Friday, August 1, 2008

A Pursuing God (part 1): Methodist Bunnies


Revive us, and we will call on your name Restore us, O LORD God Almighty; make your face shine upon us, that we may be saved.”-Psalm 80: 18,19


Part of what I am posting originated from a request of the Pastor Nominating Committee of Third Presbyterian Church in Uniontown, PA. In the process of being considered for the position Senior Pastor, they wanted to read my testimony. It was a refreshing request; I had not written anything like one in quite a few years. And it told me volumes about the PNC in Uniontown. Volumes. I’ve had a chance now to revisit it, do some re-writing and updating…. This will get posted as time allows in a series of three or four parts….
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As I work on this in August of 2008, I have been a Christian, a Christ follower, over 28 years- over half of my life. It is good to look back and reflect, but I even more so look forward to the prize that we have in Lord Jesus in the future. Please know that what I write is not meant in any way to glorify me, for I have and continue to fall short of the Glory of God that is found in Jesus Christ. But what I write is meant more to reflect on the faithfulness of Christ in my life….
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After living my first three years of life in a dry wheat farming town in eastern Washington, my family moved for the economic greener pastures of Southern California. I was raised in a small Los Angeles suburb a by two flawed but decent people, my parents. They were always quick to state they, and therefore - we, were Methodists; we lived in a Methodist household. Their method was this: Christmas and Easter. Even though we lived but a block away from the Methodist church, the church, much less Jesus Christ, was not an integral part of the household and my upbringing. Oh we enjoyed the Christian holidays, Santa Clause and Easter Bunnies. Methodist bunnies I’m sure.
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And yes, I was at that nearby Methodist church frequently (it is pictured above); I spent one whole day hiding with my friends behind the bushes on the church grounds as the famous closing scene from the movie “The Graduate” was being filmed in the Sanctuary. Hiding behind some temporary artificial greenery that the film crew had wheeled in. We were looking for John Wayne. After all, who had heard of Dustin Hoffman back in 1967?
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I can remember occasionally attending the youth group (MYF) on Sunday evenings, more often when my interest in girls began to blossom I suppose. With the adult leadership of the youth group I participated in the very first Earth Day, in prayer-protests-vigils over the Vietnam War, and participating in other social justice events. And I was never introduced to Jesus Christ at that church.
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I like to say that I come from a distinguished line of agnostics, my mother’s family being involved in Unitarian churches and my Father’s family being two Sunday a year Methodists. As I entered my early adulthood I embraced that agnosticism; however I always wondered if, no, I really hoped that there was something more to life; that maybe, just maybe, there was a God. And that possibly that God could be known. Maybe there was more to life more than Methodists bunnies…..
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In my next post in this series, I’ll reflect on my early ‘spirituality’ (ha!) and how God pursued me anyway….

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