Hybrid

I'm not quite sure of when it happened - or even how it happened - but a while ago I came to the realization that some of the core values, and some of the systematic theologies that I had grown up with and espoused over the years just didn't fit anymore.

I had been steeped in some very judgmental precepts, and had come to the belief that as a pastor I was also called to be a judge, jury, and executioner, not only within the confines of my congregation, but also within my own microcosm.  I had become increasingly intolerant of people who were different from me, and could readily ferret out ideas and concepts  which did not mesh with my own rigid moral and theological parameters.

The day came - or, rather, a cavalcade of days came, in which I was met with the question "Why are you doing that?", followed by the companionate question of "so what?"

I do not believe that my conversion can be enumerated through a timeline, or a series of dates on the calendar, but rather through a series of indepth dyadic encounters and multiphasic exchanges which led me to the point of realizing that the wheels had fallen off.

If I were to give credit to a select group of people chiefly responsible for loving me into a new relationship with God, the list would include, but not be limited to the following:  (please note here, the names listed here have been changed for confidentiality and security purposes, but the lessons that these people have shared with me are very real...)

Dr. Tony L.  (showed me acceptance when nobody else would)
Rev. Janet C.  (embrace all of God's children)
Dr. William A.  (release the inner artist)
Rev. George C.  (pray without ceasing, love your enemies)
Rev. "Wild Bob" P.  (the importance of prayer and fasting)
Mr. Harold H. (value of a life-long friendship)
Mr. Caleb H.  (a negative image of a christian)
Mr. Robert E.  (genuine brotherly love)
Mr. Pantelis P.  (the power of forgiveness)
Dr. Margaret E.  (mentor/ role model)
Dr. Annabeth B.  (mentor/ role model)

Again, I remind you that the names of these people have been changed to ensure their confidentiality, and the lessons they have imparted to me are very real.  In the next few entries of this blog, I will valiantly attempt to examine the lessons that each of these saints have imparted.

To Be Continued...

I Bid You Peace...

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