the invitation
For many of us, the journey into spiritual practices is loaded with anticipation and fear, desire and ambivalence, calling and confusion. We can feel God drawing us onto the path, but there are so many competing voices along the way. Are spiritual disciplines clever ways of impressing God? Or human techniques of self-improvement? Or extra-credit points for the overly-spiritual? Or something entirely different? We need to get very clear on WHAT God is inviting us into and WHY?
Our friends at Trinity Pres in Charlottesville have been on this journey for the last couple years…slowly and deeply moving into a more practice-based way of following Jesus. I respect this community like crazy and have learned a ton from them. In 2011 their senior pastor gave the best lecture about worship I’ve ever heard, and last Sunday, he shared a powerful teaching for why God is inviting us into spiritual practices.
hint: It’s all about love and inviting us into the life we were made to live for the sake of the world.
I would highly, highly recommend listening to this teaching this week. It will be a phenomenal framework as we enter into the fall together. Please let us know what you think!
“The Invitation of Hope” by Greg Thompson