A Sojourner’s Thoughts

This morning I woke up with the notion that I was back in my church of 10 years ago sharing with the people there what I have learned in the last ten years.

Let me back up. Ten years ago my family and I left Northern Minnesota so that I could go to seminary. We lived on 10 acres just north of Grand Rapids, a small town not much larger than the town we live in now (of course being in the twin cities we are surrounded by a lot more people). We spent our ten years in Grand Rapids helping to build the Grand Rapids Alliance church there. Building in the sense of pounding nails to build the building and also helping to build the church community. When we left we had a great send off with cake and well wishes. But what have I learned in these last 10 years?

This question is both hard and yet easy. What have I learned, a lot. I have gotten a Master’s in Theological Studies, a certificate in Post-Secondary Education, and have stared on a Doctorate in Spiritual Formation. Outside the formal educational process I have developed a personal life platform, a personal life mandate, and spent a whole lot of time hanging out in James. In all these endeavor I have amassed a lot of knowledge, but did I learn anything? For me to learn is to be transformed. If I take in a lot of facts, but don’t apply them to my life in a way that shows that I have been changed, transformed, have I really learned anything.

So what have I learned? I have learned that if we say we have certain operational beliefs, there should be actions or some other evidence to prove that we believe it. I have learned that we can not simple cram our heads full of knowledge, we have to allow this knowledge to transform our life. I have learned that as James says “Faith without works is dead.” I have learned that I need to love God and love my neighbor; I need to care for the marginalized and voiceless people I encounter while keeping from being polluted by the world. I have learned that God is faithful, He is there for me when life seems to be going against me.

I am sure that there are other things that I have learned, but those listed above I think are the key thing I have learned in the last ten years or so. Did I need to go to seminary to learn these things, no – most of these things were learned by simply by going through life with my heart and mind tuned to what God has in store for me.

So what has God been teaching you over the last ten years or so?

I have has the privilege of hanging out with a bunch of guys at a state prison for the last year or so. I along with 5 others have been working with them to understand the relationship between their beliefs, values, motives, and behaviors. It was great fun when on our last night when I saw the guys really start to connect the dots.

Yesterday, I met with 21 new guys from the same prison to introduce them to and invite them along on this same journey. They were all excited about the possibility of developing a life platform that they can then stand on as they finish out their sentence, but more importantly that will help them to make wiser choice on the outside so that they don’t end up back behind bars.

I have given them two weeks to pray about and ponder upon whether they want to engage this journey. I am excited to learn their stories, to see where they have come from and to help them see were God can use them on the future. Each one of us has a unique story, a unique set of skills and relationships that God can use to reach others.

I will share with you parts of our journey together as it begins to unfold.