This weeks Reflection

One of the most defining events for me in creating the Journeys experience relates to a letter a minister of my own Christian tradition wrote to my Bishop challenging the whole basis of Journeys Community. His complaint was that Journeys Community did not subscribe to the historic creeds of the Church and beliefs about God that had been a part of the Church’s doctrine and belief system for centuries. As a result of his negative view and his opposition to Journeys, the Journeys creative team was no longer allowed to meet at his church. And he strongly urged the Bishop to stop funding Journeys as an innovative, creative expression of what I have always thought was the central message of Jesus: “I have come that all people might have life, and have it abundantly.” At Journeys we try to create the experience of God in our services, not just knowledge or information about God. Our services and activities present opportunities for people to recognize deeper emotions and feelings that may create an opening to God and experience deeper meaning, purpose and fulfillment in their lives-to have life and have it abundantly!!
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This Week’s Reflection

What if you could design your own God? What would he-or it-be like? I’ve titled our time together “Why Not Design Your Own God?” Notice I didn’t call this a presentation, or a sermon. What it will be, actually, is a spiritual rumination in the pattern of some of the great ruminators: Samuel Clements, Will Rogers, and Andy Rooney.

Before I start to ruminate, though, you need to know a little of my background. You see, I am a “recovering Christian.” And no, I don’t go to meetings and stand up and say, “Hello, my name is Vic, and I am a recovering Christian.” The irony is that here I am, in front of you dear people of Journey’s Community, saying just that. Well.

I’ve experienced a bunch of “passages” since I was confirmed in the Methodist Church in 1950. They have included confusion, concern, anger, renunciation, and letting go. There may be more passages on the road ahead. As Yogi Berra once said, “If you come to a fork in the road, take it.” I feel like I’ve forked fairly often in the 58 years since I was confirmed. And I suspect most of you have as well.
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When I was at Auburn the Baptist Student Union was a bustling center of activity. So many fun, interesting and meaningful things happened there. The Center, a then modern and beautifully laid out structure was situated right in the heart of Auburn, very near the center of campus. I remember thinking then due to the sizable numbers of Baptist in that part of the country; the University probably could have saved the money spent building the University Student Union. A sizable portion of the student body would have been well served at the BSU.
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This Week’s Reflection

First this morning I want to tell you that in what I have to share with you today I will make mention a great deal of God. And so like in legal documents where key words are defined, I’d like to define, tell you what I mean, when I say God. It’s simply this, it’s love. To quote an early writer on things spiritual, “God is love.” We’ve moved into a new season of the year, Spring, a time when once again the seasons bring their unmistakable changes to us and when we celebrate these changes. And because it’s an election year we hear lots of talk of change also. There is excitement and celebration about the changes that the seasons and the elections are anticipated to bring. And with it all, all the changes going on and all the talk of change, we are reminded of the unavoidable reality of change in our lives.
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At Journeys we recognize that there are a variety of expressions of spirituality. This is what attracts so many of us. This morning I would like to speak of a very different expression of spirituality that has sustained me during my periods of seeking, and helped give me a sense of direction and purpose.

Several weeks ago Michele reminded us that the Buddhist practice of accepting “what is” in one’s life is a powerful and personal lens through which to discover a sense of inner peace.
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