Worshipful Diaper Changing

Unfortunately, people face these problems everyday. I want to pray and read my Bible BUT...

I don't neccessarily think that means anyone is less spiritual, or that "carnality" rules their life. I think that the church mistakenly teaches people that what makes you a Godly, spiritual person is praying for an hour every morning and reading your Bible for a half hour every night.

However, if your baby is crying while you are praying--Honestly! Is your mind going to be on God or on your baby? Isn't "prayer" in that situation pointless? At that point, prayer has just become another check-off box on our "to do" list. we teach "doing" not "meaning"

"Doing" not "Meaning"
What do I mean by that? I think that we teach we have to do "devotional things" in one certain way. There's only one option, and, whether or not it works for your life--tough! You'll just have to deal!

But if your heart isn't engaged while reading your Bible or praying, you might as well not even waste your time! BUT if you are writing a paper, or changing a diaper, and your thoughts are on God, and your heart is full of praise to Him...

I ask you-which is better? Mindless, distracted Bible reading, or worshipful diaper changing?

How do I fit God in my life?

Don't Do the "Do"

Barb represents just about every person in this country. Our society is so fast-paced and busy that we don’t know where to fit God in. One lesson that I am learning more and more is that you can’t "do" thirty minutes of prayer and "do" fifteen minutes of Bible reading and say, “I’m ok, I’ve 'done' my spiritual time for today.”

I heard one Christian radio announcer say that you shouldn’t refer to your prayer life but rather your prayer-lifestyle. I am not saying that you shouldn’t set aside a time of prayer and devotion each day because it is very important to do that, but it is also very important to strive to incorporate God into every part of our day.

It's Easier Than You Think Sometimes

For example, a friend of mine prays while ironing her husband's clothes. I also know a lady who prays while cleaning house. A simple answer for Barb could be to fix her baby a bottle and sing (many babies fall asleep to singing) praises to God while rocking her baby back to sleep.

Tear Down This Wall!

Facts:

1. Life is busy

2. Life will always be busy.

3. God knows both facts.

As a result of these three facts, we strivers after 'true spirituality' must learn how to retain our call to worship, in the midst of inevitable busyness, otherwise we run the risk of becoming nothing more than complacent individuals.

The Solution of the Facts:
I'm going to have to agree with Nathan on this one. Balance is so key on this teeter-totter that we call life. However, I don't particularly care for the word 'balance'. For me, such imagery instantly creates a separation of 'my-life' and 'my-spiritual life', a picket fence we must carefully straddle, and us humans don't really have good balance.

A problem arises when you constrict 'my-spiritual time' only to times when we're praying or at church. Barb is a perfect example. She's left feeling guilty for no reason. She's done nothing wrong, yet she feels guilty because of it. This should not be the case.

Do the "Loving" Thing

It's been mentioned already, but "pray without ceasing" and "true worshipers" do not portray an image of separation between 'my life' and 'my spiritual life'. Rather, they portray an image of consistent acknowledgment of God's existence and presence in everything we do, even while Barb is changing her baby's diaper. Jesus told us to love. Now, nobodyI know likes sitting in a poopy diaper, so changing her baby's diaper is, for Barb, an act of love.

The Oxford American Dictionary lists 'steadiness' as a synonym for balance. Through all of life's valleys and mountains, we must remain steady. When we lose our balance and fall (it will happen) the truly spiritual person will gather their senses, get back up, and resume their steady walk with God.

Demolition Derby
I'm proposing a fun little spiritual 'demolition' exercise. Let's tear down the mental wall between 'my life' and 'my spiritual life'. Getting up early and making it to work on time is holy. Feeding your baby because she's hungry is holy. Praying is holy. Making dinner for your husband or wife who worked all day is holy. Getting good grades in school is holy. Fasting is holy. Everything done to the glory of God is holy. Go find a sledgehammer...

WHAT A WEEK I'VE HAD TODAY!

