May walking with Christ bless your journey this day.

[youtube= http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wCbYrdxNUwU] A friend emailed this to me the other day and it’s spurred some interesting conversation about the nature of ministry.  I’m always amazed how easily we lose sight of journeying with Christ.

There’s nothing wrong with praying a prayer or engaging in any ritual or tradition, but when it becomes something that we lean back on and quit journeying - then we have a problem. Ritual or tradition (communion, meditation, contemplation, etc.)  is meant to remind us of God. It give us a chance to ponder and spend time with Him. When it becomes easier to make them an exercise in goodness or holiness - then they lose all meaning.

In the church or even in my ministry, I see us focused on getting kids (or people) to ‘pray a prayer‘ because it makes us feel good, like we’ve secured them. We also like to take count of conversions as some sort of litmus test of spiritual health/success. If we forget that being a Christian is about a walk, a journey with Christ - then we have nothing more than hollow ritual and tradition. When Jesus called his followers, he simply said, “Come, follow me.” We try and make it so complicated. Being a Christian is quite simple: follow Jesus. It simply starts with an offer to take a walk.

This started as an idea, a curiosity of mine. I’ve worked with kids with Wiccan backgrounds and there’s a fair amount of it in our area. Then I have talked back and fourth a bit with Jerome over mine and his blog (about different topics). Jerome is a Wiccan. So I asked him to write this guest blog. I wanted to have a better understanding about what led him down this path. I’m not going to argue or try to change his mind. I told him he could have this space. I’m not going to interject or change what he said. I just wanted to understand better his journey. I wanted a better understanding so I could better reach kids. My intent is not to start a fight here and I expect you guys to be nice as well. Feel free ask questions in the comments section, he’ll be checking these and responding.

Why do I identify as Wiccan?

My spiritual path has been a winding one. Feeling disenfranchised by mainstream Christianity, I began studying Native American spirituality and ceremony under an elder of that tradition when I was 18. For the first time, I felt like I had found my spiritual home.

This tradition’s godhead, the Creator, is not distant and unknowable like I perceived the Christian God to be. The Creator is within us and all around us. Nature’s inhabitants have lessons to teach us about how to live in balance, if we stop, observe, and listen. Nature’s cycles teach us about the phases of life – birth, youth, maturity, death, and rebirth.

I felt empowered by these new perspectives – something that never occurred during my involvement with Christianity. I felt like I mattered, instead of feeling like “just another body in the pews.”

When I was 20, I moved to the Seattle, Washington area to attend school. About a year later I was introduced to a gentleman who studied and practiced East Indian meditation techniques. I began taking classes from him, and continued doing so for a couple years. The principles he taught were also empowering. For example, that the Source’s (i.e. God’s) Love is universal and meant for all, and that truth transcends religious doctrine (i.e. no single religion has a monopoly on truth). These teachings reaffirmed what I already believed - that all organized religions, though built on a foundation of spirituality (or “the direct experience of God”), often toss out spirituality in favor of man-made doctrine and politics.

A few years later I began to take an interest in Wicca. Very generally speaking, “Wicca” is a term used to describe the pre-Christian spiritual practices of western and northern Europe. Wicca “fits” for me for these reasons:
• It espouses the truths of the Native American and East Indian traditions that most resounded with me (i.e. God is present in all things, God’s love is accessible to all rather than strictly those of a particular religion, and nature is to be respected and revered).
• Personal responsibility is paramount. I am solely responsible for the consequences of my actions and inactions. There is no one else to blame if I make a poor choice (saying “I was tempted by Satan” is not an option) and nobody to scold and sit in judgment of me (like a priest).
• Sex is seen as a sacred act to be celebrated and discussed openly (rather than in hushed tones and dark corners). Sexuality is a gift from the Divine, not something to be ashamed of or to pass judgment on others about.
• Though not completely free from politics and power plays, these are less prevalent because the religion has fewer adherents and is largely unorganized. I don’t have the time or patience for religious politics. Religion is about communion with the Divine, not pushing my views on others.

Thanks Jerome! I appreciate your willingness to share.

Yes, I noticed this the other day, quite by accident, that a short film I was a producer on (associate producer to be exact) has made its way to the ‘07 Cannes Film Festival in France. I’m just really amused at this because it was a film I worked on almost 9 years ago. It wasn’t very good then and from what I can see online, it hasn’t improved with age. That was another career and another life of mine. It’s just funny that things from so long ago still live on, when they probably shouldn’t.

It’s a life I rarely think about anymore. It’s amazing what happens when we give our vision up to the Lord and he returns it with His own vision and purpose for your life. I’ve always loved movies and was certain that what I was created to do. I worked in the industry and found myself completely and utterly bored with it. My adventure in life didn’t start till I handed my life and dreams completely and wholly over to the Lord. It’s been an amazing journey.

Here are some things I learned about the film industry:

1) People can make a career out of BSing.

2) It’s mainly about love of yourself (ego) and making sure others do so too.

3) Truth is relative and ultimately based on opinion.

4) It’s rarely about making film and more about making people feel important.
5) There is no such thing as originality, but you hear it talked about often.

I recently read a blog from Chris Summerfield about how he sees his spiritual walk less like the Matrix (one often used because of the duality of the universe - spiritual vs. physical) and more like Fight Club:

 ”There is no overarching vampire or matrix that we need to discover and fight, rather the evil is being perpetrated by us and the systems that we comply with. In Fight Club Tyler Durden is the Christ like figure who walks into Jacks life. Tyler forces Jack to face the current reality of his world, the injustice, the love of money, the obsession of the trivial and to liberate him, an “heir of oppression” (my term) from that.”

So it got me thinking. What movie does your spiritual walk of faith look most like?

Mine? Lord of the Rings. Often times it feels like there’s only a small fellowship that keeps the light going. We do our best beyond insurmountable odds, in the hope that our King will return.

So what about you?