How's Your Love Life?
Today I had a meeting with Scott Hudgins. Scott is the program director for the "Helping Pastors Thrive" program that I am a part of.
I spent most of the day in the Divinity School library and ended with my conversation with Scott.
We sat down to talk over how the days have progressed and what was my experience so far. I told him that after the debacle of the Duke ID that things leveled off nicely. There is still the feeling of not getting my legs under me.
A big part of that is I have a routine at church. There is an established rhythm to my week. I know from moment to moment how my week is going to be and what is expected of me.
Not being at church is a strange feeling. I have been at this for over 30 years and never had the experience of "time away" like this.
It does not feel like vacation, but it does not feel like my usual week. But slowly I am finding my way.
Scott was on the board for the Baptist House of Studies and knows Duke fairly well. He said it took him a long time to "find his way" when he was there.
I had a few questions about my presence at Duke. I knew the program was new and I wanted to know if I was the first to be assigned in the program. I am. That's great. I know what this is.
Being the oldest child, being the first born, means some things. One of the things that it means is that you are the one they experiment on. First time parents don't know how to act and react to that new child. The new child is the one that they have to find their way with and I was that person for John and Diantha. All of their parenting was tried out on me before it came my sister, Lynn. She is the baby.
Scott said that he was looking to me to help them make the program better through my feedback.
We continued our conversation and we talked about what I am working on in this study leave. I am attracted to the problem of polarization we face and the intersect between it and the person of Jesus. I believe through Jesus' teachings there is something that can be said to us that are so divided.
Scott spoke of something he is now doing that I thought was good. He said he is asking people, even in his own family, that might not agree with him on topics a specific question: How are you loving God?
For most people that question gives pause. We think of God loving us, not us loving God. The verse we learned in Sunday School was John 3:16, 'For God so loved the world that he gave his only begotten Son that whosoever believeth in Him should not perish, but have eternal life."
We do not think too much about us loving God back. But we are commanded to do that. Jesus said this in Matthew 22:37: "Jesus answered: Love the Lord your God with all your heart, soul, and mind."
The issue of how am I loving God is as important as God loving me. My love of God is to expressed very clearly. The clearest way is to love the people that God loves. And who are they?
EVERYONE!
I spent most of the day in the Divinity School library and ended with my conversation with Scott.
We sat down to talk over how the days have progressed and what was my experience so far. I told him that after the debacle of the Duke ID that things leveled off nicely. There is still the feeling of not getting my legs under me.
A big part of that is I have a routine at church. There is an established rhythm to my week. I know from moment to moment how my week is going to be and what is expected of me.
Not being at church is a strange feeling. I have been at this for over 30 years and never had the experience of "time away" like this.
It does not feel like vacation, but it does not feel like my usual week. But slowly I am finding my way.
Scott was on the board for the Baptist House of Studies and knows Duke fairly well. He said it took him a long time to "find his way" when he was there.
I had a few questions about my presence at Duke. I knew the program was new and I wanted to know if I was the first to be assigned in the program. I am. That's great. I know what this is.
Being the oldest child, being the first born, means some things. One of the things that it means is that you are the one they experiment on. First time parents don't know how to act and react to that new child. The new child is the one that they have to find their way with and I was that person for John and Diantha. All of their parenting was tried out on me before it came my sister, Lynn. She is the baby.
Scott said that he was looking to me to help them make the program better through my feedback.
We continued our conversation and we talked about what I am working on in this study leave. I am attracted to the problem of polarization we face and the intersect between it and the person of Jesus. I believe through Jesus' teachings there is something that can be said to us that are so divided.
Scott spoke of something he is now doing that I thought was good. He said he is asking people, even in his own family, that might not agree with him on topics a specific question: How are you loving God?
For most people that question gives pause. We think of God loving us, not us loving God. The verse we learned in Sunday School was John 3:16, 'For God so loved the world that he gave his only begotten Son that whosoever believeth in Him should not perish, but have eternal life."
We do not think too much about us loving God back. But we are commanded to do that. Jesus said this in Matthew 22:37: "Jesus answered: Love the Lord your God with all your heart, soul, and mind."
The issue of how am I loving God is as important as God loving me. My love of God is to expressed very clearly. The clearest way is to love the people that God loves. And who are they?
EVERYONE!
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