The Problem
So let's see, I had six classes today, homework tonight, and I'm sick. I've been going non-stop since 7:00 this morning--I guess it's a good thing that I have church in a couple of hours or I don't know where my "God-time" would come from...right? Wrong. Yeah, I've been there before. I remember the times when my life was stretched so thin I just got burned out. It actually seems that my life is a bit empty compared to what it used to entail, and yet I'm still just as stressed!

I have a problem: I am focusing so hard on living for God, that I am completely neglecting the fact that I should be living with Him.

The Solution

How on Earth do I go about living with God? Well, for me, it's totally going against everything that I was taught as a child (or so it seems). You know, when growing up I watched the people that came to church expecting to get their weekly "God-fix." They would go to the altar, cry, pray for someone, sing the closing chorus and go home for the week--they forgot God at the altar and attempted to "live for Him" during the following days. But every week they were in the same position: cry, pray, sing, forget...cry, pray, sing, forget...what a vicious cycle.

There Was an Old Lady...

I remember an elderly lady that went to my church. Every time I would get to church, she would already be knelt down in her pew praying to her God. When she left the service, you knew she wasn't leaving her God, He was going with her. She had found a relationship with him that superseded every other aspect of her life. The conversations that she had in prayer weren't her only communication with God; the time she spent knelt in his presence wasn't her only time near him. She lived with her God.

What About Me?

What am I to do? I'm sure we've all tried to manage our time wisely in order to "make" time for God, but the simple fact is, is that you can't do that everyday. I, instead, have made it my choice to endeavor to live with my God. I wish to be in constant communion with him.

I'm having church all week.

"Making Time"

Walking the Tightrope . . .

I have one word for Barb: "Balance!" It is an absolute must for success in serving God, at our jobs, in our families.

Now, there are going to be times that we are too busy to even think. Sometimes life just gets out of control! But in those insane moments, we MUST step back and ask ourselves, "What could I do that would help me be a better steward of my time?"

Let's Get Real . . .Honest

Barb's position as wife and mother doesn't allow a lot of time for other things. But I also know that, for myself, there have been times that I said I was been too busy to read my Bible or pray. But actually, when the day is over, I look back I realize that I could have done a few things differently.

Instead of talking on the phone I could have been reading my Bible. Instead of sitting around chatting it up with my friends (about nothing in particular), I could have spent that time in prayer. We ALL have more time for those things than we think we do.

Living in a "State" of Prayer

Paul said we must "pray without ceasing". I think that means that we are thinking constantly about spiritual things. Our first calling was to give Jesus everything. So in our walk with God we must be seeking after those things, even if we don't "have time". I believe that we must make time. Making time is the first sacrifice of our own will do His will.

Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde

In response to the question:

When I think about the questions posed for "Barb", my instinct says there is a difference between your "spiritual life" and your "normal" life. In other words, my devotional life doesn't have to correlate to my regular life. I make time to pray, to fast, to read my Bible, but the rest of the day is mine.

Living this way is really living a double life . . .a "spiritual" Doctor Jekyll/Mr. Hyde. During the day, he helped people live and enriched his surroundings, and at night he destroyed what he had done during the day. This "spiritual schizophrenia" is how we become frozen in apathy, inaction, and lukewarmness. The cure? Read on!

Worship is the Way We Live . . .
Paul writes that we are to exhibit the fruits of the Spirit. He did not however, tell them to have a prayer time, Bible-reading time, etc, but instead exhorted to "pray without ceasing" and to "study to show thyself approved unto God". These principles must be carried with us throughout our entire day in every action.

When Jesus told the Samaritan woman at the well that true worshipers would worship in Spirit and in truth, the word"worship" pictures a journey, specifically a pilgrimage one would make to Jerusalem for festal sacrifice. The life of worship the Jews led was one of continual devotion (reciting Scripture all day long) and special acts of devotion (pilgrimage and sacrifice). In contemporary society, we do not take pilgrimages or make sacrifices (it may be argued that we should do so). However, every action, every word should be offered as worship to the Lord. The Bible refers to this as "walking in the Spirit". It is only as this becomes a reality in our lives that we can say, "Yes, I am a true worshiper."

Here's A Question

A Hypothetical . . .

