A Necessary Dissatisfaction

"How does one transition from the survival dance to the sacred dance? Let me tell you how it starts. Did you know the first half of life has to fail you? In fact, if you do not recognize an eventual and necessary dissatisfaction (in the form of sadness, restlessness, emptiness, intellectual conflict, spiritual boredom, or even loss of faith, etc.), you will not move on to maturity. You see, faith really is about moving outside your comfort zone, trusting God’s lead, instead of just forever shoring up home base. Too often, early religious conditioning largely substitutes for any real faith." 
   -Richard Rohr, Loving the Two Halves of Life: The Further Journey

A necessary dissatisfaction!  This gets my attention.  Rohr is proclaiming that this necessary dissatisfaction that comes to us in our times of sadness, restlessness, spiritual boredom, and loss of faith are necessary if we are to mature in our faith.  In the midst of your emptiness, sadness, and doubt have you ever thought these were necessary steps leading you to a deeper and stronger faith?  In the middle of such experiences we pray for God to remove these burdens.  Perhaps our prayer should be to move through them!  To embrace them.  To learn from them.  To be transformed by them. 

This really speaks to me for I have experienced all these realities that make up what Rohr calls "necessary dissatisfaction."  I am reading a book by Margaret Johnston called "Faith Beyond Belief."  She writes that feelings of the absence of God or even doubting God's existence are simply important stages on the way to a more mature and grounded faith.  I love it when what I am hearing and reading dovetails together to speak to my soul.

So it may be possible that the lousy feelings you are experiencing just might be part of your necessary dissatisfaction.  And rather than removing them or escaping them God may be urging you to move through them to a new kind of faith on the other side of our discomfort zone!

Grace Always,
Dave

How Would You Describe "Fun"?

A couple of weeks ago I was alone at our cabin in the woods north of Willow working on a building project.  I really enjoy looking at space and designing something creative that improves functionality with minimal cost.  For example, my son, Ryan and I, cut dead spruce trees, debarked them, and built a couple of small shelters at the cabin this summer.  I have to say that such projects are "fun" for me.  So this got me thinking about the difference between fun and happiness and joy.

Even though I was working in pouring rain for 5 hours I was having fun!  And I was happy!  And when I connected these feelings to God I experienced pure joy.  And that joy led to gratitude to God for a mind that creates and a body that still works to bring a design to completion.

So, can adults have "fun"?  What is work to one person may be fun to another.  It seems to me that fun, happiness, and joy are interconnected.  For me, though, joy runs deep within my soul.  God is a fun God whose joyful heart delights in seeing us use our God-given gifts in creative and playful ways.

Grace Always,
Dave

Praying for Peace in Syria

I have a prayer list on my smart phone.  As crises arise such as earthquakes, wars, famines, fires these terrible events that cause human suffering have come and gone from my prayer list.  But one thing has remained on my list for the past 40 years...peace in the Middle East.

Last Saturday I joined Pope Francis' and Bishop Grant's call to fast and pray for peace in Syria.  Each hunger pang was a reminder to think and pray for the people of Syria.  I was working on a building project at our cabin in the rain.  When I thought about my physical hunger I redirected that thought to the many refugees who fled the civil war to the many camps across the border.  My discomfort paled in comparison to theirs.

While I don't agree with President Obama's desire for a limited military strike on Syria I do appreciate his courage to have this debate.  Today it appears that through a candid answer to a reporter's question Secretary Kerry may have unknowingly started us down a path towards a peaceful resolution to the immediate crisis. 

Was this apparent change of course the result of millions of people fasting and praying for peace?  I can't answer that.  But I believe that the course of history can be changed when God's people join together praying and voicing their deep desire for all people to live in peace.

Grace Always,
Dave

Asking Questions in Church

I spoke at length today with an old UM pastor-friend.  We talked theology, societal needs, and ministry in the Church.  We have some of the same questions about God and the Church.  Together we wondered how safe people feel in our churches to ask certain questions. 

For example, I envision a safety continuum something like this.

    SAFE__________________________________________________UNSAFE
           1          2          3          4          5          6          7          8          9          10

How safe would it be in your church if someone asked, "What's wrong with a non-literal view of the Bible?"  Would this be a 1 or 2?

How about this one?  "Is Jesus really the only way to God?"  In your church would this rate a 2, 6, or 9? 

I suppose what I am raising here is not only questions, but statements about our faith that appear to contradict orthodox Christianity.  I recall a time in seminary when I questioned the virgin birth of Jesus.  A family member was deeply concerned that I was losing my faith. 

I have always contended that any question should be honored and faced within the Church.  One of the reasons that the Church is declining is exactly because people have not felt the freedom and safety to ask their questions within the Church.  It is possible that some questions are viewed as a threat to mainstream Christianity?

