Sometimes God gives us a phrase, a word, a riddle, a verse, a song, or some other little nugget that we are not sure what to do with. We feel that it’s from God, it gets stuck in our psyche or spirit, but try as we may we cannot make any sense of it. For the past several weeks the three words “singularity of focus” have been reverberating in my mind to the point of annoyance and distraction. I thought it might be from God, but then again thought if it was that I wish He would help me make heads or tails of it or remove it from my consciousness.
I wondered if I had read this phrase somewhere recently and that it just stuck with me. I wondered what possible meanings it could have for me. I thought of the events in my life in light of these three words and came up with a multitude of possible meanings, but I felt certain that while these solutions were possible that they were not actually what God intended. I would convince myself that it meant to doggedly focus on paperwork, or seminary papers and study, or self-development, or health and fitness (that’d be more miracle than focus). I would reason that it meant that whatever I do that I am to do with all my heart, and while that sounded great, I knew it was not quite the meaning God intended.
Despite school assignments and work obligations and a new book referral from a friend, I found myself reading a classic - Watchman Nee’s Spiritual Authority. This is the kind of work that elicits inner-wrestling of the mind and soul. At once I would agree but not like his inferences. You know a book is good if you find yourself in an inner quarrel or questioning what you believe or what the author believes, basically if it forces you to think or challenge your beliefs. This is such a book by such an author.
His premise appears to be that God is the Source and all authority comes from Him. Pretty basic stuff. . .so far, so good, but then he goes off and implies that our reasoning, our thoughts, our feelings, and our beliefs if not directed by God are sin. At this point, my mind began doing the very things Nee was warning against. I began reasoning with God about how it was He that had given me a mind to reason, to think, to believe and now this super-spiritually-credentialed-tested-in-the-fire dude was telling me to stop. But, God, what about my thoughts and feelings that I intend to bring honor to you? What about the reasoning I employ when counseling a client? What about the things that I do – good works – in your name? What about the personal, cultural, meaningful beliefs and opinions that I hold dear as part of my identity? What if to the Nth degree. . . but there is no reasoning with God.
Singularity of focus. What? You again? What’s with this singularity of focus? But, before I could completely get these questions before God, I already knew . . . and this time I knew for sure. It goes back to the very familiar verse in Matthew (6:33). Seek ye first the kingdom of God. But, why didn’t God just say that instead of this singularity of focus business? I would have tuned Him out. I have heard “seek ye first” my entire life. Powerful as the inspired word of God, it had become routine to me. God sneaked it to me through a back-alley of mind causing me to wonder if it was a stray word, intriguing and familiar to my ears yet uncertain in meaning. But, why did it take me weeks to get it? Again, if it had been an instantaneous spiritual zinger, it would have been over as soon as it had been received. I would have likely given it an, “Oh, that’s nice, Seek ye first again” and dismissed it in search of something more current, more relevant to my present situation/s.
As much as I would have loved an obscure verse from deep within a forgotten Old Testament passage, I got Matthew 6:33. Again. Apparently, there is still something that I am not getting. “Seek first God’s kingdom and what God wants. Then all your other needs will be met as well,” Matt 6:33 (New Century Version). The subtitle starting in verse 25 is “Don’t Worry.” Don’t worry about what you’re going to eat, drink, or wear (i.e. finances, job, provision, plans, etc). Lilies of the field, birds of the air, etc. The immediate verses preceding the actual “seek ye first” text are dealing with distractions of focus. Seemingly relevant, important distractions, I might add. Verse 32 stung me like never before, too - “The people who don’t know God keep trying to get these things. . .” So, if I am still trying to get these things, wouldn’t the implication be that I don’t know God? Obviously, I know God well enough to have received my salvation and to be in relationship with Him, but if I am continuing to stress over details then there is a part of me that has not experienced God’s complete truth.
I think I may hang out here in spiritual kindergarten for a bit.
Monday, November 29, 2010
Wednesday, November 24, 2010
Plenty of Jesus to Go Around
I cannot remember a time when I did not consider myself a Christian, but only within the past several years have I had a relationship with God. Religion and relationship are no equal. I was religious long before I was spiritual, at least I thought more in terms of religiosity than in terms of spirituality.
