Religious Journey

Our religious journeys are scary and inspiring, exciting and nerve racking.
For me, over half a century in the ministry has been all that and more.
The pages on this site grew out of my journey.
I hope they will be meaningful to you.
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The path of the righteous is like the light of dawn
that grows brighter and brighter until full day.
(Proverbs 4:18 ESV)



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This is a Preview of the Book Entitled

 

Confessions of a Minister

 

By Ray Frazier






 

Abbreviated Table of Contents

       Table of Contents 1
       Preface 3
       Introduction 5
       Beginnings 7
  

I. Basic Confessions 13

    1 My God Was Too Small 19

    2 An Infinitely Bigger God 27
    5 Peace and Good Will: The Cause of God 60
    6 Good Religion/Bad Religion 68
  

II. Confessions About Personal Religion 100

    12 The Witness Mentality 135
    16 Hands on My Shoulder 175
  

III. Confessions About Church Religion 181

    18 Combativeness 195
    24 The Pastor’s Family 236
    25 Warts and All 245
  

IV. Confessions About World Religions 269

    28 Common Ground 273
    30 Mutual Appreciation 293
    33 Building Bridges 320



Preface


Over half a century in the Baptist pastoral ministry has challenged and has grown my outlook about many religious kinds of things. I perceive a need, for my own sake, to put down in writing the outlooks that I have now about religion. It is my hope and prayer that, for others’ sakes also, these pages will find their way into the hands and hearts of those who face or have faced similar religious growth challenges.


Many thinking people grow into dubious questions. Should we entertain these questions and risk being personally rebuffed? We also grow into conclusions that put us in an unfavorable light with people that we want to get along with. This book is about those questions and those conclusions as I have experienced them.


Why write such a book? Because it is therapy for the writer, and because it may help someone who is walking a similar life path as regards dawning questions and conclusions. I am one of those who finds it therapeutic to put my thoughts and struggles down on paper in black and white. Without a doubt, that is one motivation that first gave rise to these pages.


I dare to believe, however, that my experience is not unique, and that this work may help someone. First, it may enable some to find focus and definition for developing their own grownup ideas about religion. Doing our own thinking meets with resistance which we must learn to cope with.


Second, I hope to empower the courage and resolve to pursue personal, honest, religious questions and conclusions.


The realities of church life force private struggles for many of us who choose to stay in the church, both ministers and lay people. When we struggle with maintaining integrity, we discover truths that we had no idea of in the early years of our Christian pilgrimage. This work confesses those struggles and their outcome to this point in time, in the faith that it will encourage and shed light on the path for others.



Introduction


He that has seen both sides of fifty has lived to little purpose if he has not other views of the world than he had when he was much younger. (William Cowper)


The journey transforms the traveler, as education transforms the student. The professor aims not only to impart facts or a degree; he aims to prompt a short-sighted youth to become a life-long seeker, a student of life. Similarly, the religious journey prompts the believer not only to learn facts or to get to heaven, but to discover an adult self beyond childish understandings, to expand the horizons of religious convictions.


From my own religious journey, in these pages I'd like to: (1) speak from within the Christian faith family; (2) share some questions and embarrassments, and also some conclusions and convictions; and (3) share the world peace vision that good religion creates.


This is a confession in that many people of strong and authentic faith have arrived at other conclusions and convictions. It might also be considered a confession of faith, or a statement of faith. This is who I have come to be.


I certainly have not finished the course, as Paul said. On the other hand, it was over half a century ago that I was baptized at nine years of age. Hopefully I have achieved some grasp of the ambiguities and complexities of religious issues. Some issues relate to sad realities in my Baptist denomination and also in the larger religious community. I’ve tried to speak about these realities with an appropriate balance of honesty and restraint: forthright, yet kind. I’ve also wanted to maintain a positive tone, grateful to be able to relate growing experiences and stories about some godly people I’ve met along the way.


Many inside the church choose to stay blind to embarrassing realities about religion. They gravitate to warm and fuzzy notions of faith. Many others who acknowledge those realities sound like they are outside the church, with no personal stake in religion. They speak or write with an academic sterility that does not inspire. A median stance between those two extremes is difficult, but that’s my goal. I intend to recognize the realities from a stance of loving the church and remaining committed to it.


In William Cooper's train of thought, having seen both sides of fifty, I surely have different views of the world and of religion than I had decades ago.



Beginnings


When friends enter a home they sense its personality and character, the family’s style of living—these elements make a house come alive with a sense of identity, a sense of energy, enthusiasm, and warmth, declaring, “this is who we are; this is how we live.” Ralph Lauren


In order to communicate a sense of present personality and character, it’s helpful to take note of earlier styles of living: a person’s sense of identity decades ago. That backdrop lends light and meaning when today we declare that this is who we are; this is how we live.


I grew up with models of genuineness that fostered integrity, encouraged me to be an honest person, and taught regard for others. You might say that I had a cornfield upbringing that instilled a kind of intentional naïveté, and I’ve come to see that as a blessing and a strength. Looking back now, I appreciate my heritage. As Joe Diffie used to sing, “my footsteps carry me away, but in my mind I’m always goin’ home.” For me, home was a good place to be; I had a good send off.




