I just wanted to give you all a report about what I’ve been doing in my ministry over here in what I call the Back 40. This is exciting stuff, because what I’m doing now is what I always wanted for this thing called being a minister.
I never wanted to be a traditional minister. You know, one with a full time pulpit and all the stuff that goes along with that. When I began grad school/seminary, I only knew what I didn’t want. It took a while for things to become clear for me.
By the way, if you are seeking clarity on something, the way to go about it is to not rush it, to allow what wants to percolate in you just be, no matter how outlandish it may seem. If you are thinking about it, it means there are possibilities there and nothing is impossible.
Anyway, I began to get clarity that what I really wanted to do was teach, speak, create and do workshops and retreats.
And soon the ways to accomplish that began to show up. I began getting invitations to speak at Centers for Spiritual Living and at Unity Churches. Some also requested workshops. I began doing my own retreats and workshops and offering things online. The online piece was necessary because living in the Back 40 means I needed to reach beyond the physical. There was also the pandemic to consider and sheltering in place opened up a whole new world for folks to become willing to participate in my online offerings.
To make a long story short, here is what it looks like today:
- I have a focus ministry called Fearlessly Feral Living. A focus ministry is a rather unique thing, and to my knowledge is only done with Centers for Spiritual Living, AKA CSL. In CSL land, we have Centers, Teaching Chapters and Focus Ministries. Centers are basically churches. Teaching Chapters teach. Focus Ministries have a focus in their teaching. Some focus on carrying the message of Science of Mind into prisons. That’s a pretty good example. My focus is to facilitate successful transitions. What that means is that we can either benefit and thrive from life’s changes and losses, or not. I choose to benefit and thrive. So I teach how to do that.
- I have a podcast, also called Fearlessly Feral Living. It’s fun! You can listen through Apple, Buzzsprout, or on Google Podcasts. I’m also on Spotify.
- I also serve as an Interim Minister for CSL. This means I go into Centers that have lost their permanent minister and temporarily serve. My main function as Interim is to be a bridge between loss and successful transition, with the ultimate goal of attracting their new permanent senior minister. And to do this, I get to do all the things I love doing: work with people one on one and in community, do workshops and retreats, speak, teach.
So that’s my ministry in a nutshell. And of course I’m still creating memes! Cuz I love doing them! So I will close with one of my latest memes. I hope you enjoy it, feel free to share it and use it.