SPIRITUAL MUSINGS: From a Chinese Take Out

My husband and I like Chinese food. We’ve found a little place that suits us just fine because it’s close to home, the servings are generous, and the price is extremely reasonable. The place we go to is on 40 highway in a former Dairy Queen now converted to a Chinese take out. The lady who gets our order at the window, dishes it up, and takes our money recognizes us since we’ve been there so often. She knows not to give us any soy sauce nor any sweet and sour sauce, but she always slips an extra fortune cookie in our bag. Fortune cookies usually have mundane little sayings, but it’s a ritual for us to open the cookie, read the saying silently and exchange the paper to see what the other person got as their fortune. The last time we went, though, my fortune cookie saying was different. It read, “God looks after you especially.” Wow! What a wonderful thought! God—the Almighty—Creator of Heaven and Earth—looks after me, but it doesn’t stop there; She looks after me especially! That made me feel so secure. No matter what the circumstances, God is watching over me. I knew that, but it was nice to be reminded, even if it was from a fortune cookie at our local Chinese take out.

Carol

SPIRITUAL MUSINGS: Love One Another

Note: The lovely lady who wrote this article for one of Broadway’s publications is no longer living, but her words are very much alive with her spirit.

What is God doing in our midst right now?

God is calling us to LOVE. A simple answer that is not easily lived.

God is calling us to Think Bigger, to Act Bolder, to Believe Stronger, to Love Boundlessly.

God wants us to Expand, to Open, to Grow, to Risk, to be Vulnerable, to Practice Her message of Love from a Higher, Wider, more encompassing perspective.

God is calling each of us to Be the person we were born to be. To Be the teachings his son, Jesus Christ, taught us. To Be more than we thought we ever could be. To love in ways that we thought were impossible.

God is calling me and you to Be the process of loving, even when we don’t want to, don’t know how, even if we don’t like the person, even if it makes us angry, or scared, or feel helpless.

There is only One Message from God. “Love One Another As I Have Loved You.” It may take us a lifetime to be living that, and that is our only purpose for living.

Every problem in the world would be solved, if Love were the basis for solving it. Every wound of every victim would be healed, if Love were the healing balm that was applied. Every war would be avoided, if Love were the basis for the negotiations. Every relationship would be healed, if Love guided each person and their communication.

How would Love behave in this situation? How would Love dissolve this conflict, this problem, this estrangement, this fight, this distrust, this judgment, this pain, this wound, this hurt, this feeling, this emptiness, this loneliness, this abandonment, this ego, this victimization, this desperation? What would Love do? Love would dissolve the pain, wounds, hurts, emptiness, loneliness, abandonment, victimization and desperation that my ego is afraid to let go of and replace all those feelings with only Love. Love can love me into wholeness. Then I will know how to love another.

God never said it would be easy. In fact, it will be the hardest thing we ever do. And it will be the most powerful. It will set us free. The Message is a simple one. “Love One Another As I Have Loved You.” And Jesus taught us how.

God, Give Me the courage to take one simple step and then another and then another until I am responding more and more from my Love center, until each time I can Love as You have always Loved me.

Jana R.

SPIRITUAL MUSINGS: Receiving the Blessing

Paul Smith spoke one Sunday on prayer. He said that the one component that is often left out of the prayer cycle is the receiving. In keeping with this, “Conversations with God” says, “When you thank God in advance for that which you choose to experience in your reality, you, in effect, acknowledge that it is there. Thankfulness is thus the most powerful statement to God, an affirmation that even before you ask, I have answered. Therefore never supplicate--appreciate.

“If you have but the faith of a mustard seed, you shall move mountains. You come to know it is there because I said it is there; because I said that, even before you ask, I shall have answered; because I said, and have said to you in every conceivable way, through every teacher you can name, that whatsoever you shall choose, choosing it in My Name, so shall it be.”

“The process of prayer becomes much easier when, rather than having to believe that God will always say, “yes” to every request, one understands intuitively that the request itself is not necessary. Then the prayer is a prayer of thanksgiving. It is not a request at all, but a statement of gratitude for what is so.”

I truly believe that if we just receive what God gives us so generously, without being attached to a certain outcome, everything that comes our way is part of our journey and is ultimately a blessing in our lives.

Carolyn T.

