Is Church the place I do my spirituality?

As a certified spiritual director I spend time with clients on a one to one basis.  The one common thread I find in all my ministry with clients (directees) is as follows.  Most have difficulty on the ‘relationship’ level with God.  Now let me explain briefly.  This doesn’t mean they are not followers of Christ, are not saved, not born again, not a Christian—or whatever introductory level of commitment language you choose to use.  But what it does mean is that after the initial conversion experience, outside of a couple of basic things, people are stuck.  The basic things most of my directees get are going to church and stopping noticeable sins.  But after that…they are stuck.
Hello coronavirus!  This now presents a HUGE problem to us in every conceivable way.  Most are watching the news channels to find out the latest concerns.  This coronavirus is affecting us powerfully!  Forced closings, financial issues, sickness, and a plethora of issues and difficulties are arising out of the coronavirus. 
But another huge issue is spiritual.  What are we do in our spiritual lives?  The key ingredient that is missing—by force— is church.  And, church—as I noted above is two things.
  1. Church IS my spirituality.
  2. Church is what I do, because I’m spiritual.

Church is gone—so how can I be spiritual?  Which brings me back to where I started from—difficulty connecting with God.
This is an intimacy issue.  This is a relationship issue.  This, I happen to believe is also the core issue of my spirituality and yours!

There are three combatants, if you will, in this scenario.

First, the devil.  Ha!  He’s won!  You can’t go to church.  You can’t sit in a pew.  Succumb to depression and anxiety.  Throw in your spiritual towel and admit defeat.

Second, your flesh.  Church is easy, show up, cooperate, go home—repeat.  Any other dimension of spirituality requires too much effort.  Just take a holiday—a spiritual holiday.  Listen to some online Sunday stuff and relax.  God understands! Take it easy.

Third, the Lord.   God says—welcome to Me.  Welcome to this special leg of your pilgrimage.   This portion of your pilgrimage has all the potential to be the season when you move into a deeper level of intimacy and peace in your soul.  There is you.  There is Me.  There is us.  It will be so special, so intimate.  

Check back weekly as I will write a series of blogs on what are known as spiritual disciplines.  Spiritual disciplines are tools we can use to develop and feed our spirituality.


See you next week with our first blog—called The Examen.  

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