I'm thinking of a lady named Barbara, who has, say, a 2 year old and a six month old baby. She's reading our blog and has decided that she really wants to be closer to God, so she embarks on our little project.

At the top of her spiritual goals list is HAVE DAILY DEVOTIONS FOR AN HOUR A DAY in big bold letters. She wakes up Monday morning at 6 (after going to bed shortly after 12:30-she had to make sure that her husband's work clothes were washed and ironed), spends a half hour reading her Bible. Seven minutes into her half-hour of prayer, her 6 month old starts to whimper. He's hungry . . . or will be very shortly.

This is a "choose your own adventure" question. Should she . . .

a) Pray as long and as fast as she can until the baby's cries become deafening

b)try to set a landspeed record for making a bottle/feeding a baby so she can squeeze in her last 10 minutes of prayer before the 2 year old awakens

c) Just go feed the baby and hope to "make up" that 23 minutes of promised prayer time before midnight

What's Wrong With This Picture?

Now, I know you all aren't parents yet, but don't these options strike you as "all wrong"? How can you pray for God to make you a more loving person while your baby is screaming in hunger in the next room? Here's your sign! Or do you think that God's going to dock you "salvation points" if you don't do your "make up" work in prayer time? Are you so set on the Super Deluxe Extra Spiritual model of the "Heavenly Crown" that you can't settle for just the Deluxe Spiritual model (sterling silver instead of 24 karat gold)?

Ok, ok, I'm being silly (which is, as anyone who's ever been in my class will tell you, my pedagogical specialty). But here's what I see as a thread in all these answers-a vast dichotomy between my "devotional" life and my "daily" life.

Now, ya'll find this out soon enough, but once "mw/c" (married with children), "quiet" or "personal" time is very scarce.

Helping Barbara Out . . .

Is there the teensiest possibility that Barb could pray, "Lord, my baby's crying; I've got to go take care of him . . ." with the understanding that being a good parent is very spiritual? it is, in fact, what we were created to be before God ever called any of us to any sort of "ministry". Why can't "daily" duties be acts of "devotion"? I'm convinced worship is not a Sunday service but a way of life.

The other resultant problem I see is that this "daily duties/devotional acts" dichotomy serves to reduce "spirituality" to a series of acts rather than an orientation of the heart (Paul says we either "walk after" the Spirit or the flesh-that refers to the overall direction, not the locations of our lives.)

Thinking Ahead

I'm sort of asking you to project yourselves 5 years into the future when you're "mw/c" and tell me what will your "spirituality" look like then when kids are demanding almost every second of your attention? You're already starting to experience the tension of, "You know, I'd really like to spend 2 hours a day in prayer, but I've got a paper due tomorrow . . ." Can working on a paper for class be done in a spiritually nurturing and uplifting way?

Don't Just Think It . . . Live It!

Hi, it's me!

My name is Kayla Michelle Culberson. I am a junior at Gateway College of Evangelism, majoring in Pastoral Studies and minoring in Church Music. I just got married, July 7, 2007, to David Culberson, a senior at Gateway. I have felt a call on my life to preach and to do music ministry, and my husband is called to be a preacher. My husband and I also feel that, eventually, we will be involved in foreign missions.

What is a spiritual person?

After taking some time to think about what the Bible says, I have decided that the first characteristic of being spiritual is being filled with the Spirit. It is impossible for one to achieve spirituality if one does not have the Spirit of God living in thier heart. It is not only important to be filled with the Spirit but also to maintain a consistent relationship with the Spirit. I can testify for myself that when I slack off praying and reading my Bible, I feel distanced from God. When I think of spiritual people, I think of people who have a deep, unshakeable relationship with God. I think of people who aren't spiritually lazy but constantly and desperately seek to be more like with God.

What Trisha said about "personalizing" spirituality helped me come to the realization that it is not just important to know what it is like to be spiritual, but it is also very important to think about whether or not I am actually living a truly spiritual life. It is important to apply what I learn about God to my life. I have to constantly work on becoming more spiritual.

The Dustin View

"It's Me, It's Me, It's Me, O Lord..."