If the message of our faith is going to speak to new generations we need to not fear the questions.  For it is in the dialogue that historical truth begins to make sense to those who doubt.  It is in the holy conversations that the traditionalists among us can include a new insight here and there.

I, for one, pray for our churches to be safe places where questions can be honored and respectful debate can take place.

Grace Always,
Dave

Worshiping with Alaska Lutherans

Last Sunday I had a rare treat...the opportunity to lead worship at Good Shepherd Lutheran Church in Wasilla.  The ELCA and UMC have a full communion agreement which means that clergy can be shared between the two denominations.  Pastor Duane Hanson who has served this congregation for 24 years retired last month.  Not only was I needed to preach and preside over communion, but I baptized a baby.

Here are a few of my observations.  I cannot say how many of them are unique to Good Shepherd or present in most ELCA congregations.
1. The very first part of worship was confession.
2. The baptism was done in the back of the sanctuary at the font.
3. Children were invited to sit on the floor next to the font to witness and participate in the baptism.
4. The Lord's Prayer is virtually identical to the UM version.
5. They use wine, juice, leavened bread, and offer gluten free wafers for communion.
6. They all come to the table with open hands to receive the bread.
7. During the offering the children walk forward to place their offerings in a large barn bank.
8. They love to laugh.
9. They do announcements at the very end of the worship.

I was most struck by how they received communion with open hands.  Every one made eye contact with me to listen to the words, "The body of Christ given for you."  It was a holy time for me.

I can't help but think that worshiping with Christians from other traditions now and then helps advance the kingdom of God in this world.  I give thanks to God, to Good Shepherd Lutheran Church, and Bishop Shelley Wickstrom for the grace shown me in recognizing my leadership.

Grace Always,
Dave

Different Frames

Being a systems person I am always asking bigger questions when confronted with an issue or conflict.  For example, in one church conflict I kept asking, "Is it possible that the Alaskan climate, especially during our long, cold, dark winters is contributing in significant ways to this conflict?" 

I do the same thing with theology.  All of our beliefs about God come from somewhere.  We can say they come from the Bible, but it is our interpretation that has been shaped by how we have been raised or what we are reading.  We can say they come from our experiences, but these often have meanings we and others impose on them.  We can say they come from our own thinking, but our thoughts about God are never pure, having been shaped by other forces. 

So I find myself backing up when I have thoughts about God.  What is the larger picture or frame I am looking through to think this way about God?  Maybe, just maybe, my frame needs adjusting.  Or perhaps I need to peer through a totally different frame.

Marcus Borg in his book, "Speaking Christian," talks about two frames of Christianity.  The predominant and historic one he calls "Heaven and Hell" and the other "Historical-Metaphorical".  I don't think Borg uses this example but a good one is the flat earth view that existed centuries ago.  We become attached to our big picture frameworks and don't give them up easily.  Think about Christians today who refuse to believe in evolution despite the evidence and cling to a literal view of the Bible.  How about Peter's dream in Acts 10 where he was persuaded to change a long standing belief and tradition of circumcision?  What did it feel like for Peter to look at new Christians through a different frame? 

What would it be like if you looked at God or the world through a frame other than the one you are currently using?  Frightening?  Unsettling?  Freeing?  Giving up our frames is not easy.  But perhaps God is not calling us to give them up completely.  Perhaps it would benefit God's purposes if we considered another frame for awhile, just for the experience of it.  We would return to our comfortable frames.  But somehow we would be transformed a bit, even looking at the world and God slightly differently than before.

Grace Always,
Dave

The Church is NOT a Building!!

I confess one of my biggest pet peeves about Christians is how we perpetuate the myth that Church = Buildings.  We know the world does it all the time.  They talk about that lovely church on Main Street.  The reason they do it is because WE do it.  I have a meeting at church tonight.  We go to First Church.  Are you going to have a church wedding?

In some annual conference sessions of the United Methodist Church appointments are announced by displaying a photo of the pastor and one of the church BUILDING.  I thought pastors were appointed to communities and churches consisting of PEOPLE. 

Perhaps one of the consequences of hundreds of years of such references is the current decline in attendance across all Christian denominations.  We are losing our identity as a living, breathing, body of Christ.  And over the course of centuries we have replaced it with the notion of nice buildings with members. 

In reality the Church of Jesus Christ lives in the hearts and minds of people who confess to be followers of Jesus who seek justice, love kindness, and walk humbly with God.  It is not a physical building.  If the building where your church meets burns down today, your church would still exist to carry out the mission of God in the world.  

So let's use our language in ways that reflect our theology.  When referring to our buildings let's say buildings.  But when we are talking about the body of Christ let's use Church.  As many of us learned in Sunday School...

The church is not a building, the church is not a steeple, the church is not a resting place, the church is a people. I am the Church, you are the Church, we are the Church together. All who follow Jesus all around the world, yes, we’re the Church together.

Grace Always,
Dave