Lessons from the Mountains

In my last post, I promised to post some lessons from the mountains. The list below was my last reflection before leaving Gatlinburg. After years of being in place, it was time to go. I consider these to be the top ten lessons learned. It has been seven years since I left and I still consider these to be cornerstones of my faith and my view of ministry.

10. “It is essential to experience all the times and moods of one good place.” Thomas Merton

I have experienced the goodness of finding my place and the power of being there.

9.Creativity is necessary for life and for ministry.

We are creations of God. Those we minister to are also made by the gentle sculpting of the creator. For these reasons we, too, are able to create. Leading, teaching, and existing with creativity allow me to experience God anew.

8. Earn the right to be heard.

This lesson was engraved on my heart as an innovator. Sharing Christ is not selling girl scout cookies. Chic slogans and cute uniforms are unnecessary. If I do not love people as Christ loves them, how can I expect anyone to believe my words? Hurting people deserve the richness found in the depths of a relationship with God. Therefore, I must develop relationships that enable others to hear the call of God upon their lives.

7. Know your own strengths and weaknesses.

I am unable to lead music or connect with a large group of teenagers, but I am good at speaking clearly, leading, and touching those whom society appears to deem useless and hopeless. Thank God for that discovery. Thank God that I have learned to embrace to the person he has called me to be. Life is more complete when I am doing the things that God has enabled me to do and when I seek to enable others to do what he has called them to do.

6. Speak up.

People need to hear what you are saying. The quality of my content is diminished if no one can hear what I am saying. Also, conduct yourself in a professional manner. To do so, preparation is key, especially in worship leadership. Creative and refreshing worship does not just happen. God gives to each of us whole-heartedly. If I am to reflect him in the services I lead, I must also give whole-heartedly.

5. Prayer is.

Prayer takes many forms as I journey through life. At different stages I tend to use different approaches. Currently prayers fill my journal. Other times they flow through physical labor or quiet walks. God continues to reveal himself to me in all of these forms. Prayer is more than words can express. God is God, I am me, and together we experience prayer.

4. Life is better lived in community.

“I have been observing into you and you have been observing into me. I have become a part of you and you a part of me. Because of this our salvation is bigger.” No Myung Su

My life is more complete because of the kindred souls in my life. Community is beyond geography; it is place where one cannot help but be at home. We find ourselves --at home in the acceptance and inclusion of others-- at home in the gentle honesty that enables us to grow and heal --at home in giving and receiving grace. Community makes life worth living.

3. ASHAN

Sometimes slogans embody much truth. The presence of God is real to me here in the Smokies. I feel him in the breeze. The coldness of damp rocks speaks deeply to my soul. Sunsets and sunrises reveal the consistency of God. Birds of the air sing his praises and red cheek salamanders give life to the detailed care of a loving God. Water cleanses my soul. Snow brings purity and challenge. Flowers bask in the creativity of God. The same God that tends so gently to the Smokies moves in my life. The same God that created the mountains created the person asking me for directions. The Smokies have enabled me to experience the presence of God in nature and in other people. May I continue to be so keenly aware.

2. “Regardless of our state in life, the issue is how authentically we love.” Monks at New Skete

Authenticity in personhood. Authenticity in ministry. I need it. That is the lesson.

1. Life is a journey.

Often people hike to get to the top of the mountain or to see the waterfall, but I hike for the sake of hiking. Some friends even question if my pace is considered hiking at all. I am often afraid that I might miss something, so I walk slowly looking at flowers, rocks, and anything else that distracts me. Mountain tops are beautiful from a distance, but from the top the ground looks much like the ground a half mile down trail. The trail approaching the top has the same flowers that trail coming down has. Yet, the mountain top beckons. I like being on top. For one thing, if I take my eyes off the ground I can see for miles. Secondly, climbing is hard. The journey of life is similar. In it grace brings us unexpected joy and beauty. Somewhere on the trail we find both --somewhere -- we stop and accept God’s grace.

Final thoughts:

And I was wondering if you had been to the mountains to look at the valley below?

Did you see all the roads tangled down in the valley? Did you see which way to go?

Oh, the mountain stream runs pure and clear and I wish to my soul we always be here!

But there’s a reason for living way down in the valley that only the mountain can know.

Paul Stookey