I believe we are spiritual beings, but that most of us do not routinely recognize the spirit within. We recognize our feelings and emotions on varying levels, but the human spirit has long been neglected in our American culture. As much as it looks and seems as if I'm about to rip off a blog about spiritual formation, I am not. I am simply setting the stage to say that we are spiritual beings who have spiritual longings for a Higher Power and that we will seek until we are fulfilled, be it in substances, addictions, world religions, academia, sports, human relationships, video games, culture, media, Lady Gaga, what-have-you. . . we will seek to fill the spiritual void. We are designed to need God and will allow someone or something be god of us.
When I began to take Jesus seriously and devote my life to Him, I was scared to death of what that might mean. I could not find nary a denomination whose doctrine I agreed with completely. I found precious few Christians who shared my world-view. Church, religion, and Christian sub-culture were huge spiritual-buzz kills to me. Here I was with a new, passionate devotion to Jesus . . . but I was all dressed up with nowhere to go.
Christian counsel on the subject was lacking: "Suck it up, just choose a denomination that best suits you"; "You're gonna have to forfeit your progressive political views if you're an evangelical"; "You don't have to agree with everything they say"; "You're going to have to overlook a few things"; "Well, just keep quiet and don't broadcast your views."
My interpretation of the above was: You best fit in. The rules and culture are already in place. Keep your mouth shut when you don't agree. Sign on the dotted line.
Uh, no. I'm in love with Jesus - the Way, the Truth, the Life. I am not in love with Christian sub-culture or denominational by-laws. In an age of pedophile priests, church cover-ups, gazillionaire pop-celebrity preachers with private jets, and denominations who have just recently under much pressure officially apologized for their role in slavery, I am not going to be pressured into signing anyone's dotted line nor drink their kool-aid (or grape juice, depending on church tradition - ha).
I know Christians today who think that if you don't belong to their particular church, that you're condemned. I know Christians today who think you have to vote Conservative to be right with God. I know Christians today who have a blanket negative outlook on poor people regardless of their situation. I know Christians today who push for all Believers to home-school. I know Christians today who are racist, sexist, and just plain mean.
There are broad social movements within Christian sub-culture that presents Christianity as an Us-vs-Them. Us=Saved, righteous, conservative, better Vs. Them=Lost, worldly, secular, liberal.
Let me be clear: I am not trying to convert anyone to my way of thinking. If you feel compelled to vote straight-ticket R, then I think that is absolutely what you should do (just preferably the day after the election). If you feel compelled to home-school, then go for it. If you choose to align yourself socially with a certain movement, then have at it. Seriously, I think that we should do as we feel led or as we discern best for ourselves and our families, but what about everyone else?
Several preacher friends and Christian counselor friends of like mind have shared with me recent studies, statistics of what the word 'evangelical' means in today's culture. Most Americans associate this word with politics. What?! You can't tell me that the church that Jesus died for has become. . . Fill in your own blanks, but have we let a social movement and a political party become the mouthpiece for Jesus. Isn't that our calling?
What's burdens me the most is what about those on the outside? What about someone who would love Jesus, but they can't see Him in us because we have secluded ourselves in million-dollar sanctuaries, home-schools and private schools, elite social circles with people that look just like us, and are predominantly represented by one political party. I'm picturing an SUV with a Jesus fish and just the right bumper sticker at a country club church in the 'nice' part of town. . .
Just consider that you are on the outside and you have a lifelong deep hunger for more and you might just be receptive to accepting Jesus Christ, but His followers have said hateful things about homosexuals and your daughter is gay. What if they've left your school district in droves and built a beautiful school out by the country club where you could never afford to send your children. What if the Christian neighbor kid berated your child for watching Harry Potter? What if evangelical lady at the office opines loudly and vehemently about abortion and you had one as a teenager? What if (right or wrong) you respect the President of the United States, but all your Christian friends say horrible, hateful, mean things about him that you've never been able to get them to substantiate?
