FAQ's

02/15/08

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What made you start this web page?
I got frequent telephone calls from people in the communities where I have been a pastor asking me why it is that their church did things the way they did things. Be it the Roman Catholic Church, an Independent congregation or a Mainline Protestant Denomination, people seemed to feel that I could tell them what was going on without them being embarrassed.

In particular, one Baptist friend of mine who was sending his children to a Lutheran school asked me why it was that they had a crucifix in the sanctuary, "Wasn't that idolatry?" he asked. It was when I gently told him that the Lutheran Church was just "proclaiming the Lord's death until he comes in art form," just like St. Paul told them to do that he was able to rest easy about the crucifix.

An old high school classmate emailed me and we got into a question about why it was that they had to say, "I am not worthy to receive you, only say the word and I shall be healed," during Mass. Wasn't that dehumanizing. I told her it was only if we didn't know that the reason Christ came was not to humiliate us, but to restore us to fullness of life. Therefore, I explained, when we said that we were not worthy, we were just reminded of the incredible life restoring gift there was in receiving the Eucharist.

Both of these people are encouraging me to publish a book. I may do that, but right now, I have the heart of a pastor. I want all people to know the incredible gift God has for us in this journey into God. It is an ever expansive and incredible peek into the window of eternity. I love helping people live a deeper life devoted to Jesus Christ. I hope you will be open to me teaching you.

What separates your page from other "Spiritual Advisor/Spiritual Director" pages?
I don't charge you for my "readings" for one. I believe that the gift of spirituality should be free. The books and other things sold on the site are another story. I simply do not have the resources to pay for the upkeep of the site and the purchase of books, tapes and supplies that make the spiritual life wonderful. Your purchasing of the books and supplies pay for the upkeep of the website. Be sure to send this web address to everyone on your email list if you like it. So, please bear with me.

Why do you have links to Amazon.com, use PayPal and have some advertising on your site? Isn't that against Christianity and Spirituality?
Well, I want to provide this service and I want you to not have to pay for it. The only way to support the website is with advertising, proceeds from book sales and donations.

I think it is a fraud to say to someone, "I will give you spiritual advice if you can pay for it." Or, I find it even worse that we would ask you to pay for a "prayer towel". I want to make this site free for those in crisis who have no resources. In this way, we remember Jesus' words to "remember the least of these."

Why don't you advocate a universal spirituality?
By "universal spirituality" we usually mean that all people are connecting with the same god, but they are only calling that god by a different name. The reason that I do not advocate universal spirituality is because that would mean that even satan, "dark forces," "source of evil" would have a place in the system. And that would mean that God would be working at cross purposes. I pull no punches in saying that there is one God and he has made his name known: Father, Son and Holy Spirit.

Doesn't referring to God as "Father, Son and Holy Spirit" limit our conception of God?
This usually means that referring to God in the male gender means that females are excluded. This would be true if God were just like us, only bigger. I like to tell congregations I am serving that this logic is like taking our ideas about fathers and writing it really BIG in the heavens. That is incorrect. Really, we are created in the image and likeness of God, not God created in the image and likeness of humanity. We call God "Father" because Jesus Christ called him "Father," but this doesn't mean that God is a physical male. God isn't a human at all. The Bible and the traditions of orthodox Christianity understands God as Spirit, with no parts, etc.

As to limiting God, there is no such thing. God is infinite. God goes on and on. So, if you think about it, even when we get to heaven and are in God's presence, we will never get to fully and completely know God because there is no limit to God. We will be able to spend eternity with a newness every moment in getting to know God even more at every moment.

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