cutting off electronic input from the world outside of me.  I really am trying to learn how to "do nothing."  You all would not realize the difficulty of that specific spiritual practice for me.  It gets better.  I lay down, turn down the lights and just chill.  The darkness and quiet are my friends.  It is energizing, helpful and infuses my soul with quiet, peace, and calm, as the Spirit is at work.  It’s a good thing and there is so much progress that needs to be made.  Thankfully I am relearning that it is ok to do nothing.  Laying down and turning off the phone is acceptable to me.  I find rest and I find peace.  The stillness of the middle evening is welcomed as darkness, peace and calm become new friends again.   

Here Come the Baptists

I am convinced that there are inherent suppositions and presumptions that all of us make about religious groups.  No doubt you think of various ideas and images when I use the words Christian, Baptist, Catholic, Pentecostal, Sikh, Muslim, and Buddhist to name a few.  I have a background that is rooted in two streams of Christian groups and thought:  Catholicism and Baptist.   Those two groups share a common love and appreciation for loving God and neighbor, Scripture as having authority, Trinitarian theology (God as distinctly one yet expressed as Father, Son, and Holy Spirit), and commitment to live a life of faith and good works.

In seminary I read and immensely enjoyed Dr. Leon McBeth’s book titled, “The Baptist Heritage:  Four Centuries of the Baptist Witness.”  It was a wonderful book for this 29 year old upstart, Baptist minister in training.   I do realize that the word “Baptist” carries a lot baggage with it just like other religious traditions.  It goes with the turf. 

Here are a few of the more interesting Baptist heritage historical notes and a few of my Top 5 favorites

The Middle Colonies of PA, MD, NJ, and DE were full of Baptist churches and ministers.  Many of them migrated down from New England where they first arrived to America.  They were great proponents of religious liberty and believers in the First Amendment. 

The First Baptist Church in Charleston, SC was founded and started by Baptists from Kittery, Maine.

The American Baptist Churches of the USA is headquartered in my hometown King of Prussia, PA, which is just 15 miles west of Philadelphia. 

The oldest Baptist Association in the USA was started in 1707 in Philadelphia.

Baptists have been champions of the first amendment and proponents of the no establishment of religion clause by the Government, otherwise known as “separation of church and state.”  That is the history and something that needs constant attention and discussion so that clear boundary lines are kept.  I still think that faith can and should influence culture and the public square where values and ideals are hashed out in everyday life.

So, what does it mean to be Baptist?  I can only answer that for me.  When I arrive at home, at work, at church, at the grocery store my goal and hope is to be a caring Christian who is thoughtful, tolerant, and faithful to God.  I want to be someone who can appreciate and understand the Holy Scriptures and also be someone who can dialogue with other people from all faiths.  I value the priesthood of all believers, the authority of the local church, and the separation of church and state.   To be Baptist means someone who is freely in contact with God in Christ needing no other intermediary.  There is soul freedom but it is always couched in an ethic that calls me and other Baptists to love God with all my heart, soul, and mind and to love my neighbor as myself.  Of course the old joke says, “Put 5 Baptists in a room and you will get 6 opinions.”  That is probably true.  So I present to you what I consider the strengths of the Baptist faith and how it is so diverse.  Surely it is more complicated and more diverse than maybe first assumed and I know that is a humbling thought as I think about some other belief systems and faiths such as Sikh, Muslim, and Buddhist. There is much yet to learn for sure. 

We Are Meant to be Free

Now the Lord is the Spirit, and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is freedom.  (2 Corinthians 3:17)

 

If I could give one gift to everyone in the world I would give freedom.  I would give freedom so that others would be able to freely work, worship, serve, lead, and administrate their lives.  Freedom is so important.  It makes people unbound, uncontrolled and set loose to do what people are meant to do.  Granted freedom in itself will not make us productive, loving or helpful but it is a certain starting point.  Without freedom we are not able to truly follow the Spirit (God) and we are unable to move and be who we are meant to be.  With freedom we can dream, we can change our minds and we can rethink solutions for problems.  With freedom there are less hindrances and ties to unhelpful anchors or stumbling blocks.  Freedom gives us the air under our wings to fly and to become. Freedom is like oxygen.  Without freedom we can lose breath and lose spirit and lose life. 

 

I believe that our spiritual journeys have built in struggles.  In those struggles and pain we can learn to grow and learn to be free.  We can use the St Francis saying (summarized), “accept the things that we can’t change and change the things we can.”  Change can bring freedom.  Freedom allows us to grow and to follow our heartfelt desires and goals. 

 

Are you free?  I hope so.  I am free.  I am free to live, to work, to worship and to love and help others.  Freedom gives me the ability to do these meaningful tasks of life.  I love being free.  It is a gift from God. May God grant all who struggle the freedom they need to become and do what they are meant to be and do. 

