All of us here at LifeBrook and at Sacred Mind Ministries wishes each and every one of you a blessed and meaningful Thanksgiving. Let us always give thanks, rejoicing in our blessings, both seen and unseen.
L.D. “Mick” Turner
Living for Christ Beyond Religion
All of us here at LifeBrook and at Sacred Mind Ministries wishes each and every one of you a blessed and meaningful Thanksgiving. Let us always give thanks, rejoicing in our blessings, both seen and unseen.
L.D. “Mick” Turner
It’s a shame that some churches still teach that true ministry is limited to the pulpit. That’s rubbish. Pulpit ministries are to help people discover and be effective in their own spheres of influence. But the vast majority of people are meant to serve outside the pulpit and fivefold ministries….When you confine true ministry to the fivefold ministries, you make 95 percent of the church irrelevant…Furthermore, your promised land is almost certainly not a ministry you feel you should start, but an actual place of influence in society that you can take back by the grace of God. Many Christian have become so religious that they are no longer passionate about what happens in the world. Because they have been locked up in the four walls of the church, their wildest desire is to become a preacher, evangelist, praise and worship leader, youth pastor, and so on. These are housekeeping ministries that need to be done excellently, but they should not be confused with the real work God has called the vast majority of believers to, which is in the world. Don’t confuse the chore you perform in God’s house for the promised land He gives you outside His house.
Sunday Adelaja
(from Church Shift)
L.D. Turner
Early in life God granted me the great fortune of having several positive role models that taught me to honor, revere, and respect the natural world. My grandfather, a life-long game warden, felt most at home in the mountains and woods of North Alabama. My father was also a game warden and an outdoorsman. Although originally from Alabama, my family moved to Florida when I was ten-years-old and my strongest memories of those years was of my Dad, skippering a small boat through the endless mangrove mazes on the southwest coast of the Sunshine State.
Yet another influential nature mystic in my early life was an old man known to me only as “Old Ben.” Although my father and grandfather impacted me in many positive ways, it was Old Ben who took my spiritual life and planted it in fertile ground. Living alone on remote, undeveloped acreage that he owned, Ben was a storehouse of valuable knowledge of the workings of nature. He often spoke of things like “energy” and “light” and how these two mysterious forces danced together to keep the world in balance and sustain life in it myriad forms. Although I was only a kid when a pair of neighborhood buddies and I “discovered” Old Ben during one of our typical bicycle journey to parts unknown. Later in life I would realize that meeting up with Old Ben, sitting on cable spools in front of his run down trailer, and watching him weave all sorts of things from Palmetto fronds, were among the most significant events in my life.
Old Ben in particular taught me lessons that have had lasting value. I have often thought I should write a book describing some of my experiences with Old Ben and some of the wisdom that he imparted to a young, not-so-attentive boy in the languid, sweltering climate of southwest Florida. Maybe some day I will.
When I was in my mid-teens, I learned a bit about Old Ben’s racial heritage. He was a full-blood Chinook, born in Washington State near the Canadian border in 1890. I met him when I was 11, in 1960. Old Ben was 70 although in my eyes he looked 100. That he was a Native American never entered my young mind. The only Indians I had seen were usually engaging in a wide range of nefarious deeds on the big screen at the Gulf Theater in Venice, Florida. Old Ben was the first real Native American I had ever encountered.
I also learned, not from Old Ben, but from his sister who usually came for a month-long visit every January, that the family migrated from the great Northwest in 1946, due to the failing respiratory health of Ben’s father. The family bought and rehabilitated a dying orange grove and made their living growing and selling fruit. Old Ben, the oldest child, took over the business and the land after the father died in 1952. The sister moved back to Seattle and Old Ben continued to run the business until he sold a half-interest and retired to the most remote section of the family land, which I learned totaled more than 400 acres.
Old Ben knew the intricate workings of the natural world in a way that a quantum physicist knows quarks and a great poet knows words. Even more, the old Indian took great pains to live his life in accordance with the subtle principles and laws that he so deeply understood. There must have been something of value in all of Old Ben’s arcane knowledge because he lived to be 105.