Again, I think we should all believe as we are led and act accordingly. I'm not asking anyone to think like me, vote like me, church like me, pray like me, but can we as Christians give some thought to others outside of evangelical Christianity? We have a world at our fingertips that would absolutely love Jesus if they were to ever recognize Him or see Him in us, but I fear that too often they see elitists, they see conservatives, they see separatists, they see social clubs, but not the Christ-in-us!
We are called, commanded actually, to love God and love others. Nowhere are we told to convert to a particular denomination, movement, political orientation, but we are called to love. There are hurting, spiritually wounded people in our sphere of influence who desperately need a Savior, but we're offering them politics, subculture, divisive opinions, and a lot of nonsense. It's clear that the vast majority of evangelical Christians are aligned with a general movement. I don't necessarily disagree with them on many issues nor do I think they're wrong on these issues, but while evangelicals have done a superb job of rallying the saved to be united, they have done a crappy job of presenting themselves and their message of the GOOD NEWS to others. Kudos for some organizational skills and taking over a political party and positioning them to do legislatively what the church is called to do relationally, BUT what about the others? The world gets a big dose of how right we think we are, how saved we think we are, but do they get any sense that we represent a Savior that died for them and wants to fulfill their deepest needs in this life and eternally?
Let's pray that despite our politics, worldviews, biases, and beliefs about government that we as Christians can unite and expose the world to Christ - not our culturally skewed, watered-down version of Him. Let's not send any perverted message that you must look like, think like, vote like, dress like US to be saved. John 3:16, "For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life." For God so loved the white people? No. The conservative people? No. Actually, yes, but EVERYBODY else, too. The world.
The Lord's Prayer models for us that we are to pray that His will be done on earth as it is in Heaven. We are called to love God and others - all others. Social movements come and go. Earthy kingdoms come and go. Jesus is forever. Let's not keep Him to ourselves. There's plenty of Jesus to go around.
I believe we are spiritual beings, but that most of us do not routinely recognize the spirit within. We recognize our feelings and emotions on varying levels, but the human spirit has long been neglected in our American culture. As much as it looks and seems as if I'm about to rip off a blog about spiritual formation, I am not. I am simply setting the stage to say that we are spiritual beings who have spiritual longings for a Higher Power and that we will seek until we are fulfilled, be it in substances, addictions, world religions, academia, sports, human relationships, video games, culture, media, Lady Gaga, what-have-you. . . we will seek to fill the spiritual void. We are designed to need God and will allow someone or something be god of us.
When I began to take Jesus seriously and devote my life to Him, I was scared to death of what that might mean. I could not find nary a denomination whose doctrine I agreed with completely. I found precious few Christians who shared my world-view. Church, religion, and Christian sub-culture were huge spiritual-buzz kills to me. Here I was with a new, passionate devotion to Jesus . . . but I was all dressed up with nowhere to go.
Christian counsel on the subject was lacking: "Suck it up, just choose a denomination that best suits you"; "You're gonna have to forfeit your progressive political views if you're an evangelical"; "You don't have to agree with everything they say"; "You're going to have to overlook a few things"; "Well, just keep quiet and don't broadcast your views."
My interpretation of the above was: You best fit in. The rules and culture are already in place. Keep your mouth shut when you don't agree. Sign on the dotted line.
Uh, no. I'm in love with Jesus - the Way, the Truth, the Life. I am not in love with Christian sub-culture or denominational by-laws. In an age of pedophile priests, church cover-ups, gazillionaire pop-celebrity preachers with private jets, and denominations who have just recently under much pressure officially apologized for their role in slavery, I am not going to be pressured into signing anyone's dotted line nor drink their kool-aid (or grape juice, depending on church tradition - ha).
I know Christians today who think that if you don't belong to their particular church, that you're condemned. I know Christians today who think you have to vote Conservative to be right with God. I know Christians today who have a blanket negative outlook on poor people regardless of their situation. I know Christians today who push for all Believers to home-school. I know Christians today who are racist, sexist, and just plain mean.
There are broad social movements within Christian sub-culture that presents Christianity as an Us-vs-Them. Us=Saved, righteous, conservative, better Vs. Them=Lost, worldly, secular, liberal.
