Tuesday, January 27, 2009

Finally, an update!

I wish that I could say that the reason why I haven't blogged in a while is due to a period of deep, reflective meditation and such - but the reality is that I've just been busy...or lazy, depending on how you look at it. Whatever the exucse, I decided that it's about time for me to blog again.

A few updates off the top of my head: I finally got a newer car! Goodbye 1987 Buick Regal, hello 2002 Ford Focus. I find myself cleaning it all the time. If it wasn't so cold outside, I would probably wash it a little more often...or at least rinse it off. It's nice to have a car that you can actually wax if you want to (oh yeah, i want to).

I'm doing children's ministry now (comes with insurance). Actually Adelle is doing children's ministry; I'm just working in the office for her. It works out well. She does all the stuff that I don't like to do (cause she likes it) and I do all the stuff she doesn't like to do (cause i like it).

I'm reading Emotionally Healthy Spirituality again, along with the rest of the pastoral staff. We've started meeting as an accountability kinda group and it's been great. It's good to be able to get together weekly with other people that help to keep you on track spiritually. Think of it as a way to re-center and re-focus your priorities every week.

I've been thinking a lot lately about the difference between Professional Christianity and Authentic Christianity. As easy as it would be to just throw it out there and say that it's a problem that a lot of Christians face. it's a little harder to bring it home. But if I'm honest with myself and with God, there's no way that I can deny how much I have been playing the game of Professional Christianity (PC for short- not to be confused with 'personal computer' or 'politically correct'). I pretty much have it down to an art form. I can play the game and convince everyone around me that it's all together on the inside, but the truth is something different. I completely don't have it all together on the inside: my spiritual life has been quite malnourished, my devotional life has been practically non-existent, and i find myself surprised that the "Christianity Auto-pilot" never kicked in and kept things running smoothly on the inside.

I certainly have not turned my back on God and walked openly into sin and disobedience, but I probably wasn't too far from making that leap. I had fallen for a classic Christian blunder - I had neglected my relationship with God, and all the disciplines that kept that relationship alive. Somewhere along the way I stopped pursuing Him - I just settled for being kinda close. It almost feels like after I stopped, He kept moving forward (attempting to lead me to a farther point). The longer that I stood still, the further apart we grew, until He became a distant figure on the horizon. I still recognized who it was, and every now and then would run a little closer to keep Him in sight. I was comfortable not being close to Him, just as long as I could still make out where He was - almost like a kid playing in the ocean, turning around occasionally to make sure that mom & dad were still in sight. I thought that playing in ocean (just doing life as usual) was more imporant than where He was leading me.

4 comments:

April E. :) said...

Hey stumbled across your blog. Happy to read it. It sounds like a perfect team...you in the office, Adelle on the "field" per say. Love it when a plan comes together!

Anonymous said...

Mark: Have you thought again about perhaps attending Cleansing Stream this time around? Sounds like it might be good timing for you. Talk to the pastor. I'm sure he'd love for you to go. We'd love to have you.

Unknown said...

it does work out perfectly cause i could never write letters like that. i'm too much to the point and can't add all the fluff in between. this is why i did horribly in high school english.

i've always thought of my relationship with God like a game of tag. once he tags you, you try to do the quick tag back but it turns into this chase that keeps going and going. and when you stop chasing and just get sucked into the scenery he enjoys the scenery with you for a little while. then quickly and unexpectedly he taps you on the shoulder to remind you that the game is over here.

Anonymous said...

yay for new cars =] my fam has a focus..they are nice cars..