Okay world, here I am! My name is Dustin Lindsey (initials DDL, for those of you who care...no one? okay), I am 22 years, 6 months, and 7 days old at this very moment. I hail from the amazingly (and incomprehensibly) flat state of Illinois...Moline to be exact. Yes, you know it, the one and only home of the great plow-maker himself, John Deere. I take a ton of hits because I'm from Illinois, but I rather like the millions of cornstalks that I pass on the four hour drive home.
When I grow up I want to work overseas and with young people. My dream is to take groups of young adults to foreign countries on long-term mission trips.
Moving on...

Why am I here?

Five marks of a spiritual person...hmm...tough. Actually, as soon as I was given the assignment a scripture popped into my head: Mark 12:28-34. Okay so I didn't know that it was Mark 12:28-34, but I knew some of the important words and was able to look it up on the computer, whatever.

This passage in Mark is where Jesus says that you should love God with all of your heart, soul, mind, and strength and that you should love your neighbor as yourself. I believe that it is within this scripture that I can glean five principles that a spiritual person must exude. Obviously the basis of these principles is "love." I like how Romans 13:10 puts it:

"When you add up everything in the law code, the sum total is love." (The Message)

Love, love, love, love, love--there it is, those are my five points. Yay, I'm done.

Jokes.

My Five

I now present for your consideration:

1) Love God with your priorities and decisions (heart)
2) Love God through your submission to Him (soul)
3) Love God with your imaginations, thoughts, and mental abilities (mind)
4) Love God through your talents and strengths (strength)
5) Love God through your interactions (love your neighbor as yourself)

Easy enough, right? Well, as I was writing my paper I was really convicted. There is a lot of loving going on... It really is a lifestyle of love. To be truly spiritual I feel that I must live love.

Ugh. Let's get to work...

Starting the Journey...

I was sitting in church, not really able to do much at all. It’s not hard to imagine that, with two fractures in my pelvis, standing up caused immense amounts of pain. Just four days earlier I had become the crippled result of an automobile accident, and I must say that a situation like that will knock you right out of a good week. But I had crawled into church and there I was sitting, watching an amazing altar service pass by.

Then there was a tap on my shoulder and a friend of mine leaned toward my ear and said, "Walk with me." Instantly I felt the depth of his comment. He wasn't asking me to merely walk with him, he was asking me to leave my crutches in the pew; he was asking me to step out and make myself vulnerable to a radical change.

I stood up and began to take tiny baby steps while tightly grasping my friend's hands. He led me out of my pew and into the aisle. With each step, my confidence grew and my steps became steadier. Soon my walk with him wasn't a struggle, it was becoming natural. My physical pains were subsiding and as we ended the walk at the altar, I felt complete release from my ailment. As I began to leap and jump, I realized that the walk with my friend had resulted in a miraculous healing of my body.

Now I am being beckoned to embark on yet another walk. I am as unprepared to walk this one as I was to take the last walk. Yet I cannot escape this drawing, this pulling to walk with Him. I am standing up, stepping out and intentionally walking with my God.

Danger: Spirituality Ahead!

Boring Bio:
Hello everyone! Weighing in at a healthy 160 pounds, 6’ tall, and 20 years of age from Utica, NY, my name is Joseph Waterman and I am a junior at Gateway College of Evangelism here in St. Louis, MO.

Majoring in Christian Ministries with an emphasis on Pastoral Studies; I cannot wait to go on a missions trip (hopefully Uganda!) as soon as I graduate! I also have an unhealthy addiction to Cold Stone Creamery...but that's off topic.

Walking The Walk...
So if I've got this down, I think I'm supposed to answer what a truly spiritual person looks like, or something to that effect. As an introduction, I do not feel comfortable walking down this spiritual road without first defining the word 'spiritual'.
Spiritual can mean a whole lot of wacky things these days, so in this blog, when I use the phrase 'true spirituality' that basically means, "This is what a true follower of Christ looks like."

Okay, so here we go. First, when I think of someone who is 'truly spiritual' I think of someone who is actually "walking the walk". There are a whole bunch of people who can map out some seriously detailed spiritual roads, but that does not make them spiritual. Just because I can sit down and study out every microscopic detail of hiking does not make me a hiker until I actually go on a hike.

