Doug McMahon

The Inward and Outward Journeys of Faith

A number of years ago, I came across the phrase, the inward journey and the outward journey of faith.  Many of my friends use this phrase and most credit the folks at The Church of the Savior in Washington DC with using the phrase first.  The life of faith involves an inward journey toward God and the outward journey toward neighbors and into the world.

Similarly, Jesus responded to questions about the law of God by saying all the commandments could be summarized by two:  love God and love your neighbor as yourself.  In the Bible we read this verse, "For anyone who does not love his brother [or sister], whom he [or she] has seen, cannot love God, whom he [or she] has not seen."  (1 John 4:20b, NIV)

But it is a constant struggle for most Christians to find the balance between the inward journey and the outward journey.  In fact, congregations tend to lean toward one favoring one over the other.  Too often congregations emphasize the inward journey.  These folks tend to believe that if you focus on the inward journey mission will flow from that connection.  But, that it is not the case.  We have to be intentional about prayer and mission, worship and mission and the inward journey and mission.

We cannot just assume the outward journey will automatically follow intentional inward practices.  Recently I encouraged my congregation to find a balance between the inward and outward journeys.  In response, someone said to me later, "Rather than finding a balance, I like to think of giving 100% to both!"  I like that enthusiasm.  Loving God and loving neighbgor go together.  The inward journey and the outward journey are essential to the life of faith. 

Sharing

Like most people, I want to make a difference in the world.  Seeking to make a difference is one of the major searches of life.  I remember Kennon Callahan teaching that people participate in four major searches.   People seek strength, community, wisdom and purpose.  People ask questions, like Who am I? Who are we?  How can I deal with this problem? How can I make a difference?  I remember someone else summing it up this way:  we want to understand, to be understand, to belong and to make a difference.

At some point in life, many of us realize that we have been blessed in many ways.  We have a need to give back a portion of that we have received.  Our gratitude motivates us to serve others who may be in need.  We want to share some of what has been given to us.  As a leader of a new faith community and as a college chaplain, I continue to be inspired by people who serve others with generosity and joy.

The way forward for churches involves removing the old barriers that block progress in these four life searches.  Many institutional structures have grown out dated and ineffective.  Its not that people don't desire to serve, rather we get involved in tired religious routines rather than finding new ways to deploy our talents and gifts in service to others.  When we put clear opportunities for service in front of people they often respond with enthusiasm and creativity.  

As people of faith, we must be working in the community and the larger world.  Whenever I recall stories of Jesus indoors at a religious service, I can remember ten other times when he was outdoors or visiting in the homes of people.  Jesus walked the dusty streets of Galilee and Jerusalem, traveled in boats and accepted invitations to dinner in people's homes.  This is how he spent most of his day. There is a time and place for indoor worship gatherings in houses of worship, but the life of faith is lived, most effectively, conversing in coffee shops, working on community projects and engaging in ministry with neighbors.  

It's a new day.  It's a day of mission, as Kennon Callahan also taught.  We are called to participate in ministry, not huddled up in our church buildings, but, by engaging our neighbors in conversation, serving those in need and growing in faith as we live at the crossroads of life.  The life of faith is about relationships, community and growing in faith as we serve, learn, help, discuss, work and pray together.  In short, as we share our lives and resources with others, we find God.

Sabbath Keeping

This past Sunday I preached about Sabbath, twice in the morning in Tampa and again Sunday evening in St. Pete.   The theme of Sabbath seems to be a complex topic to talk about today.  Slowing down and savoring life is a counter-cultural activity.

One listener in Tampa suggested that listeners need time to unpack the ideas in my sermon. He suggested that maybe a gathering or a blog post would give people time to respond to the thoughts about Sabbath in the sermon.  In our fast-paced culture, I confess that  I find it a constant struggle to keep Sabbath.

Recently I heard someone refer to Sabbath keeping as enjoying 52 snow days a year.  Those of us who grew up in the north know that snow days are often fun.  With snow days, most times, schools and businesses close and children get to stay home and play in the snow.  It has been suggested that keeping Sabbath is like getting a snow day.

