Faith Venture

People may think that a spiritual discipline is something you have to do over many hours a day. Actually, 15 minutes a day can be sufficient for many things. I am learning Spanish through an app called Duolingo. It recommends 15 minutes a day. It will send a reminder that you forgot your 15 minutes.

15 minutes a day reading directly from the Bible or other spiritual text, especially first thing in the morning, can fill your spiritual energy tank for the day. Maybe I need an app for that to send a reminder and then congratulate me for keeping up my discipline.

I love the picture from John about Jesus being the vine and we being the branches. Think of it as a system where energy flows from the root through the vine and then through the branches until fruit grows from the branches.

When I take time in the morning, then I will have better fruit during the day.

Fruit is personal–the way I live, my attitude, my interactions. Fruit is outside–my service to others. I just have to remember the source.

Last weekend I had the opportunity to worship at Willow Creek Community Church. It’s one of those “mega-churches” I write about often.

There was a great leadership lesson there aside from Bill Hybels’ teaching.

The worship team came on stage. The worship leader was at the side of the line of singers. The light came up on him to welcome everyone.

Then the worship music shifted focus to each of the singers. Even though they are professional quality they have the ability to involve everyone. It never felt like just a performance.

The important symbolic act, though, was that there was no one star. The leader made sure that everyone got some spotlight.

I thought about how that reflected the changes at the entire organization. It used to be a lot of Bill Hybels many years ago. Increasingly over the past 15 years or so he has shifted the spotlight on others. The midweek service features many of the leaders.

A true leader has the strength to allow others to take the spotlight. That’s humble leadership.

It’s 11 am in Madrid. My first trip to Spain. I just checked in to the hotel about 30 minutes ago. Time to walk a little, grab lunch, and then take a power nap.

Once I was shopping in Paris and a store clerk asked me in French if I was Spanish.

Today, even though I was speaking English at the reception desk, the manager who was escorting me to my room to show me the amenities started to ask me something in French.

I told her about the store experience. She said, well you do look Spanish.

My formula, keep your mouth shut as much as possible and smile. In Western Europe, they’ll just assume I’m one of them–at least for a while.

Actually, the same formula works anywhere in the world, even if you don’t look like a local.

Courtesy is a universal language.

There are rhythms to life. I had training as a percussionist as a child and had a time with the University of Cincinnati band. I was trained in rhythms.

So I notice.

I have a rhythm to my normal life. But traveling enforces its own. My daughter has a rhythm similar to mine. But I’m at my son’s. They have a different one. I can’t stay up until 12 CST and get up at 5:30 EST. Next week I will be in Madrid. The country of Spain has its own rhythm.

It may be one reason that the time from Thanksgiving to New Years has so many of us feeling “out of sorts”.

Our rhythm of life changes.

We try to pack in extra–visits, parties, lunches, gift shopping, travel.

No wonder that sometimes our bodies and our psyche rebel.

We’ve no doubt forgotten some basics because of the changing rhythms. When you go from a steady beat like from Handel that mirrors the body’s heart beat to a Bossa Nova, well, you’re going to notice a change.

The best course is to take a deep breath and enjoy the new rhythm while it lasts.

To my American readers–I wish you a Happy Thanksgiving.

For all my readers outside America, enjoy your day, too.

Blessings, everybody.

I am he as you are he as you are me and we are all together.

Understanding what John is saying in chapters 13-15 of his gospel can be as confusing as this thought from the Beatles song “I Am The Walrus” goo goo g’joob.

Jesus says, I’m in the Father. The Father is in me. You can be in the Father. I’m in you.

As one person in my small group said, “Why would any sane person tell a new Christian to read John? He is so deep and complicated.”

Amen.

I have been haunted by the pop psychology that grew up following Freud. It used to be rampant in university English departments. Don’t know if they still teach it. The idea is that “it’s all in your head.” There is no truth. No spirit. You and Jesus, together? It’s all in your head.

But I go back to ancient tradition. Science teaches us that if someone experiences something and writes down the event and the process, and then other people follow the experiment and find the same thing, then we have uncovered a fact–a truth.

We can read thousands of years of human experience about being one with God. They come from a variety of cultures and a variety of geographies. And they all discover the same thing.

Jesus tries to explain with the analogy of the vine. (Chapter 15) He is the vine, God the Father is the cultivator. We are branches.

This means to me that we draw our energy, spiritual food, “Living Water” from Jesus. And we bear fruit.

That makes it simple enough for me to grasp. That plus experience.

Following the spiritual disciplines in our lives helps us to come to the same experiences as those people over the past couple of thousand years.

Kind of an awesome thought.

Blaise Pascal

We do not grow tired of eating and sleeping day after day, because hunger and fatigue return; without them, we should be bored. It would be the same without hunger for spiritual things; we should be bored.

Source: Pensées, as quoted in A Third Testament

People who research such things are discovering the power of boredom. We try to fill our days with stimulation. Or we fill our kid’s days with stimulation and busyness.

It is in boredom where our mind is free to roam. We can imagine things. Explore with our minds.

Perhaps that is not quite what Pascal had in mind.

But out of boredom, God can speak to us. We are not busy. We are not filling our minds with meaningless stimulation.

As our minds explore, we can settle in on God. Get in touch with spiritual things.

Of course, Pascal took the meaning the other way.

Because we do not hunger for spiritual things, we let our lives drift in boredom.

Maybe as Jesus said, “Blessed are those who hunger and thirst after righteousness.”

If you find yourself bored, it is time to feel the hunger. Don’t fill up with junk food. Find substantial food.

I can’t analyze why I grew to this way of life. But I view women as people.

I’ve had breakfast meetings, lunch meetings, even dinner meetings with women. I have worked with women where I needed one-on-one meetings.

Never was there ever the slightest hint of extra-curricular activity.

With few exceptions, I innately trust the people I deal with or meet. Almost always (unless there are strong signals) I will trust you until you prove me wrong. And that happens.

Andy Stanley, the popular speaker and pastor, has a rule about never having any sort of meeting alone with a woman. He has never had lunch with his admin. He spoke once that he was invited to speak somewhere. He was to be met at the airport by a driver. The driver was a woman. He almost refused to get in the car. He called his wife.

I’ve recently heard that Vice President Pence has the same rule. Here is an article by a professional woman published in The New York Times about this subject from her point of view.

How demeaning that is to women.

Here’s the conundrum. Men in power use that power to gratify their sexual urges. Men in power use that power to exclude women from meaningful leadership.

One is more abusive than the other, but both attitudes miss the point. What is the common denominator? Men in power.

I think that it is scriptural to treat women as people. And other men as people.

It is possible that people with suspicious minds would try to make something of seeing a man and woman at lunch together. But in my world, it happens all the time. No big deal. Just as it shouldn’t be.

When we respect each other, life is good.