Likewise, if I'm not walking the walk that Jesus teaches me (and you) to walk, but rather simply mapping it out with a thousand colored markers (on pretty construction paper), I'm probably not 'spiritual'. Now, I'm not saying that maps aren't necessary, but I am saying that when we pick up the map, we should be prepared to start walking...

Google or MapQuest?
So now that I've decided to actually go for a walk, what does a 'true follower of Christ' really look like? For my answer I look to what I think is one of the most central passages of scripture in the entire Bible (yes, I did just say the entire Bible). You've probably read it before; it has something to do with "loving God and loving your neighbor". You know what one I'm talking about right? (If not, go tattoo Matthew 22:37-39 on your stomach! Okay, so maybe just reading it will suffice...)

I think everything on our 'map' to be a 'true follower of Christ' depends on our willingness to love. If you really love God, your probably going to want to learn more about Him and read your Bible. If you really love God, your probably going spend some quality 'alone time' with Him (prayer) at least once a day.

Furthermore, if you really love your neighbor, your probably not going to buy 10 different versions of the same shirt, when little kids are dying of hunger by the thousands every day. If you really love God and your neighbor, your probably not going to let an arrogant attitude consume your thinking, because you recognize that your righteousness is as filthy rags. If you really love God and your neighbor, your probably not going to cheat your employer and leave work early every day. You get my point? I think the ultimate gauge of our spirituality is our willingness to love God and our neighbor with everything and in every possible way that we can.

Love is the map...forget Google and MapQuest, you'll get lost anyway...

It's time to ask yourself!!!

Where I'm Headed

Hello to all who have come to read this blog.

Let me start off by telling you about myself. I am originally from a Greenville, OH. I am a senior at Gateway, majoring in Pastoral Studies. For those of you who might ask, yes, that would mean I feel the call to pastor! More importantly I feel called to Foreign Missions, not sure what country yet but somewhere in Europe. Europe is one of the most secular places in the world, bu I believe that she will still see a great revival. I am excited to see what God is going to do in my future!

On to The Question
I guess I’m supposed to be talking about what it means to be spiritual. The first thing that comes to my mind when I think about that question is I Peter 1:16, "Be ye holy for I am holy." Right there we are commissioned to follow after Christ and be like Him. HE is our "spiritual" example.

True spirituality is the point where you are completely Spirit-driven and Spirit-minded. Romans 8:6 says, "For to be carnally minded is death; but to be spiritually minded is life and peace." Penuel said that many people define a "spiritual" person as someone who prays and reads their Bible a lot. That is a very good start to the journey of being spiritual, but we must go beyond that and follow the example of Christ.

As the Musicians Come . . .

One last thing before I shut this down. I believe that if we are ever going to be spiritual we must come to a place in our walk with God where we humble ourselves. We must allow ourselves to be broken into a million pieces, so He can put us back together and make us into the person He wants us to be.

When I think of the word "humble", in my mind's eye, I always see a person getting down on one knee and wrapping themselves around the cross; as they do so the splinters begin to dig into their skin and the blood of Christ begins to flow over them and they begin to truly feel and understand the humiliation and suffering that Jesus endured because of His love for us. Only by clinging to the Cross will we ever become truly spiritual.

Ok, it's My Turn!!

A Little about Me...

Hi! My name is Tricia Ball, I'm 21 and I'm from Dover New Hampshire. I am a senior at Gateway, a dorm mom, senior class president and a mananger at Noodles and Co. but that's just titles and makes me sound really boring! I have an older brother, and a dog. I love to hang out with friends, laugh and dream. some day I'm going to see the world, and when I grow up I want to go to China and start churches. After I graduate, I'm planning to go on AIM and i want to get my ESL certification.

The Big Question...

