Author: Scott Strand

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A Journey of Transformation

I have been silent for a while now. In part because I have not had time to process all the things I have been pondering – though I have at least 3 blog topics. In part because of the journey I have been on. And in part because I have simply been tired – mentally, emotionally, and spiritually – a good tired, but tired none the less.I

I had two seminary professors – Steve Sandage and LeRon Shults who wrote a book on spiritual transformation and used as their model a crucible. This crucible is where we go to have our impurities cleaned out of us. How we respond to this firing really determines how “pure” we become.

For the past few months I have been repeatedly jumping into and out of the crucible. A process that has made me so very tired. Through this process I have been pulled & stretched, I have been pushed to the limits and then reeled back in to find rest, I have gained clarity to where God seems to be directing me to go. I have to admit that it is not where I was headed when i began my doctoral work. I seem to be coming to a junction where a step of faith my be needed to get me over a rather large obstacle.

So what has been the results of this process? I have come to a deeper, richer appreciation of community. I’m not talking about community light, I’m talking about community where we allow transformation to happen to each other and we are their to help each other edit our stories.

I have come to see that I enjoy coming along side people who need some assistance I allow me to be their sounding board or to offer some words of encouragement or wisdom. I am not their to fix them, rather I am their to help them hear God’s still small voice and how they can respond to it. Or perhaps it simple helping them rethink how they can accomplish their goals in new ways.

Living out these changes has resulted in getting involved in a new ministry at church and the prospect of another possible ministry opportunity. This has also got me thinking about what I might have to give up to pursue these new opportunities.

It has also led to a number of questions that I am looking to answer – How do I recharge myself? What is my “land between” looking like?

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Sabbath Soul Care

I am reading a book by Wayne Muller called Sabbath. You see I at times have trouble with rest. By rest I don’t mean the physical activity of sleeping – though I have issues there too, but that is another story. No, I think that Sabbath is more than that – it is a mental, physical, & spiritual resting from the business of life by quieting ourselves and coming into the presence of God. Muller puts it this way:

When the moment of rest had come, the time for healing was over. He (Jesus) would simply stop, retire to a quiet place, and pray.

Muller goes on to say this about prayer.

When Jesus prayed He was at rest, nurished by the healing spirit that saturates those still, quiet places. In the Jesus tradition, prayer can be a practice of simply being in the presence of God, allowing the mind to rest in the heart.

The take away here, the thing that we need to remember and practice is that the Sabbath is so much about a specific day or time, it is the practice of recognizing when Sabbath rest is needed and then stealing away to the quiet place to pray and enter into Gods presence.

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Half a Century plus 1

On Saturday I will begin my 51st year sojourning on this earth. Thirty or so of those years I have spent following the Lord, some times closely and other times not. I have spent time reflecting on the past and pondering the future. I have begun to look at choices made – both good and bad. At time I wonder how things may have been different with different choices – not better or worse, just different. I have enjoyed seeing how God has used me in a variety of situations to impact the lives of others and thus transforming my own life.

Looking forward it is with a sense of anticipation of how I am going to minister in the next season of my life. As I an finishing up work on my doctorate I anticipate a new chapter of ministry in my life. I think I am beginning to clarify what that my look like.

I am looking for a way to focus my next season of ministry helping people to discover who it is God has created them to be and to help them understand what this means in their life. I am interested in coming along side people, listening to their story, and helping them discover how they can be God’s hands and feet and minister to the people around them.

I have some ideas of what this may look like, teaching, spiritual direction, writing, and preaching. I don’t know if these things are lay ministries while I continue doing what I am doing now or if there is a ministry setting where I can do these things or perhaps it is starting a ministry of my own. If anyone is in need of a speaker for a retreat, conference or class where I might be able to minister I would love to talk with you.

This has been a fun exercise for me, reflecting on where I have been and how God has been a part of it and then ponder the future and what God may have in store for you. There is a spiritual formation exercise called “The Grand Examen” that takes you though four questions that help you ponder these things. This exercise is a great faith builder and helps give definition to how you are wired and what God may be calling you to do.