Let me be clear: I am not trying to convert anyone to my way of thinking. If you feel compelled to vote straight-ticket R, then I think that is absolutely what you should do (just preferably the day after the election). If you feel compelled to home-school, then go for it. If you choose to align yourself socially with a certain movement, then have at it. Seriously, I think that we should do as we feel led or as we discern best for ourselves and our families, but what about everyone else?
Several preacher friends and Christian counselor friends of like mind have shared with me recent studies, statistics of what the word 'evangelical' means in today's culture. Most Americans associate this word with politics. What?! You can't tell me that the church that Jesus died for has become. . . Fill in your own blanks, but have we let a social movement and a political party become the mouthpiece for Jesus. Isn't that our calling?
What's burdens me the most is what about those on the outside? What about someone who would love Jesus, but they can't see Him in us because we have secluded ourselves in million-dollar sanctuaries, home-schools and private schools, elite social circles with people that look just like us, and are predominantly represented by one political party. I'm picturing an SUV with a Jesus fish and just the right bumper sticker at a country club church in the 'nice' part of town. . .
Just consider that you are on the outside and you have a lifelong deep hunger for more and you might just be receptive to accepting Jesus Christ, but His followers have said hateful things about homosexuals and your daughter is gay. What if they've left your school district in droves and built a beautiful school out by the country club where you could never afford to send your children. What if the Christian neighbor kid berated your child for watching Harry Potter? What if evangelical lady at the office opines loudly and vehemently about abortion and you had one as a teenager? What if (right or wrong) you respect the President of the United States, but all your Christian friends say horrible, hateful, mean things about him that you've never been able to get them to substantiate?
Again, I think we should all believe as we are led and act accordingly. I'm not asking anyone to think like me, vote like me, church like me, pray like me, but can we as Christians give some thought to others outside of evangelical Christianity? We have a world at our fingertips that would absolutely love Jesus if they were to ever recognize Him or see Him in us, but I fear that too often they see elitists, they see conservatives, they see separatists, they see social clubs, but not the Christ-in-us!
We are called, commanded actually, to love God and love others. Nowhere are we told to convert to a particular denomination, movement, political orientation, but we are called to love. There are hurting, spiritually wounded people in our sphere of influence who desperately need a Savior, but we're offering them politics, subculture, divisive opinions, and a lot of nonsense. It's clear that the vast majority of evangelical Christians are aligned with a general movement. I don't necessarily disagree with them on many issues nor do I think they're wrong on these issues, but while evangelicals have done a superb job of rallying the saved to be united, they have done a crappy job of presenting themselves and their message of the GOOD NEWS to others. Kudos for some organizational skills and taking over a political party and positioning them to do legislatively what the church is called to do relationally, BUT what about the others? The world gets a big dose of how right we think we are, how saved we think we are, but do they get any sense that we represent a Savior that died for them and wants to fulfill their deepest needs in this life and eternally?
Let's pray that despite our politics, worldviews, biases, and beliefs about government that we as Christians can unite and expose the world to Christ - not our culturally skewed, watered-down version of Him. Let's not send any perverted message that you must look like, think like, vote like, dress like US to be saved. John 3:16, "For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life." For God so loved the white people? No. The conservative people? No. Actually, yes, but EVERYBODY else, too. The world.
The Lord's Prayer models for us that we are to pray that His will be done on earth as it is in Heaven. We are called to love God and others - all others. Social movements come and go. Earthy kingdoms come and go. Jesus is forever. Let's not keep Him to ourselves. There's plenty of Jesus to go around.
Wednesday, November 10, 2010
Ashland Theological Seminary and Me
I went to junior high for the girls. I went to high school because they made me. I went to undergrad for the social life. I went to grad school for a pay increase. Now, I'm going to post-grad/seminary because I really want to know what the scholars know and I want to be educated to be an effective Christian Counselor as opposed to just another nice guy with an encouraging Scripture.
I researched doctoral programs and seminaries for years, but without finding one that resonated with me. Liberty and Regency were out because of their associations with, Falwell and Robertson, respectively. If my call was to work with Conservative white Southerners who are already Christians, then both institutions would have been excellent choices and I no doubt would have agreed with much of their theology, even if differing with their application thereof. However, I believe part of my calling is to introduce Jesus to a new generation, i.e. letting Jesus outside of the church and into the streets, the villages, the slums, the ghettos, the prisons - the world. There are plenty of people to serve in the traditional ways.