So, What does it mean to be Spiritual? Ya know, I think I have asked myself that question everyday of my life since i was about 8, and I thought it would be easier to define the older I got, but it's actually getting harder. When Bro. Runck asked us to work on this project this semester and define a spiritual person then create a plan to become that, my mind immediately began scanning the different people who have impacted my life and the different things that I respected about them. I thought about what made THEM great Christians and what made THEM spiritual. When I think of a that, I think of someone who loves God with everything, and loves others unconditionally, someone who doesn't just pray or read their Bible, but someone who communes with God and takes the times to not only learn His attributes but also takes the time to attain them. when I think of a spiritual person I think of someone who is humble, someone with a servants heart, and a giving spirit.

Earth Shattering Experience...

I had my list written out, and my paper was pretty much done-I was ready to go! I knew what it meant to be spiritual; I was going to get and "A" in this class, no problem! all I had to do was make sure I turned my stuff in on time and I'd be good! (And for anyone who knows me... getting papers in on time is a true accomplishment!) But that wouldn't be an issue this time, I had the answer!

I was feeling pretty proud of myself; then I did the unthinkable-I met with my mentor. See, I have probably the best mentor anyone could ever ask for (Bro. David Norris), and I didn't want to finalize my theory of Spirituality without his opinion. so we got together and talked.

Now I thought we'd sit down and talk about different people I looked up to and wanted to imitate, and narrow my thoughts down to five specific characteristics, but, no! Instead we talked about spirituality for Tricia. My desire to emulate others I thought was spiritual was OK but missed the point. What is it going to take for Tricia to become spiritual? That's the real question-not what does it mean to be spiritual but what does it mean for me to be spiritual?

I face different challenges in my life than other people deal with. Spirituality for me is going to be very different than it will be for them. The real question of the semester and the point of this project isn't to define a spiritual person in the abstract, but defining what it means for me to be spiritual. There are things that I had on my list that if applied to my life, would become stumbling block and hindrance.

New Challenge...

So, here's the new challenge to everyone participating in this project... what does it mean for you to be spiritual? What characteristics fit into the mission in life God has for you? Are you trying to follow that, or are you only helping others become spiritual while your own spiritual life sits on the back burner? I can tell you that up until Thursday, I thought I was being spiritual by helping others and putting others first-which I think is important-but that's where I went wrong. I was focusing on everyone else thinking I was doing what God wanted, all the while ignoring my own spiritual health.

My Theory is For the Birds...

My theory on spirituality (and paper!) went out the window, and now I have less than 24 hours to rewrite something and get it in by midnight tonight... kinda rough. But I have learned a lot this week. So I'm going to leave you with this... being spiritual isn't just taking qualities from different people in your life you think are spiritual and throwing them together into some sort of "goals" list! Being spiritual is following the specific plan God has for you.

The Teacher Interrupts the Conversation . . .

I just realized I've never included a picture of myself in this blog, so thought I'd post one so everyone would know what I look like.

Graphic Warning Against Webdating!

OK, fine! This is what I really look like. That red shirt makes me look like some sort of academic Bob the Tomato. But a smiling Bob. (BTW, the comb-over's history.)

Back to Spiritual Things . . .

Anyway, this is going well so far. Penuel, I like the way you set up an overall calling/dream for your life. I think our dreams and ambitions really do shape what we think it means to be "spiritual". Part of truly growing in any area is coming clean about exactly what is influencing your thinking.

Myself, My Dreams, and My Spirituality

I'm the Malaysian kid!!!
The most INTERESTING and UNIQUE guy you'll ever come to know. But I'm only Malaysian by nationality. By blood, I'm half Indian and half Korean. My dad's Indian and my mum is Korean.

A Little About My Family . . .
I have an elder sister and a younger brother. My brother is 3 times better looking than me and 6 times smarter than me. I'm 22 going on 23 but I look 17. Which means that when I'm 4o years of age, I will look 25. They are gonna ask my son, is that your brother..?? AND of course I'll say, YUP!!!

Dreams and Goals . . .
I'm a junior at Gateway, majoring in Pastoral Studies. I've a dream, a vision, and a goal in life. It might change in the near future, but for now I believe that pastoring is what God wants me to do. I'm born in such a way that will allow me to fufill my destiny. Well basically, I'm not just gonna travel around the world preaching; I will also conduct leadership seminars teaching leaders from other denominations, about the one God, baptism in Jesus' name, infilling of the Holy Ghost, Holiness and much more. If I teach the leaders, then they will teach their congregations. This is my desire, dream and passion.