Picking Up the Pieces

 

Most everyone knows that the Head Ball Coach Steve Spurrier resigned as head coach.  You do know he resigned and didn’t retire, right?  I am not sure that mattered to anyone other than the HBC but sometimes wording and “spin” are important in making a point.  I will miss him.  He did more for the University of SC than many former coaches combined times ten.

Coach Shawn Elliott was named interim coach.  I thought he did a great job.  I followed him on Twitter and noticed that his wife tweeted a “thank you” note to him for a great job of “picking up the pieces” of the team after the HBC resigned.  I agree with Mrs. Elliott.  Well said mam and well deserved for Shawn.  Coach Elliott really did pick up the pieces and served the Gamecocks in admirable fashion as they moved on “Spurrier-less.”  Changes have a way of deconstructing the established structures and after 10 years of leadership that is a lot of structure that can come undone.  Yet Coach Elliott worked to bring the team together and to help them revision and remission their goal as a team.

Sometimes we have to pick up the pieces in our lives.  That can mean job changes, coping with the death of beloved pets, moving to a new state, becoming an “empty nester,” retirement, divorce, relationship changes, and even changing faith communities.  Loss is always around and a woven piece of fabric in our daily lives.  No one is immune to loss.

We are not without hope though.  We can build love, faith, hope, joy, and beauty into our lives and these spiritual values can help us create resiliency for the current loss and resiliency for losses that await us in the future.  I have had my fair share of losses.  I have done my fair share of weight lifting and exercise (not so much lately) and I know that today’s workout will help me with tomorrow’s workout.  Exercise and workout today leads to greater strength and resiliency for tomorrow.  As we pick up the pieces, may we grow stronger, wiser, and even savvier with the hope of achieving the good goals of peace, happiness, and having a new purpose and new mission in life.

20 Something: Growing Up Emotionally and Spiritually is not for the Faint of Heart



 



My adult children are now ages 26, 24, 21, and 19.    I recently shared with them that some of my most challenging and difficult days in life were in my 20’s.  I left home at the young age of 18 and have been gone ever since after joining the US Air Force right out of high school. It was a good way but a hard way to grow up—quickly.   I struggled to work through relationship building, spiritual connectedness, relating to parents and in-laws and finding my way in and through the emerging ministry world that I was entering.   I have attempted to relay some of my struggle so that my kids and even others their age can know the normalcy of growing pains as a twenty-something.  I can even say that my most challenging decades of my life were my 20’s and 30’s. 

The past year I have talked with my mother (age 76) about the role and job of a grandparent.  I wonder about that role having not yet entered into it but I certainly hope to do so one day.  I suggested to my mom that grandparents have many roles but one important one is helping and guiding their grandchildren as much as the kids want and as much as grandparents are invited to do so.  It’s a great mix.  Elder wisdom meets younger adults looking to explore their world with great energy while having a foundation that anchors each young adult to faith, family, and elder wisdom. 

Let it be known that grandkids don’t always stay age 2.  I know that sounds obvious but it is an important point.  They are cute but they also grow up and need a new kind of grandparent wisdom, direction, and even spiritual guidance.   Influence is earned and invited as people trust and love one another.  I am very blessed to have four young adults and one living grandparent even as I write today.  All of my grandparents are now gone yet their influence (some more than others) stays with me.  It’s up to the young adults and grandparents of the world to connect, encourage and learn from each other.  What a great challenge with such promise and gift.  It will probably not be easy but most things worth earning are not easy to attain or achieve and twenty-somethings connecting with grandparents is probably one of those. 

Body and Soul: Creating a Life of Integrity

The other day I asked a couple of our emergency department radiological technicians if the CT SCAN machine can detect the patient’s soul in the CT.  I said it in a joking manner to lighten the moment of a usually stressful work environment.  I work at a large, downtown academic medical center that is a level 1 trauma center.  It is very common for patients to have a CT following a car accident or other traumatic event. 

This week is Pastoral Care Week and the theme is “Pastoral Care Together.” The theme is all about health care workers assessing and meeting the spiritual and pastoral care needs of patients, families, and staff.   All clinicians are empowered to assess spiritual needs of families and to call upon the chaplains and clergy to help meet those needs.  It is a shared work.  Together we meet the physical and spiritual needs of patients. 

In Genesis 1:31, we read:   “God saw everything that he had made, and indeed, it was very good. And there was evening and there was morning, the sixth day.”  This is one of my favorite verses because the created order, and especially human beings, are declared “Very Good.”  I affirm this important idea because we are amazing physiological and spiritual beings.  It is amazing that the body works and performs in an effective and efficient manner.  Humans can run, analyze data, create art, and learn new things every day.  Yet, that is not the whole story.  The narrative of humanity also includes living faithfully as persons who can offer unconditional love, forgiveness, mercy, friendship, and hospitality to strangers, family members, hospital patients and friends.  Living is more than just a physical experience or just a spiritual experience.  I propose that we continue to cherish and tend to our bodies and our souls as one.  In our human “oneness” and integrity we truly find and become fully spiritual and fully human and it’s an amazing way to live.  You are truly Very Good!