I find that people who listen to a sermon on Sabbath respond with a mixture of "that sounds great" and "I can't do that."   I think my friend in Tampa is right.  We need time to talk about Sabbath keeping.   We need a lot more conversation.  This isn't something we can do on your own, rather, Sabbath keeping is a community activity.  

How do we enjoy Sabbath rest?  There are many helpful voices and authors to engage in this conversation about Sabbath keeping.  But, we can't just read books on our own and listen to an occasional sermon on Sabbath keeping.  We need ongoing conversations and support.  We live in a time and place that is not Sabbath-friendly.  But we need Sabbath because we need God.  Snow days were enjoyable because they were a community activity and so are days of Sabbath.

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Simplicity

I didn't think too much about simplicity until I was well into my 30's.  By the time I was 35 or 36, I began to yearn for time to do nothing.  I also wanted time to exercise, listen to music, go to a movie or to just do nothing.  As a father of two little children and a busy pastor, it seemed like life had become far too busy and complicated.  As I approached 40, I began to realize that I could control my schedule and my life again. I couldn't change all of my commitments overnight, but I realized that I could begin to build a more simple life. 

It is like trying to lose ten pounds.  You can't do it over night, but it is possible.  If I wanted to keep off ten pounds or build simplicity into your life, I needed to take stock of my schedule and my life on a regular basis.   It continues to be an up and down journey.  

Life is never perfect, and I have learned that new and unexpected interruptions find their way into my life. But I value living a more simple life.  I am learning to more often say no to commitments that make life unnecessarily more complex and busy.  Being busy all of the time is a sure way to undermine our spirituality.

When I get too busy, I take time to look at my life.  Ronald Heifetz and Marty Linsky write about gaining perspective as "getting to the balcony."  Getting to the balcony for me is taking time to meet with my colleagues in an accountability group that meets for five days once a year.  It also involves taking significant time for vacation with my family.  And twice a month, I meet for two hours of prayer with local friends.  These activities enable me to retreat long enough to get the balcony perspective and evaluate my use of time and personal resources.   The important questions for me during this balcony time are:  "Where is God is my life?  What is God doing?  What is God saying to me?"  

Jesus wasn't busy.  He was effective, compassionate and faithful.  He was intentional and purposeful, but he wasn't busy.  He had time for people and for prayer.  He lived a simple and beautiful life.

When I think of greatness, I think of a simple and intentional life.  I enjoy my life when I take time to reflect, rest and make strategic decisions to use my time well.  I am happiest when I am not rushing around and wasting time. Some people think of sitting around doing nothing as wasting time.  Instead, I think of wasting time as being too busy and running around in an ineffective way.  

Simplicity is beautiful.  It also helps with the other issues I am thinking about:  suffering, sharing, solitude and Sabbath.  They are interrelated.  Over the next four posts I will be writing about suffering, sharing, solitude and Sabbath. 

Five Words that Begin with S

In our time, it seems to me, that there are five things that seem especially important to learn about in our spiritual life.  The five lessons are about simplicity, suffering, sharing, solitude and Sabbath.  Of course, there are many other things that need discussion, and, there are many other important traditions to pass along.  But these five seem to be lessons that beg to be discussed and learned, today.  

First, I find that I yearn for simplicity in my life.  I want help in dealing with all of the confusion, busyness and complexity of our world.  I seek a way to live simply in this world.

I also wrestle with questions about suffering.  At some point in our lives, we eventually face the questions, "Why do bad things happen to good people?" and "Why does God allow evil in the world?"  How do you deal with pain and suffering?

Third, I want to make a difference in the world.  At some point, many of us know that we have been blessed in life in many ways.  We have a need to give back a portion of that we have received.  Our gratitude motivates us to serve others who may be in need.  We want to share some of what has been given to us.

Solitude is another thing that I need in this busy and noisy world.  In Psalm 46, we hear God say, "Be still and know that I am God."  There is a dimension of our spirituality that can only be nurtured in solitude. Another psalm, Psalm 27, invites you to "wait on the Lord, be strong and let your heart take courage.  Yes wait for the Lord." 

