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Growing up, my faith journey was all
wrapped up in the church. I went to worship every Sunday and participated in
church activities lots of other times. My father was a minister and so much of
my family life centered at the church. Now that I am an adult and my chosen
career is being a minister, a lot of my life takes place in and around church.
My career path has included being a minister of music, and minister with youth,
and the pastor of a congregation. Ironically, I am seeing more and more of my
faith journey apart from the institutional church! I suppose it would be more
accurate to say that church is just one part of my faith journey. After all,
even most of the people in my church live the vast majority of their lives away
from church stuff. To have a sense of their experience, I need to see my own
journey in a far larger context. What do the Bible and the rich
religious traditions in our world teach us that can enable us to live well as
human beings, as partners, as parents and children, as co-workers, and even as
competitors in the various venues of our lives? I think there are two deposits
of wisdom that can guide us. First, the great commandments: "Love God with all
your being" and "Love your neighbor as yourself." In every life circumstance,
each of us will be well served to weigh how our attitudes and actions reflect
our loving God, loving our neighbors, and loving
ourselves. Second, so much of what we do
rests on our own choices. We are far less dependent and victimized than many of
us often feel. In fact, the choices that shape and, in effect, create our lives
are much deeper than our thoughts or our feelings. They happen at the level of
will-of deep desire. What is it that each of us wants most fervently for our
lives and for the lives of our neighbors? What we choose will be what we create.
What we want reveals who we are and reflects God within us.
Thanks for continuing to bless me as
we journey together. Jack F. Price, Senior Pastor
If you haven't read
Jack's book Finding
Faith: Honest Answers about God, the Bible, and the Church Today
order it today: www.amazon.com or www.barnesandnoble.com
or directly from
Jack at www.findingfaithnow.com |
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