I submitted numerous applications to seminaries across the country and had phone interviews and e-mail correspondence with admissions representatives from several of these institutions with similar results. While I am a Southern white Christian male, I am not the perfect candidate for most of the programs for which I had applied. Basically, I felt as if I wasn't white enough, Baptist enough, Conservative enough, or Republican enough to be a good fit for most of these institutions. Please don't misunderstand, I have nothing against white people or Baptists - I am after all from Arkansas.
What I do have a problem with is getting the feeling that I'm being interviewed to see what parts of the Christian sub-culture I align with as opposed to the reason I want to attend a theological seminary. I was asked questions such as my position on the sanctity of life and my views about marriage. Remarkably, I believe I answered their questions in a manner that they could easily accept. The problem was that they could not answer mine. Do the writers of the Holy Spirit-inspired Bible choose two issues with which to define an entire religion? Not in my Book, so why must these seminaries? My questions to them were, Why are you not asking me about how I feel about the poor, the disenfranchised, the disabled, the suffering, the victims of heinous crimes, those who don't have clean water or access to education or healthcare, those who are routinely discriminated against, those who are in the child slave trade?
I refuse to base my Christian spirituality on a couple of hot-button cultural issues at the expense of the message of the Gospel of Jesus Christ. I have no desire to re-write or reinterpret the meaning of Scripture on these or any other issues, but I have every desire to receive a Biblically-balanced, theologically sound seminary education.
Enter: Ashland Theological Seminary.
When I discovered ATS, it was one of those times when you just know that you know. I read the curriculum and felt as if it had been written and designed with me in mind. ATS is in Ohio, though, so I thought I had a bit of a problem as there's no conceivable way outside of me seeing and hearing from a burning bush that I feel that I could leave my friends in family in M0-ARK to go to Ohio. But this program was too perfect to not pursue. It turns out that after a few preliminary online classes that I can commute to ATS campus for two weeks per semester and do the remaining doctoral coursework online from home.
I am on a slow trek towards a Doctorate of Ministry in Formational Counseling. The program I am in blends a theological seminary education with spiritual formation counseling techniques. With a doctorate of ministry, I could get credentialed to preach, but my primary call is counseling. Some of the dearest people to me that have helped foster my own spirituality have been well-versed in the Bible and I want to be able to give back some of what I have received. I also place a great deal of confidence in counseling, when administered correctly and appropriately.
The theology of ATS appears not to be too different from that of the other institutions, but my interpretation of their application of it differs greatly. For instance, in my current class, Christian Theology II, I have a female professor leading a diverse group of female and male students of numerous denominations and from various cultural, ethnic, and racial backgrounds - truly representative of the Body of Christ.
ATS was founded by the Brethren Church, but they emphasize cooperation among people of all faiths and the students and faculty are from a range of Protestant denominations or like myself claim no particular denomination. My particular program emphasizes caregiving, spiritual direction, spiritual formation, pastoral care, and Spirit-directed counseling all based upon the redemptive work of Jesus Christ.
I am being taught in such a manner that I am learning what the Orthodox, Catholic, and various Protestant traditions believe (and to some extent what other world religions believe). The truth is taught in love and I am not only allowed, but encouraged to develop my own beliefs based upon my studies. As long as I can back up my beliefs, they are accepted. No particular dogma or creed is taught to the exclusion of others. When the prof has a bias, she states it, but doesn't proselytize or pressure the students into agreeing with her.
Coming to a close in my first course, I'm already experiencing academic work as hard as any I've previously encountered. In any previous period in my education, I would have resented the demands of my time, but this time I am excited to learn and to know at least a part of what the great theologians and scholars have long known. I have long loved God with my heart, but now I am learning to complement that with a love of God with my mind.