SPIRITUAL MUSINGS: Unloading Life's Burdens

After living in their home in DeSoto, KS for 51 years, my aging parents were beginning to feel the burden of being responsible for the upkeep of that home, especially since my father suffered a stroke, leaving him without the use of his right hand and little mobility. They decided to move to an assisted living facility in Overland Park last September. My dad, especially, held on to the belief that he would get well and go home again. This meant my folks still were paying taxes, paying the utilities, and paying for lawn care on the home in DeSoto. They also felt it necessary to check on the place at least once each month. When the hope of returning to their home faded, and they decided to sell, a burden lifted. They felt freer to call their assisted living facility “home,” and no longer felt torn between the two dwellings.

We all carry burdens on a daily basis. That is why on Sunday mornings at Broadway we are often asked to sit quietly, breathe deeply a time or two, and chase away the baggage we have brought with us to the worship service. That simple exercise clears our minds and allows us to focus on the teaching. Spiritual energy renews us and we find ourselves free to experience God in his home.

WHAT KIND OF A CHURCH IS BROADWAY? - My thoughts

I'm on a spiritual journey through life. My education at a small Baptist College in Missouri informs my journey, but doesn't completely define it. I guess you'd say I'm a recovering Baptist--and I believe that Broadway is a recovering Southern Baptist congregation. Definitely, Broadway is evolving into something more--not simply dropping Baptist from its name. Heaven forbid, Broadway Church ordains women and is gay-affirming. Thank God for evolution.

Actually, I do not believe that Heaven forbids our thinking for ourselves. And I believe that our faith is a vibrant and living faith that does indeed evolve as we continue on our spiritual paths. I find Broadway a challenging place because I must think for myself there. No dogma is dictated to me there. This can often be uncomfortable. It certainly is not an easy way out. However, I believe that my faith has become stronger since I have been a journeyer at Broadway.

Since my graduation from that small Missouri Baptist College, it seems I have often been a member of a church (granted they have always been Southern Baptist Churches) that have been disfellowshipped from the other churches in their areas: Northwest Baptist Church in Ardmore, OK and Second Baptist Church in Lubbock, TX. And now I have evolved from being a Baptist with Broadway Church which is no longer Broadway Baptist Church.

I no longer have the audacity to determine whom God calls to lead his flock. I no longer have the temerity to decide whom God counts among his children. (Excuse the mixed metaphor.)

I believe that everyone is on a spiritual journey and I hope that I accept all wherever they are on that journey.

David

SPIRITUAL MUSINGS: A Goal for the Broadway Blog

A Goal for the Broadway Blog

Broadway Church has a special place in my heart for several reasons. This is where I learned that I could speak with God and that God could speak with me. Healings take place here. Spiritual Gifts can be recognized and utilized here. The power of the Holy Spirit can easily be felt here. This is a place of inspiration through the music, worship, and teachings. My husband and I were married here and so were both of my children. My grandson has attended here. Broadway members and friends are charged with continuing the work of the kingdom.

Since its very conception, Broadway Church has been a refuge for those who were seeking a place of worship where they felt comfortable and at home. My heart’s desire is that this blog will draw new people who are searching for deep spiritual experiences to come to our services and see if Broadway is the answer to their longing.

Carol



I Believe

As a young person growing up Methodist, I recited Sunday after Sunday:

I believe in God, the Father Almighty, creator of heaven and earth. I believe in Jesus Christ, his only Son, our Lord, who was conceived by the Holy Spirit, born of the Virgin Mary, suffered under Pontius Pilate, was crucified, died and was buried; he descended to the dead. On the third day he rose again; he ascended into heaven, is seated at the right hand of the Father, and will come again to judge the living and the dead. I believe in the Holy Spirit, the holy catholic church, the communion of saints, the forgiveness of sins, the resurrection of the body, and the life everlasting. Amen.

Now, still as a child of God, but one who has grown spiritually, I no longer recite my beliefs. They have expanded.

I believe in a Mother/Father God who loves us all.
I believe in miracles, both big and small.
I believe in visions of others and mine.
I believe in healing by the Holy Spirit.
I believe in small, core groups of caring believers to help us on our journey.
I believe in ultimate reconciliation.
I believe in Jesus having many faces.
I believe in the power of prayer.
I believe in the dignity of every human being.
I believe.

Carol