Warning: this podcast is not for the faint of heart!
It is not for those who attend church and equate that with the pilgrimage of the 4th century, when those who did not want to be swallowed by culture fled to the desert to not survive, but thrive!
It might undo you as it has undone me.
I talk with Belden Lane about the difference in being a spiritual pilgrim and a spiritual tourist. A tourist is one who sees enough to take a photo proving that they had been there. A pilgrim is one who pays the price of entering the wilderness, only to find themselves and God.
We speak of the dangers of social media where soul care is watered down by selling things, being merely consumers of the spiritual life rather than embracing wilderness. Emptying our self to live empty, broken, and void of ego. We spoke of “the greening of our faith.” Honoring nature as a portal to God the Creator.
It was like sitting with a prophet who was speaking out about the church, who has lost its soul.
Join us in today's conversation!
Belden C. Lane is a Presbyterian theologian who teaches on a Jesuit faculty at Saint Louis University. His interests include the relationship between geography and faith, wilderness backpacking in the Ozarks, the magic of storytelling, desert spirituality, exposing students to urban poverty through the Catholic Worker community, and the poetry of Rumi. He also works with men, helping to lead initiation rites through Richard Rohr's program for Men as Learners and Elders in Albuquerque.
He lives with his wife Patricia, a spiritual director and retired school teacher, in Saint Louis. Drawn to sacred places around the world, his travels have involved camping in Egypt, Ireland and the Virgin Islands; hiking in Greece, Hawaii, and Australia; and study in England, Israel and Mexico. For six years I served in the pastorate, from a village parish in western New York State to the historic First Presbyterian Church of Philadelphia. Some time ago he found himself delightfully introduced as a Presbyterian minister teaching at a Roman Catholic university telling Jewish stories at the Vedanta Society.
Belden’s Books:
Once God has spoken; twice have I heard this: that power belongs to God, and that to you, O Lord, belongs steadfast love. For you will render to a man according to his work. Psalm 62:11-12
Authentic, dependable love is a divine commodity – it is not something we produce. We are changed by love and in love.
Any type of personal change requires time, and needs to build on a solid base. The only foundation for all change is love. God’s love is what soul shaping is about. God loves our clay too much to leave us the way we are right now. Embracing that the Potter is love and learning to trust in the process of the wheel work is important.
We may have to do some work on our image of God here. We may have an image of God that we’re going to get slammed, thrown to the wheel in anger by an angry God. If we don’t believe in and trust God’s love for us, we’ll falter and question the ongoing transformation process.
Authentic, dependable love is a divine commodity. It is not something we produce. We are changed by love and in love. This is the way the Divine Potter works. The Bible says that “love is from God” (1 John 4:7). God embodies love. It’s what God does. God offers this love to us, without reserve or limitation. When we embrace this love, we believe in God’s goodness, concern, and involvement with us. This sounds easy, but accepting this love is challenging for us. For various reasons, we throw up barriers, misunderstand God’s intentions, or get so busy we lose our love relationship with him.
“If we want to deal with God the right way,” writes theologian Eugene Peterson, “we have to learn to love the right way. God and love can’t be separated.” Neither can God’s love and spiritual transformation.
For Reflection:
We depend on your support to carry on the ministry of Potter's Inn. Each of our ministry staff also raise their own financial support for salaries to serve with our team.
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