I kept in touch with Old Ben right up to the end. In the late 80’s, no longer able to care for himself physically, he sold his land and moved into a retirement community. With a clear mind right up to the end, he still amazed me with his wit, humor, and natural wisdom. I last saw him about a year before he died and it was a memorable visit. After a hearty dinner, we sat at a picnic table near Casperson’s Beach and watched the sun disappear into the waves of the Gulf of Mexico.
Fishing a crumpled piece of paper out of his pocket, Old Ben said he wanted to share something with me. Further, he said that if I molded my life to the wisdom hidden in the words of the prayer, I would always find strength, power, and resiliency, no matter what slings and arrows life might send my way. It was a famous Chinook prayer that clearly illustrates the power, the glory, and the assistance available if we know how to avail ourselves of what creation has to offer. Unfolding the paper, Old Ben glanced at the last sliver of sun sinking into the sea and, with the light that remained, read:
We call upon the earth, our planet home, with its beautiful depths and soaring heights, its vitality and abundance of life and together we ask that it:
Teach us, and show us the way.
We call upon the mountains, the Cascades and the Olympics, the high green valleys and meadows filled with wild flowers, the snows that never melt, the summits of intense silence and we ask that they:
Teach us, and show us the way.
We call upon the waters that rim the earth, horizon to horizon, that flow in our rivers and streams, that fall upon our gardens and fields, and ask that they:
Teach us, and show us the way.
We call upon the land which grows our food, the nurturing soil, the fertile fields, the abundant gardens and orchards, and we ask that they:
Teach us and show us the way.
We call upon the forests, the great trees reaching strongly to the sky with earth in their roots and heaven in their branches, the fir and the pine and the cedar, and we ask them to:
Teach us and show us the way.
We call upon the creatures of the fields and forests and the seas, our brothers and sisters the wolves and deer, the eagle and the dove, the great whales and the dolphin, the beautiful Orca and salmon who share our Northwest home, and we ask them to:
Teach us and show us the way.
We call upon the moon and the stars and the sun, who govern the rhythms and seasons of our lives and remind us that we are part of a great and wondrous universe, and we ask them to:
Teach us and show us the way.
We call upon all those who have lived on this earth, our ancestors and our friends, who dreamed the best for future generations, and upon whose lives our lives are built, and with thanksgiving, we call upon them to:
Teach us and show us the way.
And lastly, we call upon all that we hold most sacred, the presence and the power of the Great Spirit of love and truth which flows through all the universe…to be with us to:
Teach us and show us the way.
That was the last time I saw Old Ben this side of the grave. In the grand scheme of things, few people outside his family and circle of friends are even aware that he ever lived. Old Ben was not a man of fame nor was he a man of monetary fortune. He was without a doubt, however, a man of great honor and nobility.
Let those who have ears, hear.
(c) L.D. Turner 2009/All Rights Reserved
“Spiritual formation is the process through which those who love and trust Jesus Christ effectively take on his character. When this process is what it should be, they increasingly live their lives as he would if he were in their place. Their outward conformity to his example and his instructions rises toward fullness as their inward sources of action take on the same character as his. They become more and more to share his vision, love, hope, feelings, and habits….This process of “conformation to Christ,” as we might more appropriately call it, is constantly supported by grace and otherwise would be impossible. But it is not therefore passive. Grace is opposed to earning, not effort. In fact, nothing inspires and enhances effort like the experience of grace.”
Dallas Willard
(from The Great Omission)
L. Dwight Turner
If we ever hope to grow into the fullness of Christ as Paul promised we could, we not only have to imitate Christ. Although the “What Would Jesus Do?” teaching was both admirable and beneficial, it did not go to the core of the issue. If we want to manifest the character, the mind, and the heart of Jesus, we have to live as he lived. This means, among other things, that we have to practice the spiritual disciplines of our faith.
I am always fascinated by those folks who are threatened by the spiritual disciplines and especially those writers and teachers who warn us against practicing the disciplines. These folks go so far as to infer that the practice of spiritual disciplines is at best unscriptural and at worst, from the bowels of hell.
Nothing could be farther from the truth.
I don’t know what scriptures these teachers are reading from, but it surely isn’t the Bible and certainly not the four Gospels. Time after time we read accounts of Jesus going off in solitude to pray and engage in fasting. His consistent use of scriptural references tells us clearly that he engaged in the practice of sacred study. And in one of the most telling passages, Jesus went off alone and prayed all night long. The most telling aspect of this passage is the fact that Jesus did this before choosing the twelve apostles.
