Waiting....

Maybe you've been waiting for a new post to the Bigger God Blog. I read recently that the average person spends 5 years of his or her life waiting in line, 2 years playing telephone tag, and six months sitting at red lights. That's over 7 1/2 years of waiting! What are you waiting for?

Advent is a time of waiting. But what are we waiting for? We know Jesus was born. That already happened, right? We know that the saving power of God's love has been revealed - born in the one from Galilee who walked among us and showed us a different way of living. The Messiah was born. So what are we waiting for in Advent?

The holy waiting of Advent is not idle waiting. Rather, it is a time when we clear away the clutter of our minds and our lives and make room for the Advent - the coming - of Emmanuel - God With Us - in our hearts and minds and spirits. The idea of "no room in the Inn" works here. When God knocks on the door of our soul and wants to be born in us, will there be room? Will we even hear the knock through all the other noise and distraction?

There are various ways we can use this time of holy waiting to open ourselves to the power of God's love to transform our lives. One way is through the discipline of silence. Have you ever tried to quiet your mind and sit in silence? Maybe you could try that this season. Sit in God's presence and listen... in silence. Don't come with your wish list asking God to deliver. Rather, use the silence as a time to empty yourself allowing God space to ask something of you.

What are your ideas about holy waiting? What do you do in this season to prepare to receive that LOVE born at Christmas?

Bigger God Blog

In recent years, religion has gotten a bad name. In part, because there has been a tendency to define things too narrowly. People began to think they could not stay in the religion or church of their upbringing because they simply couldn't believe all the things they thought they had to in order to be part of the group.

At First Christian Church, we believe that God simply cannot be confined to any one way of seeing things or one set of beliefs. We understand that God is bigger than that. God is bigger than religion.

If you have left the church or know of people who have left the church because they didn't think they could question and wonder and be unsure of where they stand on certain doctrinal statements or theological premises, you/they just might find a place at First Christian Church.

Here we don't require ascent to particular statements. We are on a journey together, but we start at different points. We look to the life and teachings of Jesus who says simply, "Follow me." We don't presume to know where that will lead, only that there is life and love and grace on that path.

So, "Come as you are... you belong!"