Open Groups

The Cafe at Borders in Milestone Shopping Center is a great place for people of difference religious backgrounds or no religious background to come together to openly dialogue about spiritual things. I hope that we can add some more places for informal discussion without any pressure or “hard sellling” – just interaction and conversation.

Open Meetings

It’s been great to get into so many spiritual topics at the Open Meetings at Borders every Wednesday night. I think people want to engage each other about spiritual things but not be judged about whatever they want to express. There are few places that try to create that kind of atmosphere – especially the church. We want to create environments where people can openly express things about God, faith and spirituality – even a disbelief about things if that’s what they’re feeling.

Surprised

I think God really enjoys intervening and surprsing people. We were hanging out at the Open Meeting (or Open2Talk Discussion Group) at the Borders cafe last week. A couple sitting next to our table jumped into the discussion topic – Temple, synagogue, church … none of them connect with me so why bother with God?

It turned out that they had a Jewish background. We began to share with each other about our own spiritual backgrounds and just learn. Before we knew it they were closing and we were still sharing. We went all over the place spiritually by discussing the Old Testament from a Jewish perspective and also getting into the New Testament from a Jewish perspective too. It was great!

Life is Rough at Times

At times, life just doesn’t make sense. Does it? Things don’t turn out the way we planned or hoped for: lost jobs, broken relationships, disappointments – you name it. On top of all that we’re feeling, where’s God? If he’s all-loving, all-powerful, why would he let us go through all of the mess and loss?

For some of us, our response to the above scenario is something like this:

In the midst of what I’m experiencing, just the thought of God makes sigh. I get rid of the thoughts like that as quick as I can. Besides, I can’t see God, so how do I know he really cares – or is even there? All of this religious stuff is just some kind of silly superstition and fairy tale kind of thing. But, if God is there, why he is so silent? Is this life just some kind of “cosmic test”? And, please spare me from the typical pat answers and cliches that religious people give me. I want some kind of answer that I can get my arms around … something that helps me make sense out of all of this. If there is a God, then there has to be an answer that makes sense …

Is this where you are? If so, God is with us in the midst of the mess. If we stop for a minue and open our spiritual eyes, we can often see the bigger picture … a picture of God’s love and care – even in the midst of our mess. To help us gain a spiritual perspective on our physical reality or life situation, look again at a picture of God’s love in the story of the Lost Son – click here.