I can think of no other way to put it: to state that Jesus did not practice spiritual disciplines is sheer lunacy.
The classical spiritual disciplines of the Christian faith have been practiced for centuries, starting with Christ himself and carrying forward throughout the Church’s history. These disciplines do not “save us” in the sense of justifying us before a Holy God or granting us brownie points for spiritual behavior. As Paul clearly tells us, it is God’s grace that saves us and, logically extended, it is God’s grace and the power of the Holy Spirit that ultimately sanctifies us and helps us lead more holy lives. Does that mean there is nothing left for us to do? Hardly! Paul tells us to “work out our salvation with trembling” and James states in a most straightforward manner that “faith without works is dead.” There is plenty left for us to do and that is where the spiritual disciplines come in.
My experience has been that practicing the spiritual disciplines has helped me to accomplish several important milestones in my walk of faith. First, as their name implies, the spiritual disciplines have helped me to become a more disciplined person. By practicing the spiritual disciplines, especially prayer, contemplation, meditation, solitude, and Bible study, I have become a more steadfast follower of Christ. Second, practicing the disciplines have helped me reduce and even eliminate some of the major strongholds of resistance I have to leading a spiritual life. Let’s face facts: following the teachings of Christ is not something you or I come to naturally. Due to our inherent nature of “flesh,” we are not so inclined to set aside times for communion with God through studying scripture or engaging in practices like prayer, meditation, and solitude. To the contrary, for many of us it seems almost second nature to avoid getting to close to God. Instead, we tend to either ignore him or do whatever we can to minimize our moments of divine contact.
Thirdly, and I find this to be the most beneficial aspect of the practice of the disciplines, by engaging in these sacred practices I am brought to a place of receptivity to God’s presence and action in my life. Yes, it is God’s grace toward me and the work of the Holy Spirit that brings about desired change in my life. However, if my hands are not empty, I cannot receive this gift of grace and Spirit. By this I mean that I must be in a space of receptivity in order to receive. It is precisely the practice of the spiritual disciplines that brings this about.
I am reminded of the biblical characters Zacchaeus and Bartimaeus, two individuals who seemed to understand that Jesus was no ordinary person and went to great lengths to place themselves in a position to receive whatever it was that he might have to offer. Scripture tells us that Zacchaeus would never have been drafted by an NBA team as a potential center. A very short man, Zacchaeus had to shimmy up a tree right in Jesus’ path in order to even get a glimpse of the great rabbi. The tax collector ended up getting more than he bargained for. Jesus saw Zacchaeus perched up on the limb of the tree and called him by name. Not only that, he summoned the short little man down from his perch and to Zacchaeus’ astonishment, said, “Guess who’s coming to dinner?”
If Zacchaeus had not placed himself in a position of receptivity, chances are the story would have unfolded in a much different manner.
Bartimaeus also had a divine encounter with Jesus by making himself available. As Luke 18: 35-43 unfolds, we learn that Bartimaeus is a blind beggar sitting on a roadside near Jericho. While sitting there begging, he hears a distant commotion that steadily grows louder and louder. When he asked those standing around him, a sizable crowd by now, what was going on they informed his that Jesus of Nazareth and his disciples were approaching.
Blind but not deaf, Bartimaeus had no doubt heard of the miracle working itinerant rabbi and immediately wanted to make sure he could somehow get to the great teacher before he passed by.
“Jesus, Son of David, have mercy upon me,” came the cry from Bartimaeus’ heart.
Those gathered around as well as those leading the procession, most likely some of the big wigs from Jericho, told Bartimaeus to pipe down and keep quiet.
Undeterred, the blind beggar shouted even louder.
“Jesus, Son of David, have mercy upon me.”
Indignant, those around the social outcast told him even more strongly to shut up or else. Not wanting to offend the rabbi, chances are they might have even roughed the beggar up a little.
Jesus, however, stopped and to everyone’s astonishment I’m sure, asked Bartimaeus what he wanted. Bartimaeus by this time had removed his cloak and headed toward Jesus, who promptly healed him on the spot.
