Soul Engagement

I was fortunate enough to attend the Compassion and Justice rally at Willow Creek church this past Saturday. I would say about 300 or so people assembled in the Lakeside Auditorium at 8 a.m for the event. Following 20 minutes of worship, we heard a talk from Harvey Carey, a pastor in Detroit. He's simply one of the most dynamic speakers I've ever heard and I think I went to the really just to hear him! I remember when he talked about how we as volunteers and we as Christ-followers are supposed to be the salt of the earth. But the salt is worthless if it stays in the salt shaker. In other words, we have to go out where we can make an impact. Because in the safeness of the shaker, almost no impact can be made.

That talk would have been worth my time alone. But then we had two breakout sessions to go to. There were six different choices about issues such as church diversity and immigration. I chose to go to the Soul Care session. The speaker was Judy Peterson, who is the campus pastor at North Park University. I knew nothing of this woman, never met, never heard her speak. She is known as the walking pastor because she once spent over a year walking across the United States from Seattle to Miami. I guess she took the phrase "walk the walk" very literally. And she didn't hesitate sharing the personal details of her own life. She didn't become a Christ-follower until she turned 26 and I would guess she's in her 40's now. I was amazed when she told us she's had close to a dozen miscarraiges too.

She told us a lot of stories from her walk across America. One of them was when she was learning to milk a cow. The farmer asked her how she tended to squeeze her fingers. Like most of us, she said "Pinky first." But when we're milking a cow, we have to squeeze the other way, or index fingers first. So it takes time to get milking right, because the proper technique is not in our instinct. The point of the story is we have a tendency to revert to natural tendencies. This is why cultivating spiritual disciplines is so important. Most of them are not activities we would tend to do naturally. Fasting, solitude, confession, I admit they don't sound like the most fun things to do. But Judy reminded us that Jesus had to work to be Jesus. Even though there was no sin in him, he took the time to engage himself in spiritual disciplines. He withdrew. He fasted for 40 days. He prayed. He worshipped. He served. That's what I loved about Judy, she took deep truths and made them digestable and practical. Soon after that, she said something that she felt God says to people and I remember it well.

"If you don't know how to be with me, you have no business doing for me."

When I first heard that quote, I thought it sounded harsh. But the more I think about it, the more it resonates in me. How can I serve a God who I only spend a few minutes with at a time? If I want the character of Christ in my life and I want to be a reflection of his love and truth, I have to spend time getting to know him. And then she said something that I will never forget. God doesn't just want me to do Christian things, he wants me to know Christ. And through these disciplines and activities, I can do that. These are the disciplines she emphasized.

Disciplines of abstinence
Solitude: The practice of spending time without any others or any distractions.
Silence: No noise or conversation. Just you and God.
Fasting: Abstain from food, media, entertainment, or anything else that occupies your time.
Frugality: Use your money for purposes outside your needs for a time.
Chastity: 1 Corinthians 7:8
Secrecy: Do not allow anyone to know of the deeds you do or the money you give in order to avoid doing them for the wrong motivations. Only God needs to know.
Sacrifice: Stretch your sense of what you can do without for the sake of those who have less.

Disciplines of engagement
Study: Memorize Scripture and expand your universe of biblical study helps
Worship: Engage in corporate worship and include worship in your own prayer time.
Celebration: Practice being grateful and thankful in your own relationship with Christ and with other believers. Express encouragement and thankfulness to others.
Service: Give your time to the church and/or to others. Ponder tithing your time.
Prayer: Take deliberate steps to pray regularly and with purpose. Praying through the Psalms is a good way to increase "prayer vocabulary."
Fellowship: Hebrews 10:25
Confession: Practice confessing your sins to trusted people who will pray for you and be spiritual allies.
Submission: Submit to the proper people in the proper ways-fight against the sin of pride.

She spent a lot of time talking about solitude; maybe 15 of her 45-minute talk. I think in America that is one of the most counter-cultural spirtitual disciplines of all. I know it in my own life, I can barely drive my car without my radio or Ipod playing. The silence is so uncomfortable and unsettling. But I am starting to think I thrive on distractions, especially in those moments when life feels difficult. Those distractions, like food, music, sports, and social media, can be good things, when placed in their proper perspective. It's not good for me to escape into them. And through solitude, I can escape being bound by these distractions. What freedom that would be! IT's okay to step away, exhale, and recharge.

I'm not sure if I'll get to hear Judy speak again, but I feel really fortunate that I had 45 minutes of her time. She's an excellent communicator and North Park is lucky to have her. I only wish I had a guiding light like her when I was at Gordon.