Our church focus this year is passionate spirituality. A lot of people hear that and feel that is just not for them. They feel that they are not spiritually gifted people and don’t have the time or discipline needed. The main reason for all of this defeatism is the image most people have of a spiritual person. They feel these holy people all spend hours a day praying and reading the Bible. During these times of deep spirituality God inspires and leads them personally.

With this kind of an image of spirituality is no wonder that most of us give up before we have even started. While I admit that there are some very special people in the world, like Mother Theresa and Saint Francis most Christians are pretty much like you and I. This only makes sense. In Genesis the writer tells us “God created humankind in his image, in the image of God he created them; male and female he created them.” Even in this fist description of humanity there is diversity, men and women are as different as people can be. Diversity seems to be one of God’s specialties. Think of all the different animals and plants that make up and ecosystem. These differences are part of the goodness of the creation.

There is a great deal of diversity in the spiritual side of God’s creation as well. Each of us have a different personality, and as a result a different way of relating to God. An easy way to grasp this is to look at different personality types and see how they can affect the way people relate to God. For example thinking, logical person is going to approach things, even prayer quite differently from someone who approaches things more instinctually or intuitively. The same is true of people who rely on their senses as opposed to those who feel their way through life. There is an appropriate spirituality for everyone. God does not expect a truck driver to pray like a nun. All of us, however, were created to live in a relationship with God so it is important for all of us to find the way we relate to God best. There are many different ways to

pray. Katarina’s seminars this summer will explore these differences and help the participants find ways to draw closer to God. This is something that has to be done individually. You can’t do that with a worship service designed to reach as many different personalities as possible. Each of us has to find our way to God. Like Paul tells us in Philippians we need to work out our own salvation with fear and trembling; for it is God who is at work in us, enabling us both to will and to work for his good pleasure.

God sends us teachers, but we need to seek and learn for ourselves.So what are some signs of a healthy spirituality that can give us some assurance that we are on the right path? There is probably no better guide for this than Jesus own teaching in the beatitudes (Matt. 5.) If you understand that you are “poor in Spirit,” If you “mourn” for you sins and meekly seek God’s guidance then you are well along in your spiritual journey. Probably the best sign of a healthy spirituality is the desire for a closer relationship with God itself. This is what it means to “hunger and thirst after righteousness.” God has promised that those who seek his presence will find it.
The biggest block most people in their spiritual life are their own preconceived ideas. God loves the vast diversity in humanity. We need to accept this diversity in our faith life as well. Most of us are a lot more spiritual than we think we are. Paul tells us “there are varieties of gifts, but the same Spirit; and there are varieties of services, but the same Lord; and there are varieties of activities, but it is the same God who activates all of them in everyone. To each is given the manifestation of the Spirit for the common good.” (1 Cor. 12:4-7.) Discovering how God communicates with people who have a personality similar to our own is an important step in finding a deeper more satisfying faith life. Come find your way with us this summer as we explore personal spirituality this summer. You will never be sorry.

Pastor Jim Bliss
July - August 2005