Taste in Love...

Anselm of Canterbury (1033-1109), is said to have been the greatest theologians and thinkers of his time. "He was one of the most learned figures of his age," writes Holt in Thirsty for God: A Brief History of Christian Spirituality. "Yet, he had a keen sense of the limitations of learning." I came across this prayer of his this morning that I found imperative to us in our day of high-speed, broadband lives filled with information and data.

It's entitled, "Meditation on Human Redemption" and comes from The Prayers and Meditations of Saint Anselm.

"I pray you, Lord,
make me taste by love what I taste by knowledge;
let me know by love what I know by understanding.
I owe you more than my whole self, but I have no more,
and by myself I cannot render the whole of it to you.
Draw me to you, Lord, in the fullness of love.
I am wholly yours by creation;
make me all yours, too, in love."

The Greatest Challenge of our Age...

At Calvary, we are in the middle of the sermon series Seamless. Recently, during some reading, I came across a couple of quotes that resonated with the heart and challenge of living a seamless life. They are from the book Thirsty for God by Bradley Holt.

"From a Christian perspective, the word "spirituality" calls us to recognize the importance of its root term, spirit, an important biblical word. In both Hebrew and Greek, the same word (ruach and pneuma, respectively) is used to mean "breath," "wind," and "spirit." The Bible refers both to human spirit and to divine Spirit. How one understands spirit will determine how one understands spirituality. For example, if "spirit" is separated from physical reality, in a realm of its own, apart from the daily life of human experience, the resulting spirituality will become an escape into another world. But if God created the world as good and later became flesh, as the Gospel of John asserts, then "spirit" is a dimension of reality, compatible with physical existence. In this case, humans are not divided but rather are unities of body, mind, and spirit. The result is that spirituality has a much more wholistic and down-to-earth meaning. It encompasses the whole of human life and will develop in a variety of styles, depending on cultures, denominations, personalities, and gifts."

"The greatest religious challenge of our age is to hold together social action and spiritual disciplines. This is not just a theological necessity, dictated by the need to integrate all of life around the reality of the living God.
It is a matter of sheer survival."
~Walter Wink~

When words aren't enough...

We put so much clout on "words." Yet, the words we speak and the message we intend isn't synonymous with the words people hear and more importantly, often not synonymous with the message we intended for them to hear.

What happens then when we attempt communicate a message that is riveted with present-eternal significance?

What do we do when words aren't enough...?

How would we communicate the message of Christ and the Story of Scripture without words...?

The Loft...

For the past several months we have been praying, dreaming, envisioning how we could create a process and environments that foster spiritual formation for our children...

In just a few short weeks we will be launching those very dreams...