As far as I am concerned, the removal of the coat is a significant aspect of the encounter between the blind beggar and the Son of God. Bartimaeus, indeed, made himself available – receptive – in a position to receive the gift of healing from Christ. The removal of his coat implies a taking off of impediments that may block the flow of blessings from the Lord. It is the consistent practice of the classical spiritual traditions that assists in melting away those things that stand in the way of our more intimate contact with the Lord.
Countless numbers of sincere Christians desire just that: a more intimate contact with God. Recognizing that something deeper must be available in the Christian journey, these seekers are a bit different from those spiritual aspirants one might find in some of the more occult or New Age groups. Although those seeking the Light through these various paths are many times sincere enough, they are not sure exactly what it is they are trying to find. Conversely, many of the Christ-followers I encounter either at LifeBrook or at various churches are quite clear about their spiritual goal: they want to establish a deeper, abiding relationship with the Divine Source – God.
Granted, there are many other Christians who are not so much interested in discipleship in general and the deeper, more abiding realties that can only be found through practicing a disciplined life. These believers figure they have had their ticket to heaven punched and that is all that really matters to them. Quite satisfied to maintain the appearance of spirituality, these folks warm the pews with their backsides while their spiritual hearts grow increasingly cold. As the light placed in them by God at their conversion fades to a predictable dimness, they are unable to articulate even the most rudimentary knowledge of the contents of their faith. They can, however, bring one heck of a casserole to the Wednesday night potluck.
In addition to these two types of believers, those who want something deeper and more transformative and those who are content to maintain a cosmetic Christianity, there is a third type we need to briefly examine. In this case, these Christians perhaps want something of more genuine substance in their walk with Christ, but they have rarely expended much spiritual energy in pursuit of authentic spiritual formation. They may have had a number of surface experiences, but have never gone far beyond that. Content to splash about the wading pool of Christian discipleship, these folks usually won’t even put on a snorkel. Noted expert on the spiritual disciplines Donald S. Whitney paints a vivid portrait of the spiritual lives of these believers:
So many professing Christians are so spiritually undisciplined that they seem to have little fruit and power in their lives. I’ve seen men and women who discipline themselves for the purpose of excelling in their profession discipline themselves very little “for the purpose of godliness.” I’ve seen Christians who are faithful to the church of God, who frequently demonstrate genuine enthusiasm for the things of God, and who dearly love the Word of God, trivialize their effectiveness of the Kingdom of God through lack of discipline. Spiritually they are a mile wide and an inch deep. They are no deep, time-worn channels of communing discipline between them and God. They have dabbled in everything but disciplined themselves in nothing.
I hold the firm conviction that the Holy Spirit works through the spiritual disciplines in ways that are profound and transformative. The Spirit uses these classical spiritual exercises as a sort of matrix through which he can do his deeper and more intimate work. Therefore, it behooves us as true disciples to make it a point to not only become acquainted with these disciplines of grace, but to make them an integral part of our daily walk of faith.
(c) L.D. Turner 2009/All Rights Reserved
L. Dwight Turner
As Christians, scripture tells us that we are to increasingly grow into the character of Christ – in other words – become more Christ-like. Left to our own devices, this would be an impossible demand. Tainted by sin and mostly dominated by our lower nature, who among us could generate even a sliver of hope of emulating Jesus in thought, word, and deed?
Fortunately, scripture tells us that we have an omnipotent ally in this process of spiritual formation. The Holy Spirit walks along side of us, giving us strength to offset our weakness, wisdom to overcome our ignorance, and divine love to gradually eradicate our extreme self-centeredness. It is this promise of the Holy Spirit that gives us a reason to proceed down the road of spiritual formation and further, provides us with a legitimate assurance of success.
Still, we cannot fold our arms, lean back, and wait for the Holy Spirit to magically turn us into exact replicas of Christ. Over the centuries countless numbers of Christians have tried this approach with predictable results. Scripture is clear in stating that we have a part to play in the attainment of what we here at LifeBrook call “Sacred Character.” Sacred Character is based on the character and integrity exhibited by Christ during his mission here on earth. By studying the character of Christ, we can gain valuable insight into what it means to live our own lives from the sure foundation of Sacred Character.
