Dale Cresap's blog

Have you encountered parents with different faith traditions who agree to raise the children with no faith influence on the premise that they will be free to make up their own minds when the time comes? What would you expect to happen as a result? On what basis would they make a decision? They will learn that faith is unimportant. Haven’t you seen children raised in any faith tradition feeling free to make up their own minds to change if they so desire? It would be better to find a way to raise the children that honors more than one faith tradition.

Have you ever found something in a place you did not expect to find it? Was this a pleasant surprise if it was something you wanted? Do you know where to find truth? For many believers this is a narrow search area, and it is considered more by the source than by the content. But what if you come across something from outside your faith tradition that resonates deeply with you and provides an accurate description of real world behavior? Could that be true? Could there be truth outside your tradition? I promised to lead you into all truth.

Does the phrase ‘Christian Science’ seem like an oxymoron to you? Some believers see science and faith as mortal enemies, and others try to turn their faith into a science. Neither approach is correct. Science and faith are not natural enemies. They should be understood to operate in different realms. Science does well to describe the behavior of the physical world, but it does not speak to some questions that every person faces whether they claim to be spiritual or not. It doesn’t have answers about love and beauty and suffering and death.

Have you ever expressed an interest in doing something but not followed through with it? If you tell your friends, what question will they ask in reply? Isn’t it some version of, ‘what is holding you back’? There can be many reasons, but could this be the wrong question to ask? Perhaps a better approach would be to ask, ‘what is pulling you forward’? Desire is a powerful force, and there is tension when it meets resistance. Desire will have to overcome resistance to prevail. This isn’t likely to happen if you focus only on the obstacles in the way.

What gets you out of bed in the morning? For mothers it is children. For most people it is a job. You may look at these as duties and obligations. What would get you out of bed in the morning if you had nothing external to require it? Everyone can and should have a passion. This is an internal drive that you cannot explain or deny. How many people dream of life with no obligations? This is unrealistic for most people, but if you could attain it, what would you devote your life to?

Do you have a comfort zone? Do you spend most of your time there? How can you tell? There is a human tendency to seek out the familiar and reassuring. This is easy and comfortable, but it is not a place of challenge and growth. To move ahead you must depart from or at least challenge your preferred and familiar ways of being and thinking. Your certainties do not always serve you well, but letting go of them will be one of the most difficult things you can do. Ask me for the courage to revisit things you have held for a long time, and be willing to hold a ‘garage sale’ if necessary.

My word promises that if you humble yourself under my hand then I will exalt you in due time. Do you believe this? Are you putting it into practice? Do you see people humbling themselves trusting that I will recognize them? Or do you see people advancing themselves and presenting themselves in the most favorable light? John the Baptist said of himself that he must decrease that I might increase, and he lived simply and humbly as an outsider as an expression of this. But I said of John that among those born of women there was none greater. So it worked for him.

Do you believe in the doctrine of omnipresence? Do you take it by faith that my presence is everywhere? David knew that he was fearfully and wonderfully made, and also that was no place he could go that I would not also be. If you believe this do you live your life the same way? For some who accept this as a doctrinal position live as if mail intended for me should be sent care of their church. Even when my time was not yet come I told my disciples that their time was always ready, and that I would be with them always. Let this be more than a doctrinal position for you.

Do you consider it important to be a good Christian? What about a good person? Are these the same thing? Do you know anyone who passes for a good Christian that you do not think of as a good person? What about the other way around? Being diligent and devout in traditional church activities is highly rated in church, but those outside the church will evaluate you by different criteria. A good reputation among those who do not share your belief structure and creeds is therefore more valuable and enduring than a good reputation in church. Can you be a good person without being a Christian?

When someone gives you a gift or does you a favor, do you say thanks? This is the bare minimum expression of gratitude, and something that even unbelievers do. Is it appropriate that you as the children of God should go beyond this? One approach is to pay back gift for gift, and favor for favor. It is important to be generous, but this is more a matter of keeping score than being grateful. There is a transformative approach to gratitude that goes beyond the acknowledgment of a gift at the time of receipt.