Running, Faith & Spirituality – Part 2

Do you not know that in a race all the runners run, but only one gets the prize? Run in such a way as to get the prize.   ~1Corinthians 9:24

SHIN SPLITS!!! Have you ever had these before? Mine were cripplingly painful! I used to skateboard back in the day and I have to tell you… My shins haven’t hurt this bad since I tried to master the kick-flip (for those who don’t know what that is, you can check it out here… http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ubTl3iPPi2o).

What was the cause of this pain afflicting my shins? My running style…

Running, Faith & Spirituality

Therefore, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, let us also lay aside every weight, and sin which clings so closely, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us.  ~Hebrews 12:1

I recently picked up the habit of running again. Waaay back in the day, I used to run about 3 or 4 miles a day. But I got married, got a real job and the next thing you know, one year later… no more running and I’m 45 pounds heavier. Yikes! That was the heaviest I have ever been in my life! Well, fast forward 10 years and I’m almost there again. So, I am really trying to be committed to getting back in good physical condition.

But as I’ve been running (right now only 2.5 miles), I’ve had A LOT of really good contemplation time with God. He seems to speak to me or help me see things and make connections while I’m running. In fact, I’ve noticed a lot of really interesting analogies or metaphors to things I encounter while running with things I encounter in my faith and spirituality. I’ve been meaning to start writing about these, if for no other reason than to have them down somewhere so I don’t forget them. But maybe they’ll be encouraging for the 10 or 12 of you who stop by and read. So…

Our Hope

What is the hope of the Christian Faith? This is something I’ve been studying personally for a few months now, specifically how that question relates to the resurrection of Jesus Christ.

I would be lying if I didn’t say that my studies have turned up unsuspecting answers to that question. My own answers were surprising as I really had to digest the fact that many of my presuppositions and “answers” were just oral traditions that  translated into canned phrases that I learned while growing up in Christianity without ever delving deeper into topics like these and developing critical thinking skills around such conversations. Instead I had reduced my hope to “going to heaven one day.”

But is that really what our hope is as followers of Jesus? Is that the sum of the resurrection of Jesus? Could there be significantly more that we are overlooking (or in many instances oversimplifying) by collapsing all that Jesus accomplished through His death and resurrection into some sort of heavenly bus pass?

Answering these questions will take more than one post, but I figured I’d throw them out there for immediate thought provocation. I’d really like to explore each of these questions and then maybe bring it all back around to what the answers imply for our lives right now.

Parting Ways

I grew up in my faith in many ways in the Calvary Chapel movement. I have served as a volunteer and minister, and most recently as a lead pastor within the movement since about 1997. It has been a wonderful environment to learn in. I learned that “you’re qualified because you’re called, not called because you’re qualified.” I found inspiration to step out in faith and see what God may want to do. I learned that structure and plans are good, but many times, God may want to deviate from those plans… and that’s OK. Pastor Chuck Smith has been a huge inspiration in this regard, saying many times, “blessed are the flexible for they will not be broken.”

There are soooo many wonderful memories and lessons that I have had the privilege of looking back on since being a part of the Calvary Chapel movement. Yet, as amazing as it has been, I feel the leading and inspiration to step out in a new venture of faith. This means I will be moving away from the Calvary Chapel movement as a pastor and ministry. There are many reasons to stay and also many reasons to leave, so I’d like to share a couple of the latter with you.

Vision…

Where there is no prophetic vision the people cast off restraint and are discouraged… ~ Prov.29:18a

Vision is bold. Vision is forward looking. Vision is also terrifying at times as it reveals future quests and directions. Yet without vision our way is lost and we will become discouraged. So it is in our lives as followers of Jesus. We can lose vision in our walk with Him. We can become discouraged when we lose that forward looking revelation and begin to settle into the mindset that deceptively tells us that everything as it is now, will remain that way forever. A life without vision, without that prophetic insight from God, can lead to much frustration and discouragement and leave us wondering and wandering.

Where do we find such inspiration? God’s Word is chock full of it. Vision, hope, future, plans, insight, wisdom. It pours from the Book’s pages. And if we’ll allow it, that pouring will find it’s way into our hearts, giving us fresh and full inspiration. But don’t think I’m talking about this on an individual level.

Do Likewise

I am currently in San Diego, CA for the Zondervan National Pastors Convention. Last night I had the amazing privilege of listening to one of my favorite authors, Shane Claiborne (Pictured right). Shane’s book “Irresistible Revolution” is a must read. All I can say is WOW! I love this guy!

The main of Shane’s talk last night was not something he hasn’t said at least a dozen times before… “Love your neighbor as yourself. This means you don’t let your neighbor starve while you have more than you need, etc.” But I continue to be amazed by how it flows from such a genuine heart. He lives this out, we should too.

Spirituality

It’s an interesting thing to consider, but in many ways the western church has stripped our faith of it’s spirituality. What do I mean by that?

Certainly we understand that to place our faith in a God who is spirit (John 4:24), implies this walk of faith to be one of spiritual origin. But we have somehow limited our expression of this spirituality to the time when we gather as an assembly on Sunday mornings. In many ways, we have forgotten that our faith requires us to take this new spiritual lifestyle with us everywhere we go. We need to develop new spiritual disciplines in our lives that will draw us deeper into God and help us appreciate Him all the more (Psalm 145:5 ESV). Things like prayer and personal meditation, contemplating verses in the Bible (also known as Lectio Divina).

My 2009 Reading List

Each year I try to stretch my mental horizons by reading books on various subject matter. I try to look for opportunities to grow in my leadership role, who I am as a Christian, stretch my theological perspectives, and challenge myself in the area of relationships. So far, this is what I have for 2009 in no particular order (if you’re interested)…

The Keys to Passionate Lives

Passion… Sounds tempting. Sounds exhilarating. But it also sounds like an unachievable pipe dream to many. I’m not talking about romance or sexuality, I’m talking about real passion. Passion that drives your life, that adds meaning and vibrance to daily living. Many are looking for this type of passion, but life has a way of draining it from our lives, doesn’t it? Where does it seem to go? How can we get it back?

I would first challenge that passion flows from our passionate Creator. The depth of our passion in life will only flow as deep as our connection to Him. So then the key to passion is connecting with our Creator. Sounds simple enough, doesn’t it? In many ways it is. But too many times, life’s overcrowded, busy nature seems to skew our focus on connecting with the loving, passionate God we were made to connect with.

The Rhythm of Prayer

Well, we’re already closing the first chapter of the new year. January is about to pass. I wonder how many of our “New Years Resolutions” will be doing the same at the end of this month? I make resolutions every year. I think they’re healthy. It challenges us to grow, to stretch, to reach beyond the rut we settled into last year.

I made a couple of resolutions that will remain a mystery to you with the exception of one. I really want to challenge myself in the area of prayer. I want to come back to the understanding of how mystical and amazing it truly is. And I want to develop a rhythm in my life that marches to the beat of regular intervals of prayer.