______________________________________________________________________________________
I researched doctoral programs and seminaries for years, but without finding one that resonated with me. Liberty and Regency were out because of their associations with, Falwell and Robertson, respectively. If my call was to work with Conservative white Southerners who are already Christians, then both institutions would have been excellent choices and I no doubt would have agreed with much of their theology, even if differing with their application thereof. However, I believe part of my calling is to introduce Jesus to a new generation, i.e. letting Jesus outside of the church and into the streets, the villages, the slums, the ghettos, the prisons - the world. There are plenty of people to serve in the traditional ways.
I submitted numerous applications to seminaries across the country and had phone interviews and e-mail correspondence with admissions representatives from several of these institutions with similar results. While I am a Southern white Christian male, I am not the perfect candidate for most of the programs for which I had applied. Basically, I felt as if I wasn't white enough, Baptist enough, Conservative enough, or Republican enough to be a good fit for most of these institutions. Please don't misunderstand, I have nothing against white people or Baptists - I am after all from Arkansas.
What I do have a problem with is getting the feeling that I'm being interviewed to see what parts of the Christian sub-culture I align with as opposed to the reason I want to attend a theological seminary. I was asked questions such as my position on the sanctity of life and my views about marriage. Remarkably, I believe I answered their questions in a manner that they could easily accept. The problem was that they could not answer mine. Do the writers of the Holy Spirit-inspired Bible choose two issues with which to define an entire religion? Not in my Book, so why must these seminaries? My questions to them were, Why are you not asking me about how I feel about the poor, the disenfranchised, the disabled, the suffering, the victims of heinous crimes, those who don't have clean water or access to education or healthcare, those who are routinely discriminated against, those who are in the child slave trade?
I refuse to base my Christian spirituality on a couple of hot-button cultural issues at the expense of the message of the Gospel of Jesus Christ. I have no desire to re-write or reinterpret the meaning of Scripture on these or any other issues, but I have every desire to receive a Biblically-balanced, theologically sound seminary education.
Enter: Ashland Theological Seminary.
When I discovered ATS, it was one of those times when you just know that you know. I read the curriculum and felt as if it had been written and designed with me in mind. ATS is in Ohio, though, so I thought I had a bit of a problem as there's no conceivable way outside of me seeing and hearing from a burning bush that I feel that I could leave my friends in family in M0-ARK to go to Ohio. But this program was too perfect to not pursue. It turns out that after a few preliminary online classes that I can commute to ATS campus for two weeks per semester and do the remaining doctoral coursework online from home.
I am on a slow trek towards a Doctorate of Ministry in Formational Counseling. The program I am in blends a theological seminary education with spiritual formation counseling techniques. With a doctorate of ministry, I could get credentialed to preach, but my primary call is counseling. Some of the dearest people to me that have helped foster my own spirituality have been well-versed in the Bible and I want to be able to give back some of what I have received. I also place a great deal of confidence in counseling, when administered correctly and appropriately.
The theology of ATS appears not to be too different from that of the other institutions, but my interpretation of their application of it differs greatly. For instance, in my current class, Christian Theology II, I have a female professor leading a diverse group of female and male students of numerous denominations and from various cultural, ethnic, and racial backgrounds - truly representative of the Body of Christ.
ATS was founded by the Brethren Church, but they emphasize cooperation among people of all faiths and the students and faculty are from a range of Protestant denominations or like myself claim no particular denomination. My particular program emphasizes caregiving, spiritual direction, spiritual formation, pastoral care, and Spirit-directed counseling all based upon the redemptive work of Jesus Christ.
I am being taught in such a manner that I am learning what the Orthodox, Catholic, and various Protestant traditions believe (and to some extent what other world religions believe). The truth is taught in love and I am not only allowed, but encouraged to develop my own beliefs based upon my studies. As long as I can back up my beliefs, they are accepted. No particular dogma or creed is taught to the exclusion of others. When the prof has a bias, she states it, but doesn't proselytize or pressure the students into agreeing with her.
Coming to a close in my first course, I'm already experiencing academic work as hard as any I've previously encountered. In any previous period in my education, I would have resented the demands of my time, but this time I am excited to learn and to know at least a part of what the great theologians and scholars have long known. I have long loved God with my heart, but now I am learning to complement that with a love of God with my mind.
______________________________________________________________________________________
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