In 2005 I decided to widen my family. I used my study leave, conference leave to experience Christians who were not of my tribe. The first conference led me on a journey away from tribal Christianity. Oddly, about the same time, a successful Word Faith Charismatic Pastor named Brian Zhand began the same journey, starting at the same jumping off place, but with enough history and youth not only to transition his congregation, at some cost, but to provide others a way into a deeper experience of the faith. Not a secret one, not a cheap one, but a real one.
He shares just put part of his story into a book and is giving it away on Kindle this week. Having read his book on non violence I was interested in his journey and I think you will enjoy it as well.
My own journey lacks the completeness of his exploration for what went wrong, some people are meant to write and share, some to teach without writing. But my desire to search where my spirit was not in agreement with those around me has been one of great joy. I still suffer from too much of the desire to be right and to argue, but in retirement its fading fast.
Month one of my retirement has been spent unpacking, de-stressing, putting together the building blocks of our financial freedom, and beginning to think about how to structure my time, how to find friends who share my interests, how to find friends that continue to search outside the walls of their familiarity. Please understand, this is not ego driven, the Christ centered gospel hidden behind our present experience is deep and wide.
I am wading deeper, not for monetary gain but for the true wine.
All my life I have struggled with wine skins that did not hold what I was knowing and experiencing. Wineskins are always a problem for the new wine and is older than what most of us have tasted.
1 comment:
Glad to see the transition to retirement is going well Don.
Brian pastors a church about an hour north of us. I first heard him preach in the 80s. We were both part of the same charismatic ministerial fellowship of pastors but I do not think that we have ever met. If you have time, there is a video where Brian debates penal substitution that I think you might like. Here is a link to it.
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