Along with simplicity, suffering, sharing, and solitude, I need Sabbath rest because I get tired and distracted by many things.  Taking a Sabbath day of rest is one of the most radical things I can do. It is radical because it goes against the grain of our busy and unforgiving world.  It is, also, radical because Sabbath rest brings us back to our roots and brings us before God in a powerful way.  Sabbath rest is a much neglected practice and we suffer much because of our refusal to stop and enjoy God.

Over the next five posts, I will be writing about simplicity, suffering, sharing, solitude and Sabbath.  I hope you will join me in the conversation.  I don't have it all figured out.  I am trying to learn more fully these five lessons and live into these lessons from the Christian tradition.

Hopelessly Hopeful

Recently, the Presbyterian Church (USA) released their annual statistical report.  The numbers are not good.  Although nearly 104,000 people joined the PCUSA last year, there were over 34,000 who died, another 34,000 who were members of the 25 congregations that left the PCUSA for other denominations and over 104,000 people who were removed from the rolls of PCUSA congregations.  We grieve the loss of every single member who either died, left the denomination or simply slipped into inactivity for whatever reason. There is plenty of grief to go around.

Is there anything that anyone can do about these statistics and the problems they represent?  It seems to me, no sermon, book or new program can single handedly turn around these statistics.  There is something we should do:  be involved in mission locally and globally.

I don't think statistical reports should be our focus.  I can't imagine Jesus holding us accountable for statistical membership loses.  Now, I'm fully aware as a new church planter that I am accountable for my work to the Presbytery, as I should be. Furthermore, someone can argue that the statistics, in some way, reflect mission being done or not being done--fair enough.  But the combined statistics of over 2.1 million Presbyterians say little about what each of us are involved in, or not involved in, locally. 

When I read the statistical reports and the conversations they generate, I turn to the parable of the sheep and goats in Matthew 25.  This parable of Jesus tells me where to focus my concern: I am called to show mercy to people who are hungry, thirsty, homeless, shivering, sick or in prison.  I believe we are called to give ourselves away in mission.  The way forward for Presbyterians is to reshape ourselves into missional communities of faith, wherever we have become ineffective. Where things have fallen apart, we need to rebuild in order to become more missional.

Focusing on mission, discipleship and the worship of God may or may not reverse the statistical decline. There may be larger trends in religious life that are way beyond our control.  What we can control is our resolve to fulfill the Great Commission and the Great Commandment.  We should remember that it is not our job to fulfill the anxious hopes of those who want to see better statistics.  

I think it is important for us to deal with our anxiety over the declining statistics, because we must keep our focus on mercy and mission.  When we plan our days, write our mission statements and vote on budgets, we need to think, not of the statistical reports, but, of the parable of the sheep and the goats. Primarily, our focus is on God who is a God of mercy and mission.  

God is love.  God hears the cries of those who are hungry, thirsty, homeless, shivering, sick or in prison. If we focus on mission and mercy, I am hopelessly hopeful about our future. 

With a Little Help from My Friends

"Whenever you set sail for a new land, there comes a time when you cannot see the coast."  My friend, Bobby, told me that a friend of his back home in Africa had recently posted this comment on Facebook with no explanation.  The Facebook post came to mind to Bobby while I was sharing with our Spirit Friends group at the Franciscan Center in Tampa.  I was telling my friends about my feelings and thoughts at this point in my new call as a new church planter in St. Petersburg.  When we live by faith there are times when we can no longer see either coast--neither the one from where we set sail nor the new destination. 

Bobby--now moving from sailing to walking-- reminded me that Moses led the people of God through the wilderness on the way to the promised land.  In the middle of the wilderness, the reasonable voices were the ones who argued that going back to Egypt, their home for 400 years, was the wise thing to do. But Moses believed in a promised land.   Moses led the people in the wilderness for a long time-- 40 years-- but that was nothing compared to the familiarity of 400 years in Egypt.

