Movement

I speak often about the movement, yet I have never made it clear what I consider it to be. Many years ago I searched for a church home. I, like many others, visited several churches and for whatever reason never seemed comfortable. When I finally found one that I thought was going to be right for my family and I, the preacher badgered me to join so badly that we left there for good. After many visits to many other churches and circumstances, we landed in a church that seemed to fit everyone in the family. Over the years as my faith grew, so did my arrogance towards it. I did not see it at the time, but later on I realized how many people were left out of the church or not welcome there for various reasons. In my heart, I knew I wanted to somehow reach people at the core of their faith and to do it outside the confines of church, and the idea behind the movement was born.

However, this movement can happen inside our churches as well as outside. There are many wonderful churches and people that are truly welcoming and accepting of all of God's children. Great works happen in these places, both inside the walls and outside. On the other hand though, there are the walking wounded that still appear in church hoping that their faith and spirituality will find a miraculous resurrection. These people have been through the wringer in life whether it be divorce, addiction, bankruptcy, depression, etc. When they needed church the most, in their eyes it simply was not there. Yes, they attend physically, but emotionally and spiritually they are broken and for the most part, invisible to the rest of the congregation.

We also have the people who do not attend church at all. This group can be misunderstood by the so-called church-going bible thumpers. Since this group does not fit into organized religion, the average person of faith thinks they must be agnostic or something worse. I find that this group may actually be the most spiritual. Most people in this group have not allowed organized religion to rob them of their faith or place it in the confines of institutional doctrine.

The point of the movement is to find common ground where we can all grow together in our faith and spirituality. For me, that common ground may be writing these reflections in the hopes that people will accept themselves where they are and go out and spread a positive message to someone. For those who attend church, it may be taking a good look around and actually seeing those people who remain on the edge hoping that this week they will finally find a way to feel like they belong or realizing that just because a person doesn’t attend church does not automatically make them less Christian.  For those who don’t attend church for whatever reason, it might mean working on releasing any hurt or bitterness towards organized religion and realizing that God does indeed still work inside the church too through the people whose eyes have been opened. Hopefully if we nourish our minds long enough in a positive way that it will encourage us all to go out into our communities and make them better places to live by extending simple acts of kindness. The movement is not organized in any way, it is just the hope of building up people so they can go out and build up others; filling our wells so we can help others build theirs.

With that being said, trust me, the movement needs you exactly where you are right now in life. The amount of people that are spiritually hurting far outweighs the amount that are healthy. If we could get a spiritual exercise program going that could get our faith and spiritual health in order, we truly can change the world. As I always say, it starts with promoting peace, love, acceptance, and forgiveness. Remember when you start to gossip about someone today that they too have a story and you cannot see life through their eyes. Extend yourself with a kind act of love and just maybe you can bring a moment of joy back to them.  This my friends is how the movement will catch fire and spread.

peace to you
dale