Coffee Talk: Travel, renewal and resurrection

It could be all my focus has been on the story of Lazarus lately or it could be that lent and all it's metaphors of desert and water are taking front seat in my minds eye. I feel as it I'm moving towards something that I've missed and needed. I'm traveling.

The last month has been filled with many challenges, surprises, joys and celebrations. My husband has just completed his Masters in Spiritual Formation, I have one last paper to write and my BA program will be complete. I've also experienced people challenging my faith as well as people supporting my beliefs and efforts. It has been a great encouragement to have people inquiring on how to help and participate in my work by providing support and resources to make training possibilities actual realities. My hope and experience with my surrounding humanity has been a bit of a mixed bag of experience, emotion and expectation. In the midst of all this 'mix', I find that I've been traveling through renewal towards resurrection in a time that seems so appropriate: lent.

Travel:

The journey to get to all my journeying actually seemed to be the greatest challenge when the financial shortfall made attending a conference for my work an impossibility.
After some encouragement from a cooperative ministry partner (thanks Karen!) who is experienced in the art of fund-raising, I took some out-of-comfort-zone risks and asked friends, family, and local community to aid me in raising funds to attend a Conversational Evangelism Conference in Menlo Park, California. After a few weeks of email, phone conversations and coffee chats, the funds had been raised, housing and transportation had been creatively and kindly (thanks Betty!) provided and I was registered for my flight and conference!

The primary catalyst for my travel was attending a conference in Southern California concerning the topic and responsibility of sharing faith with people in understandable and authentic ways. At the conference, there were lots of methods and outreach possibilities presented but the message that resounded with me the most was, "Holy Conversations- Talking about God in everyday life.", by Richard Peace. So many times, churches try to tackle the responsibility of outreach or evangelism in corporate ways and become frustrated by the unpredictable and sometimes non-visible spiritual growth of the people they are trying to serve. Thankfully," More and more Christians are realizing that what people outside the faith need is not (A.) A sales pitch, (B.)an argument, (C.) a sermon or (D.)an information dump. Instead, they need caring, thoughtful conversation partners." ( McLaren/Peace,Holy Conversations) Spiritual formation does not occur in a vacuum, a compressed green house or a corporate plan or program. Spiritual formation is a relational, unpredictable and spiritual process.





In the break out sessions led by Richard Peace, time and time again he reminded the group that, " Everybody is on a spiritual pilgrimage. Everybody. Even the person who curses God. True they may be going in the wrong direction ( away from God.) but they still are on a spiritual journey. They can't help it. This is the way God made us - with a nature that is meant to be in touch with the supernatural." (Peace, pg 27)
We all are on a journey. This theme of journey continues to call my heart further and farther along the path set out before me.





Renewal:

The warm breezes and sunshine of Northern California repeated a sense of renewal that had been percolating in my spirit. The affirmation of Peace's conversation on journey sharing resonated in the way that my family, friends and community aided in my own journey of faith in trusting for God to provide the resources necessary for my physical travels. How interesting that a physical journey was provided for out of conversations that led to my own spiritual progress? God sincerely understands the needs in my life: both the physical and spiritual ones. All this provision makes me wonder. What leg of the journey is next?




Resurrection:

As I take steps this spring to allow my exterior layers to be peeled away in order to reveal the resurrected me, what will this metamorphosis expose? I know I have to grow in so many ways. In my disciplines, in becoming less attached to material things, in my fears and frustrations. I desire in the most unemotional and non-flighty way to become more like Jesus. I want my journey to draw me closer, ever closer to God and further from what would so easily entangle and delay my journey. Help me God to hear you clearer than ever before - I don't want to wander, even though I am prone to do just that. Help me to value the step of each day and not to waste time pacing in directions that only wear a rut in my soul. Resurrect the person that you see and create someone who is ready for the journey, the challenge and the calling. Bring me to life and life to the full!




Let's keep the conversation going. Today is the journey.