Dale Cresap's blog

What does the Christian faith consist of? Do you see it as the affirmation of a list of essential doctrines, and diligence in preserving and conforming to the structures of your faith tradition? Don’t you describe your faith as a relationship with me? Does the above description sound relational? Have you noticed that the less that believers have a direct encounter with me the more they are committed to doctrine and structure and hierarchy and authority and titles and offices? Which do you think is of greater value?

Have you ever seen anything that is disguised or camouflaged? The purpose of these practices, whether for animals or people, is to make them difficult to identify, so doing so requires careful observation and discernment. Can this concept be applied more broadly? You know that fear and hatred are bad. No one will admit to practicing them. Does that make them go away or just become invisible? Have you ever seen hatred and fear masquerade as religion and morality? Even Satan is able to present himself as an angel of light. Is it possible to deceive the elect?

Do you believe in the laying on of hands? This is a Christian doctrine practiced both for conferring authority and for healing. Are there any other applications? Have you ever had anyone confide in you an experience of trauma and felt an instinctual urge to put your hand on their shoulder, or take their hand? Have you ever felt the longing for contact for yourself in a similar situation? The need for touch is deeply embedded. Your culture has rules you must follow about propriety and consent.

What are you building? Are you familiar with the scripture passage that refers to me as the chief cornerstone? This implies that I am the foundation of the building, and I establish the location and serve as a reference point for all the building that is to follow. Even with these conditions given to you this passage is an invitation to build, and an open door for a wide variety of creativity. Do you have a plan and all the building materials you need? Have you applied for a building permit? You will find that I’m generous in reviewing and approving your application.

What do you think that bravery and strength consist of? Do you think the bravest and strongest never back down? This is accepted conventional wisdom, but you may have observed from my teachings that I turned conventional wisdom upside down. I said that the first would be last, and the greater would serve the lesser. In this context, would the first one to apologize in a dispute be showing more bravery and strength than the one who was last to reconcile? Is the one who is first to value reconciliation over their own position the more courageous?

Do you think of medicine as pills produced by big pharmaceutical corporations? Have you ever been healed by something that wasn’t medicine in this narrowest sense? Then it was medicine for you. There are many dimensions for healing. Can you see how many ways you have received healing? What about being a healer yourself? In this broadest possible sense, what type of medicine do you provide for others? Let your imagination run on this to see the gifts that I have given you for healing, and be aware of them, and employ them with deliberate intention for effect. 

Do you see spiritual transformation as an event or a process? Another way to state this is, does it happen in a moment or does it take time? Theologians argue about this question in regard to salvation, but what does it look like to you in observable reality? Do people change in a moment? I declared that if you continue in my word, then you shall know the truth and the truth would make you free. I also promised to complete the good work I have begun in you. Both of these passages imply that transformation is a process. Be patient and stay with it.

Have you noticed that when people have a heavy emotional burden to carry, they often feel drawn outdoors to deal with it? Have you experienced this yourself, that the world of my creation is the only place large enough to hold your grief? Have you seen the same pattern in the scripture, that those who had encounters with me did so outdoors? There were fewer enclosed structures then than there are now, but it is still a valid principle. Wasn’t my ministry done outdoors? There are issues to deal with outside the camp. If you are facing something like this I will meet you there.

How does your church look to outsiders? Have you been immersed in it for so long that you are unable to see this? Does it look to you like a close-knit community of friends who do the right practices in the right way because they have special access to the truth and are right about everything? Does your church look this way to those from other churches, or from other faith traditions, or to those with no affiliation? If the above perspective was true, would more people be attracted to what you have? Do you ever visit other churches?

Do you want your children to question their faith? If you went to a lot of work to raise them up in the way they should go then you might be reluctant to see them call their faith into question, but they will do it anyhow. What is the alternative? To lead an unexamined faith that has not been tested? Would you want this for them? They will not become my disciples with a faith that they have not contended for. It will be painful for you to watch them wrestle with me, but who do you expect to win? Consider the history of those who wrestle with me.