I'll eventually be going back to Malaysia. Malaysia is located between several countries that contain more than ½ of the total population of the world, 90% of them have yet to hear of the Apostolic message. Not only will I be educated in the doctrine and have passionate desire, but also I have the advantage of being one of them. I grew up there, I understand their culture.

What's it mean to be "spiritual"?
There are tons of answers for this question, and the discussion could go on for days. I believe the ultimate answer for this question is living a Godly life everyday and doing good things at the same time. It is both spiritual and non-spiritual, if that makes sense. It takes spending time with God (prayer and fasting, etc) and also by going out into the real world and doing good things for others.

I'm not too sure how this would make sense, but it should. That's just my opinion. And my goal for this class is to learn at a deeper level what it means to be spiritual and to practise it.

Let's Begin Today's Session with a Question. . .

It's Tougher than You Think . . .
Ok, as in any journey, the very first step is to figure out where you are headed. Since this is a "spiritual" journey, we first must define "spirituality". What does it mean to be "spiritual"? I know I automatically connect spirituality with, "Someone who prays A LOT". But wasn't Jesus critical of the prayer habits of the Pharisees (remember the parable of the Pharisee and the publican)? Didn't He accuse them of leaving aside the "weightier" matters of the law like love and justice while the tithed their garden seed?

So "spirituality" means doing good deeds, right? Well . . . Jimmy Hoffa gave lots of money to orphanages and hospitals; those are very good deeds (he gave LOTS of money), but no one would even think to call him spiritual. Doing good deeds is part of spirituality, but the real question is how we do good deeds as Christians. Jesus asks us to give someone who is thirsty a glass of cold water "in my Name." How does that look different than simply giving a glass of cold water to someone who's thirsty?

So, class, whaddya think?

My City is better than Yours!

Hi,
My name is David Johnson. I am from the area right around Seattle WA, and i am currently a junior at Gateway College of Evangelism. I am 20 years old and have one older sister. My hobbies include basketball, running, exercise in general, photography, and sometimes reading; it usually ends up being comic books or something random on the internet. My major in school is Biblical Studies and my future dreams include being a teacher, writing books, and being an important religious scholar in the world.


Well, im gonna get right to the point. We are blogging about spirituality right? So, i am just going to give a little deal on how i view a spiritual person. There is an assignment i am working on in which the student lists five attributes on a spiritual person. These include:

1. Love
Treating the people around me with respect. Thinking about others before thinking about myself.
2. Devotion
This includes prayer and fasting as well as bible reading. It would mean a consistent prayer time, consistent fasting and bible reading coupled with a constant spirit of prayer.
3. Forgiveness
Kinda self explanatory.
4. Self-Control
Once again.
5. Humility
And i say again...

These are the specific characteristics that i would like to improve during this project. The majority of these will be acted out, but there are also things i can do inwardly as well. Of course, everything does start on the inside working its way outside; therefore i will try to first improve my inward view of these five characteristics.

My overall goal for this project is to become a true Christian. I feel like i should say more but thats all i really have. I just want to be more like Christ.

Class is Now in Session . . .

Quiet Please. . . I Need to Take Attendance

So after some annoying difficulties, we are now up and . . .well, walking, I guess. Let me go ahead and introduce you to the class bloggers who'll be checking in weekly.

Tricia Ball is a senior from Dover, New Hampshire. Beside her duties as a dorm supervisor, she seems to think her other job is to mess up my office by stealing my decorations and/or rearranging my books.

Joe Waterman from Utica, NY, is Junior Class President and still thinks my jokes are funny. And he doesn't mess up my office.

Dustin Lindsey (junior, Moline, IL) has the hiccups. Seriously! Every class I teach (and usually when I'm at my key point in the lecture) he hiccups . . .after two years, I'm getting a little self-conscious. Dustin, do I make you nervous or something?