Yesterday, my Spirit Friends encouraged me to keep the faith.  They told me to keep walking by faith and to continue to trust in God.  This is a wilderness time, but many amazing things have happened over the past year.  God has been faithful.  God is birthing a new faith community in our midst.  But it takes time.

I was on the phone this morning sharing this same story with another friend in Pittsburgh.  He told me that he just got home from a summer conference where Rev. Joan Gray, former moderator of the General Assembly of the Presbyterian Church (USA), spoke about the nature of the church. She said one of the the first symbols of the earliest church was a sail boat, not a row boat.

The early church leaders understood that the church was like a sail boat.  God calls us to set sail and catch the winds of the Spirit.  Joan said church people, too often, are tired because they have thought of the church as a row boat.  They are tired of rowing.  The church isn't a row boat it is a sail boat, and our job is to set sail in the wind.

While I was finishing my story, my Spirit Friends asked me, "What are you excited about right now?"  I was able to say I am very excited about my new call.  First, my relationship with God has never been better.  I feel close to God and am enjoying God's presence in our midst.  Second, I have never felt more clear about the vision and mission of the local congregation than I do right now.  Finally, I am enjoying being a pastor. I enjoy all of the tasks of ministry: preparing and preaching sermons, leading worship, participating in mission, planning future gatherings and meeting new people.  

That was a great question:  What are you excited about right now?  How would you answer that question today?  What are you excited about?  What is God doing in your life this week?

My Favorite Psalms: Psalm 42

In March, I wrote about two of my favorite Psalms, Psalm 23 and Psalm 139.  Today, I want to write about another favorite, Psalm 42.  About ten years ago, I remember reading (and praying) Psalm 42 during a retreat with a group of pastor friends at Our Lady of Florida in North Palm Beach.  Psalm 42 invites us into prayer and reflection.

The writer of the Psalm begins by addressing God, "As the deer pants for the water brooks, So my soul pants for you, O God."   Then the psalmist turns his or her attention to his or her own soul and, following that, sort of addresses the wind or to whomever is listening:  "My tears have become my food day and night."  There is this interesting movement from prayer to God, then, attending to one's own soul and then speaking to whomever is listening (or reading).

Psalm 42 speaks to me about how to handle discouragement or despair.  It teaches me that it is always appropriate to address God about my despair or sadness.  It is more than OK to speak to God about my doubts and pain.  In fact, God is the best person to receive all of my laments.

Psalm 42 shows us that we can express doubt and sadness while also paradoxically expressing hope and confidence in God.  The writer addresses his or her own soul:   "Why are you in despair, O my soul?  And why have you become disturbed within me?  Hope in God, for I shall again praise [God], For the help of [God's] presence." 

The psalm also closes with the same mixture of discouragement and confidence, "Why are you in despair, O my soul?  And why have you become disturbed within me?  Hope in God, for I shall yet praise [God], The help of my countenance and my God."  

It is possible to acknowledge our pain and doubt and also express confidence in God even though we may not feel that confidence at the moment. Sometimes people of faith get the message that its not OK to express doubts, discouragement or anger.  But the Bible teaches us (especially the Psalms) to be genuine about our human emotions during prayer.  

Who are we kidding if we think we need to clean up our prayers before God?  God is God and God knows us better than we know ourselves.  Psalm 42 tells it like it is: "I will say to God, my rock, 'Why have you forgotten me?"  

If you think God has forgotten you, tell God just what you think.  Be authentic. If you can't be honest with God, with whom can you be honest? Hope in God, for we will yet praise God.

A Definition of Spirituality

A number of years ago, while in my hometown of Ocean Grove, NJ, auditing a D.Min. course at Drew @ Ocean Grove, I heard this definition of spirituality: spirituality is a way of being in the world.  It was like a light going on for me.  This simple definition helped me to express my spirituality as something that is earthy and ordinary, and, therefore very real.  It is not something that is "so heavenly minded that it is no earthly good."

Spirituality is a way of being in the world.  It is not the only way. Some people live in the world and deny their spirituality.  But living a life in the spirit is lived in a body, on the earth and in very ordinary ways, every day.  During a sermon, I once told the congregation that the life of the spirit always involves the body.  I said, "if that doesn't make sense to you,then please feel free to attend worship next week without your body.  Just attend the worship service and leave your body at home!"  The life of the spirit is always a life that is an embodied life.