I. Basic Confessions

Okay, so what's really going on?


That question stays as close as a heartbeat. I ask it often in the privacy of my own thoughts; it's become a part of my instinctive consciousness as a pastor. It seems to be a welcome encouragement to some; others seem to resent the intrusion into their neat, artificial stories. I get the denominational party line, but what’s really going on?


When I hear the conversations, I can spell and define the words, and the sentences are logical enough. But the ideas I hear expressed are not always in sync with the motivations I intuit. I wonder, "what’s this conversation really about?" The incongruity between the spoken and the unspoken suggests something more, something bubbling down beneath what’s flowing visibly on the surface. I’ve been glad to find kindred spirits along the way: others who have been asking similar questions and finding similar answers to what’s really happening.


We’ ll consider eight religious points of view that I consider to be foundational, overarching conclusions that help to determine the other points of view that follow these eight. I’m not attempting to present a comprehensive overview of all that is important in religion. Rather these are some points at which my own faith has grown through the years.



5 Peace and Good Will: The Cause of God


And suddenly there was with the angel
a multitude of the heavenly host praising God, and saying,
“Glory to God in the highest,
and on earth peace, good will toward men.”
Luke 2:13-14, KJV
 


I’ve come to believe that this is what God is about: peace and good will. The angel announced God’s main cause to the shepherds that first Christmas. If a company wants the approval of the public to build a facility in our community, then we want to know what this company is about. Do they build boats, bury garbage, sell electronics, or what? What does the company do? This is what God does: peace and good will; this is what he’s about. This is his cause, his mainstream issue. We are to hew closely to this playbook. It’s my heart’s desire to be a conduit for that divine current.



6 Good Religion/Bad Religion


The trouble with born-again Christians is that
they are an even bigger pain the second time around.
Herb Caen
 


There is such a thing as bad religion. Good religion is winsome, pleasant. If it fosters enmity and ill will, it’s bad religion. That severely undercuts good religion. Somewhere, sometime we comprehend that “religion” is a profoundly ambiguous term. It’s so ambiguous that some people thought to have religion actually don’t, and some thought not to have religion actually do. Or at least, that’s what Jesus said.



11 Spirituality


Love, joy, peace,
patience, kindness, goodness,
faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control.
Galatians 5:22-23
 


We can download these nine virtues easily. A person’s spirituality has more to do with who they are than their chosen religion, denomination, creed, or type of church government. A person with a godly spirit outside the church is more pleasing to the Lord than a person with an ungodly spirit inside the church. Whether a person is or is not on the church role, their spirituality is the thing.




12 The Witness Mentality


You shall be my witnesses.
Acts 1:8


We’ve noted that the aim of good religion is peace and good will, and that the spirit of good religion is that described by the nine virtues in Galatians 5:22-23. In the next few pages, we note the self perception of a person with good religion: the witness role. The judge, the jury, and other roles in the legal courtroom have parallels in religion. In the courtroom the judge and others have legitimate roles. In spite of these courtroom realities, most often the only legitimate human role in religion is that of witness. The witness mentality is accurate for the Christian and for the church, and is much in need in our generation.




24 The Pastor’s Family


Somewhere there may be a cleric whose family story has not been tainted by any troubling side effects from the minister’s career. Most of us have some tales of trouble to tell. It’s true that some churches prove to be mental and emotional minefields for pastors’ families. (It’s also true that some ministers have brought trouble to churches too.)


Overall our family’s stories contain at least as many tales of grace and goodness as tales of trouble. We’ve known some wonderful, and wonderfully supportive people. Some surrounded our children with sensitive and appropriate love. Others recognized Sandy’s unique trials and tribulations as a minister’s wife, and they ministered to her. Still others focused their attention on edifying me, their pastor. I recall a small number of people from various congregations who came to my office individually for no reason other than to pray with me and for me. While we’ve had some tough times, there was almost always someone there to walk with us. That’s all anybody can expect short of living in a thornless rose garden.




28 Common Ground


There will be peace on earth
when there is peace among the world religions.
No world peace without peace among religions;
no peace among religions without dialog between religions.
Hans Kung
 


The world’s major religions have in common a tremendous amount of teaching, beliefs, and practices. This commonality transcends an incredible variety of religious expressions. Good religion shifts the focus away from the various religions’ differences, and toward celebrating our commonalities.




32 World Peace


The supreme need of our time
is for men to learn to live together in peace and harmony.
Harry Truman
 


Conclusion


The religious journey has indeed changed this traveler. My earlier faith has found fulfillment in that I’ve come to hold a high and holy vision of a world invaded and overcome by the Christmas angel’s announcement of peace and good will on earth. I’m inspired, convicted, and challenged by that concept. That’s why I’m writing.


Beyond the inspiration, conviction, and challenge, I also perceive a growing urgency for good religion. A shrinking world compels us to learn to get along peaceably.



Confessions of a Minister

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