Searching For An Everyday Sacredness

My desire for this journey is to have a way of life not just a system of beliefs. In the first chapter of Finding Our Way Again McLaren discusses the need to find the sacredness in our everyday lives. It seems to me that this desire is one that comes with a cost. The cost is actually recognizing who I am and how I view the world. I say this comes with a cost because anytime I do a self reflection or analyzation of my way of thinking I come across things that I am not proud of. This is a necessary step in opening myself up to the Divine and allowing him to form my beliefs about the world and about myself. At the end of the chapter there are questions that Brian poses the induce this self reflections. I will paraphrase the questions:

1. Through your faith journey think about whether you were living with a system of beliefs or did you have a way of life.

I can say that I most assuredly had a system of beliefs. Everything in my view ever since I was a child was a black and white issue. I really never thought about Christianity in a real way. I just saw things as, you believe this and this is what happens. It was mostly about not sinning and going to heaven so as to not be "Left Behind". As a young child I actually had a moment where i thought i was left behind. I woke up one Sunday afternoon to find myself alone in the house. I became frantic because I could not find any of my siblings or my parents. I honestly believe that I was left behind, the rapture had come and I didn't make it in. I started to call everyone i knew but no one was answering the phone. I even read some of the names in my mothers phone book and decided not to call because i didn't know if they were really Christians. I remember being so scared that I would have to avoid getting a mark and run to the mountains. A few minutes later my father walks in and all was OK. My point in telling this story is that it was never a way of life it was always just a system of beliefs. This is why I am taking this journey I want God to infuse me with his Spirit to the point where i am living through Him every moment.

2. There seems to be a cold war between science and religion, which side do you find yourself on?

I actually find myself in the middle of this cold war. I do not remember what author made this statement but it went something like this: During the Enlightenment man replaced God and science replaced religion. I believe this to be true. I think what has happened is that the scientists have found some interesting things about the worlds past and present and the religious people are scared their findings might mess with some of their core fundamental beliefs. Anytime our core beliefs are scrambled we tend to react and in our reaction cause a rift in relationships. I find myself in the middle on this subject. I believe that God has given some the ability to understand the way things work and how certain things in the world and creation cause other things to happen. Instead of thinking that it is removing God I would rather say that it points to God. I am not a scientist but I am a lover of creation and if the scientist is able to give me glimpses of how the Divine put the world together, I am all for it.

3. Reflect on your ideas of a "fusion between the sacred and the secular."

I believe that in order for us to find this everyday sacredness it is imperative to see God in all that is around us. Is it possible for God to do a work through something that is not "Christian"? God is present everywhere, and that means that we will see glimpses of Him all around us. We must be open to the possibility of God in all things. I have seen clearly non-christian people do amazing things for others. Does that make what those people done any less amazing or loving or good? Absolutely not, to me it points to the fact that God is at work around us and his Spirit is doing things that we can not even begin to understand. Jesus tells Nicodemus that the Spirit is like the wind when it blows we don't know where it is coming from. I think that finding everyday sacredness is being open to the Spirit and its movements even outside of us and in the most seemingly unlikely places.

McLaren suggests ending with a prayer:
Father I look to you for guidance, I look to you for wisdom, I look to you for a way of life that is pleasing to you. Lord I want to take this journey with you looking for ways to better live my life and learn from your spirit. I believe that you have a desire to teach me so many things and in turn use me to teach others. I pray that I will be open and consistent. I pray that I will be willing to listen to the hard things. I pray that I will be able to listen at all. Lord I just commend this journey to you and pray that you will keep me going. In Jesus name Amen.

Reasoning

I have a few different reasons for this blog. I am moving to Florida in 9 days and I have set goals for myself while I am in Florida that surround writing, reading, and continuing my studies in theological ideas.

1. Over the past 5 years I have been preaching at my church and other various churches which I am sure I will not be able to do right away in Florida. I think that reading and studying and then writing about it will be another way for me to preach. I believe that God has given me the ability to listen to what his Spirit is saying and then pass that message on to others around me.

2. Another goal that I have set is to read each of the books in the Ancient Practices Series. Phyllis Tickle is the General Editor and some of the books are written by authors such as Brian McLaren, Dan Allender, and Scot McKnight. These books focus on things such as fasting, praying, and keeping the Sabbath. My plan is to write something after each paragraph.

3. My final goal is to put into practice what I am reading.

In the opening book Finding Our Way Again Brian McLaren tells the story of Dr. Peter Senge and how McLaren had to interview him. Dr. Senge asked a room full of pastors why Buddhism was more popular than Christianity. McLaren turned the question around to him and Dr. Senge's response was what moved me to rethink "my" Christianity, he said, "I think it's because Buddhism presents itself as a way of life, and Christianity presents itself as a system of beliefs. So I would want to get Christian ministers thinking about how to rediscover their own faith as a way of life, because that's what people are searching for today. That's what they need most."

I do believe that I need to listen to Dr. Senge's advice. I am excited to go on this journey and I welcome any and all comments about what was written or if you are feeling the same way.
I pray that God will use this adventure as a way of bringing me closer to him and possibly blessing other people.