Ask Bil Anything

Ashley asks:

How do you feel about being touched or led by the spirit?

Your question reminds me of a clergy friend who shared that God had called him to go into the ministry and added, “So I did. That was twenty-five years ago, but I haven’t heard from Her since.”

So much of your question demands a definition of “being touched” and “led by the spirit.” I was also interested in your spelling of the word “spirit.” It made me ask, “Is there a difference between spirit and Spirit?”

Because this isn’t a dialogue, I have to surmise that you are asking if I believe that people have had experiences, probably religious people, being literally touched or led by a Higher Power.

Yes, I believe the people who say they have been touched or led by the spirit (or “Spirit”). But I also believe that this is a semantics issue. People’s lives have been changed somehow by some event, usually a religious one, and they use religious language to refer to a situation that others might simply describe with “This event changed my life.”

Here is how I was “led” or “touched” to go into the ministry. It started because I was a PK (Preacher’s Kid) and was surrounded by the church. I loved to play church as a child and gave interesting sermons, so I was told. My life before college was centered around the church. My punishment for doing things I wasn’t supposed to be doing was being prohibited from going to church. That’s weird!

Ministry was always in the back of my head. In college, it went to the way back, but after I graduated, I joined the Marines. It was the Korean conflict. I had to deal with my mortality, and the idea of going to seminary moved forward in my mind. One time, in the Marine Corps, a bishop asked me if I had ever considered going into the ministry. My response was “Yes, but I’m not quite ready.” Or the spirit hadn’t touched me.

A confession: I don’t do religious jargon very well. It seems superficial and unnatural (no “God bless,” “God has a plan,” “Thought and prayers,” “God’s Will,” etc.).

The final event came when the Marine Corps colonel was chewing me out for something I didn’t do, and all of a sudden, I had this thought: I do not want to do this Marine Corps BS anymore. It’s time to go to seminary. So after he finished yelling, I left his office and called that bishop. I shared with him that I was ready to get out of the Marine Corps and go to seminary. I could have said, “The Spirit called me.” But that’s religious jargon.

Then Annie and I had our second child, a rubella baby who was born deaf, legally blind, slightly cerebral palsied, epileptic with heart issues, but had no brain damage. She had a promising future! I was the rector of the parish on Maui. The experts suggested that we needed to move to Honolulu for good services.

Was it common sense or the Spirit that made the decision to move? Some clergy might say “Spirit,” but my choice was common sense.

I also believe in Free Will, which conflicts with “Spirit” or the concept of being “led.” Predestination and Free Will are opposites, and the institutional church sort of dumped predestination a long time ago. A great deal of religious jargon should have gone down with predestination. Too many Christians don’t know that because the church doesn’t want them to know. It’s a control issue.

I don’t know, Ashley, if I gave you the answer you might have expected, but I hope I have given you enough food for thought to help you decide what works best for you.

PeaceLoveJoyHopeKindness

Bil

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P.S. People often ask me provocative questions about current events, both religious and secular. I have found that some of these questions are being asked universally. I’ll be periodically alternating regular articles with one of those questions and my answer. I invite you to send me your question to bilaulenbach@yahoo.com.

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