As Jesus walked this earth, he revealed the character of God. “He who has seen me has seen the Father,” said Christ and in this statement he revealed a profound truth. Christ was so intimate with the Father that his character and his behavior were perfect reflections of his heavenly parent. Our goal, with the help of the Holy Spirit, is to live in the same intimacy with Christ as he lived with the Father. If you want to gain a deep and abiding perspective on this kind of intimate relationship, I suggest that you prayerfully read through the 17th Chapter of the Gospel of John.
In order to grow into this type of intimacy with Christ and increasingly manifest Sacred Character in our daily lives, we must engage in certain activities that foster spiritual development in a positive and proven direction. These activities have a long and valuable history in the Christian tradition. Here I am speaking of the classic Christian spiritual disciplines.
In some quarters, sincere believers become edgy just at the mention of spiritual disciplines. Steeped in the theology of God’s unmerited and unlimited grace, these well-meaning Christians believe that pursuing the practice of the classical spiritual disciplines is somehow “salvation through works.” This kind of thinking is both incorrect and unfortunate. It is incorrect in the sense that the spiritual disciplines are not related to salvation or the final destination of one’s soul. Pursuing spiritual disciplines is more concerned with placing ourselves in a position of receptivity to the action of the Holy Spirit in our lives. It is about allowing the Holy Spirit to form us into the image of Christ. Although this spiritual formation is ultimately a work of the Spirit, we are told to do all that we can to assist in the process. As the great Quaker writer Rufus Jones once said,
“The grace of God is like the wind blowing across the Sea of Galilee; if you want to get to the other side, you have to raise your sail.”
The notion that practicing the disciplines is “works” is also highly unfortunate in that this misguided belief has prevented countless Christians from availing themselves of the very thing they need in order to foster the deeper, more effective walk of faith. I am of the belief that the great “faith/works” controversy of the 16th Century, although beneficial in many ways, gave birth to a trend in Protestant Christianity that resulted in pews filled with believers that were both powerless and confused. This tragic trend continues even today.
As the Body of Christ moves forward in this challenging age, establishing ministries focusing on vibrant, dynamic discipleship is of paramount importance. Unless the church develops consistent ways to grow its members deeper in the faith, it runs the danger of becoming, at best, irrelevant to the contemporary culture, or at worst, dead.
To begin, I think it is critical that we come to understand just what a disciple is. From all evidence, it would seem the church at large has lost touch with a crucial element of its mission – disciple-making. Just prior to his ascension, Christ did not tell his inner circle to “go and make converts.” No, he told them to go and make disciples. It is obvious that constructing a workable definition of a disciple is a high priority. Margaret Campbell gives us a great jump-start:
A disciple of Jesus is a person who has decided to live in attentiveness to Jesus. We live in attentiveness in order to become like Jesus on the inside and, thereby, able to do what Jesus would do on the outside. As maturing disciples we progressively learn to live in attentiveness, adoration, surrender, obedience, and thankfulness to God, and all of this, without ceasing. Through the hidden work of transformation, God writes his good way on our minds and hearts and this is very good. By his grace, our hearts are divinely changed. We are progressively conformed to be like Jesus in mind and will and soul and word and deed. What we say and what we do more consistently reflect the glory and goodness of God.
If that isn’t clear enough, let’s listen to George Barna:
True discipleship is about a lifestyle, not simply about stored up Bible knowledge. Often, churches assume that if people are reading the Bible and attending a small group, then real discipleship is happening. Unfortunately, we found that’s often not the case. Discipleship is about being and reproducing zealots for Christ. Discipleship, in other words, is about passionately pursuing the lifestyle and mission of Jesus Christ.
From these two definitions it should be clear that real discipleship, the kind of Jesus-following that makes a difference in a person’s life and the life of others, involves more than wearing a “What would Jesus Do?” bracelet.
(To be continued)
(c) L.D. Turner 2009/All Rights Reserved
“As for me, I never lived. I was half dead. I was a rotting tree, until I reached a place where I wholly, with utter honesty, resolved and then re-resolved that I would find God’s will, and I would do that will though every fiber in me said no, and I would win the battle in my thoughts. It was as though some deep artesian well had been struck in my soul…You and I shall soon blow away from our bodies. Money, praise, poverty, opposition, these make no difference, for they will all alike be forgotten in a thousand years, but this spirit which comes to a mind set upon continuous surrender, this spirit is timeless.”
Frank Laubach