Dale Cresap's blog

Do you know anyone who is poor? People tend to associate with those of their own economic class, but the Bible gives a special emphasis for the poor, saying that they are rich in faith, and that the Kingdom of Heaven belongs to the poor in spirit. How broad is your definition of being poor? Do you understand that there are people who are so poor that all they have is money? How many dimensions do you see in the richness of life? Yet money is only one of these. Have you known people who are rich even though they are poor and those who are poor even though they are rich? Open your eyes.

Do you view life as a gift? The alternative is to think of it as a matter of entitlement or by merit. But from the richest to the poorest there is much of life that was given to you by others and you cannot take credit for the circumstances of your origin. What about after that? You are well along in life before you are in a position to influence the direction of it. Can you take credit for everything after that? Blessed are those who know that life is a gift, and every gift has a giver. Do you understand the value of living a life of gratitude?

Have you ever thrown a party? What if you planned a party and did all the preparations and sent out invitations, and no one showed up? Would your feelings be hurt? Do you recall the story in which I did this? What was my response? Rather than cancel the party I sent my servants out to find new guests; anyone who would come. Where do you see yourself in this story? Were you on the invitation list? Were you one of the invited guests who found an excuse not to come? Were you one of the poor who the servants sought out to come at the last minute?

Do you understand that transcendence and imminence are both valid aspects of your faith, and both are important? The transcendent refers to things above, to overarching and universal truth, and there are principles that are always true as a comprehensive narrative. But a faith built on cosmic abstractions is not enough, and so imminence is the other foundation of your faith. This can be described as the incarnation. And the word was made flesh and dwelt among us, and we beheld his glory, as the only begotten of the Father. Do you describe your faith as a relationship?

What have been your most profound learning experiences? There are different methods of teaching, and lecture is among the most common, and the same concept is called preaching in a religious context. Another method is conversation. Lecture is a powerful way for a knowledgeable person to present information, but it is a passive experience on the part of the audience. Have you ever had your mind wander?

Are you concerned about your safety? You are in a way that you may not be aware of. Do you constantly read the emotional landscape and ask yourself if it is safe? You do this without thinking about it, and quickly assess those you are with for what you can say and what topics are off the table. You have experienced emotional constriction from being around those for whom you feel you must tiptoe through a minefield. You have also experienced the safe presence of those truly gracious and loving souls who accept as much of your authentic self as you are willing to reveal. Which do you prefer?

The Bible speaks of the laying on of hands for the healing of the sick, but do you believe that prayer works at a distance as well? This was not always understood to be true. A Centurion came to me asking for healing for his servant and I offered to come but he said that wasn’t necessary and I could just speak the word to accomplish it. He was right, and I marveled at his great faith to know something that only a few comprehended at that time. Although most believers would affirm this in principle do they demonstrate this in practice?

Do you believe that you are commanded to honor and respect all people? How does the Bible read to you on this question? Do you struggle to implement this in your life, since you have clear visible evidence that some people have conduct and opinions that you cannot respect? How can you resolve this? You can make a distinction between respecting someone’s humanity and respecting their opinion or behavior. You can treat people with human dignity even if you don’t agree with them.

Do you enjoy food? This biological necessity is the one pleasure that can be enjoyed throughout life. Do you see a spiritual connection with food? Churches are famous for their potluck dinners and have been criticized for them as merely social occasions. But see how much of my own ministry centered around food. There was Mary and Martha, several miracle feedings, The Last Supper, and many others. Were these spiritual events? Since you have to eat anyhow, why not make it a spiritual event? As often as you eat this bread and drink this cup do so in remembrance of me.

Do you get an annual performance review at work? These are typical as a meeting with management to discuss what is going well and what needs work. In the best of conditions it is an affirmative meeting. Would you be eager to have such a review of your spiritual life with me? Would you fear it? You need not think of it as punitive. You would benefit from periodic reviews of your practices to find out which are working for you that you may do more of them, and which are not working that you may let them go. Come and let us reason together.