Kayla Moss-Culberson is a junior who has been married now for (almost?) a month. Umm . . .she is very quiet. But she smiles a lot (a lot more since she got married), so I assume she's happy.

David Johnson (junior from Port Orchard, WA) and I have developed the unfortunate habit of arguing-excuse me! I mean "discussing"- a topic for 20 minutes in class only to conclude that we actually agree with each other (most times). It's the theologian's version of "fun"!

Penuel Clement (junior from the other side of the world) launched his movie career at Gateway starring in the Preview Weekend 2005 video as the "Little Malaysian Creep". Actually his mailing address is in Indonesia. He just informed me yesterday he is leaving early this semester to spend Christmas back home.

Last, but certainly not least, Nathan Hulsman (senior from Greenville, OH). Ah, yes, the thoughtful one! What can I say? I once complained to the class that I have to write things out to spell them correctly because I couldn't spell aloud. Hulsman replied, "A-L-O-U-D." A great memory of a cool guy!

So, it looks like the gang's all here. Shall we start walking.

Testing 1-2-3

Okay, we were having some tech difficulties & now we're testing the fixes...

I Started Thinking About . . .

So, I'm teaching a class on the doctrine of the Spirit (Pneumatology is the formal name, if you are interested) at Gateway this semester; I've never taught it before. Before I start reading and writing lectures for a new class, I spend a fair amount of time simply thinking about my overall approach -it helps guide my study.

In those first few weeks, the thought that kept recurring was how foreign the idea of "studying" the Spirit sounded to us Pentecostals. The Spirit is not something we analyze, it's something we experience. Really, what the class needs is probably not so much information, learning who the Spirit is and what the Spirit does, as articulation, finding good and proper language to describe what we already know.

And I Also Wonder . . .
As I look back over my life, it seems that my growth in God is mostly "accidental"; mainly, God has to create small crises in my life for me to recognize areas in need of correction. The dumb thing is I already know those areas are problematic before the crisis! Why can't I be proactive enough to change flaws in my spiritual character before they cause me grief?

Now, I know that about 90% of the 90&9ers out there just tuned me out because they have perfect spiritual lives with nary a temptation. But I'll keep writing for the benefit of those "unspiritual" 10% like me.

Here's my diagnosis of the problem--a lack of articulation. The spiritual side of my New Year's resolutions has never gotten much past, "I'd like to pray more," or "Maybe I should fast once a week." That's not a goal-that's a wish! Wanting to pray more is great-but when? where? why? My life's already proceeding at a breakneck pace-how can I add one more thing to the to-do list? Can I get a witness?

So I Decided To . . .
So here's a simple project I've decided to embark on: a "Spiritual Growth and Development Plan". Just an easy 4 steps:
1) Create a list of 5 characteristics of a truly "spiritual" person
2) Create a series of goals related to development of those five characteristics; strive for attainability and measurability-give yourself a set amount of time.
3) Find a mentor who will hold you accountable to accomplish your goals and tell you when they see you slipping up
4) At the end of a set time, evaluate your progress, note your areas of continued weakness, adjust your goals, and do it all over again! (In the words of the inimitable Homer Simpson, "Doh!")

And Therefore . . .
Since I'm a teacher in need of assignments, I've roped my entire class into doing the same thing. And then, in order to maintain my off-the-charts coolness quotient as the "nicest, best teacher at Gateway", I thought I'd give extra credit to anyone who'd volunteer to share their journey with this fine audience.

So this blog is equal parts extra credit work and cool ministry opportunity. I think there's a good mix of voices in this group; you'll probably find someone you totally agree with and another who you think is completely off-the-wall. But, hey! It's a blog! And isn't that what a blog is all about?

Extending the Invitation
So, if you're just the teensiest bit interested, why don't you check out this blog for the next semester? And if you're a little bit more interested, why don't you set up your own "Spiritual Growth and Development Plan" to track your own spiritual progress over the fall and winter? Either way, we'll welcome all fellow-travelers.

At the end of the day, the title of this blog is the continual call of the Spirit. Can't you hear the voice of God still echoing from Eden, "Hey, why don't you come walk with me?"

-Jared Runck