Some people tend to think of the life of the spirit as something beyond the body or away from the body.  But spirituality is holistic. It involves body, spirit, soul, mind and heart.  It is a life connected to God, people and all of creation.  In this world, one cannot be a spiritual person without a body.  We cannot be a spiritual person in isolation from other people. We need each other.  Whether we acknowledge it or not, we are connected to the beauty of the created world.   

Spirituality is a way of being in the world. Jesus taught us that the two greatest commandments are to love the Lord God with all your heart and soul, mind and strength, and, to love your neighbor as yourself. Loving God with all our heart, soul, mind and strength, and loving our neighbor as ourself, requires us to take this earthly life seriously.

To define spirituality as a way of being in the world is to also acknowledge that how we live our lives in this world is important to God.  Spiritual practices cannot be disconnected from earthly practices of mercy, peace, and justice.  The Hebrew prophet Isaiah said that fasting, prayer and worship that does not result in sharing our bread with the hungry, providing shelter to the homeless and doing justice in the workplace is not the true worship of God. 

What I do--or don't do-- with my life is a spiritual matter.  The four gospels tell us how Jesus lived in the world.  When our way of being in the world is modeled after his way of being in the world, we experience peace and joy.  He has shown us the way. 

The Practice of Prayer

I remember hearing a pastor say, "to be honest I don't pray that much."  These words surprised me because they were said by a pastor for whom I have great respect.  He is a very competent and compassionate pastor and a great preacher.  His statement about the lack of prayer also surprised me because it was said as a matter of fact not confession.  His assumption was that most pastors are active religious leaders and not contemplatives.  But I am becoming more convinced that in order to be active leaders in the world we need also to be contemplatives at prayer daily.

I wish that I could say this balance of adequate prayer and action has been my daily practice for the past twenty-two years of ordained ministry as a Presbyterian minister.  But it hasn't. I have learned about the importance of prayer over time. The practice of prayer is essential, but too many people live active lives without adequate time for prayer--even pastors.  Maybe I should say especially pastors.  I confess that there have been some years when I have allowed myself to become too busy and too fragmented by my daily tasks.  I didn't take enough time to pray daily.

In contrast to our busyness, Jesus is our positive example.  Jesus prayed often and regularly took long periods of time for prayer.  Dallas Willard in his book, The Divine Conspiracy, concludes that if Jesus took 40 days to pray in the wilderness it might be good for each of us regularly to devote 3 or 4 days for prayer.  It's a good question to ask:  if Jesus needed so much time for prayer, why do we think we can sail through life and ministry without taking adequate time for the practice of prayer?

What is your practice of prayer? Desmond Tutu writes, "Prayer and holy words can also bring us back to our love and our recognition of our connectedness.  St. Paul tells us to pray unceasingly and many Christians have used the Jesus Prayer as a way to create inner stillness at times of anger and turmoil. The form of the prayer has varied, but the most common form is, Lord Jesus Christ, Son of God, have mercy on me, a sinner. Some have suggested simply saying, Lord Jesus, have mercy, or repeating a verse from the Psalms, a quote from the Bible, or another prayer that is meaningful and significant to you and your beliefs."  (God Has a Dream, Page 80)

Ultimately, prayer is the best way to enjoy God's presence in our life.  Prayer is the way to stay connected to God and, as Desmond Tutu writes, prayer helps us recognize our connectedness to one another and all of God's good creation.  Prayer isn't an escape from our responsibilities or a way to run away from our problems, rather it is a conversation with our Maker and Sustainer about how to more fully engage the realities of life.  

I remember hearing that prayer is the language of love.  Prayer is, sometimes, speaking words to God but it is also listening.  Prayer can simply be sitting in stillness before God--without words.  Prayer is about turning our attention towards God.  The practice of prayer is an opportunity to make each day a time to partner with God.  To be a person of prayer is to know that you are not alone.  God is with us.