Imagine all the people, sharing all the world...

I am currently taking a Comparative Religions anthropology class. I am taking it as a random elective because I thought it would be really interesting. I was right. It’s one of the few classes that I actually enjoy and learn from.

I took this class because I think it’s extremely important and valuable to learn about and understand different viewpoints, especially about religion or lack thereof. As a Christian, how can I be confident in my own faith if I can’t compare it to anything? How can I reach out and minister to people of different faiths if I don’t understand where they’re coming from or what they believe? And how can I be a truly loving, nonjudgmental, open-minded person if I stay locked up in my little Christian bubble all the time?

For my fieldwork project in this class, I had to attend two different events related to two different religious affiliations that I am not familiar with and write a paper comparing and contrasting them. I ended up going to a Sunday morning service at Fountain Street Church and a general meeting for GVSU’s chapter of the Center for Inquiry.

Fountain Street Church resides in a breathtakingly beautiful cathedral in downtown Grand Rapids. It was once defined as a Baptist church but has now taken on the mentality that I can best describe as, “We don’t know what to believe, so we’re just going to believe everything.” They referenced the Bible and also mentioned that they study the Koran and other scriptures. They used the term “divine” as a seemingly all-inclusive term for whatever higher being or beings may be out there. They spoke about being “religiously reluctant, spiritually shy, and morally modest.” They are basically open to everything and anything because they see validity and flaws in all religions.

The Center for Inquiry is an organization for atheists, agnostics, skeptics, and those that are open to learning about and discussing other viewpoints and religions. Most of the people at the meeting considered themselves “nonreligious” but there were a couple Christians, and after mentioning that I was there as part of a class project, I was asked straight up by one of the girls, “Are you a Christian?” Not “Are you a religious?” or “What are your beliefs?” but “Are you a Christian?” Obviously, my answer was “Yup!” And her response was, “That’s cool. I respect that.” The meeting was pretty disorganized and was more of a hang-out than anything else, but I had some interesting conversations with a few of the people there. I asked one of the guys what he would consider the goal or purpose of CFI to be. He said a few things that I found really interesting. He explained that CFI is designed so that people can get together and have open discussions about their beliefs, but he considered the GVSU chapter more of a social group than anything - a place where people who leave the church and lose their community can find a new community. He also encouraged me to get more involved with the group because it’s important to have different viewpoints. He doesn’t want to live in an echo chamber all the time. Amen!...I mean…I agree.

So basically, Fountain Street is not sure what to believe so they assume all religions are mostly right, and CFI is not sure what to believe so they assume that all religions are mostly wrong. It was an interesting contrast, and I actually really liked attending both of these events. I never once felt attacked or judged or excluded. I was warmly welcomed by both very open-minded groups. It made me think in a broader perspective and step outside of the bubble that I far too easily put myself in. I love having such a strong Christian community, and I would be lost without it, but it can be dangerous to only surround yourself with people that look and think like you. I'm not about to become a Universalist Unitarian or an Atheist, but I do believe that spending time with people who are will make me a better Christian. After all...Jesus hung out with the prostitutes and tax collectors. 

I took a couple classes last semester about diversity, and in a lot of ways, I can compare my experiences in those classes with my Comparative Religions class. These are the classes that make me glad that I go to a public university. It can be hard to listen to some of the painfully close-minded and underdeveloped theories of stubbornly opinionated college students, but it is really important to talk about the controversial issues that a lot of people are afraid to discuss. And it’s even more important to have these discussions with people that are going to challenge your opinion and make you think outside of your own beliefs rather than just mindlessly agree with everything you say.

The moral of the story is: Be open-minded. Don’t judge people (because you don’t have that authority, anyway). And love everyone. It’s a great philosophy for life. 


-Ray


"Even in the most unlikely and conservative of places, you can find sometimes this glimmering idea that God might be bigger than our limited religious doctrines have taught us." - Eat, Pray, Love

You got a friend in me.

I have recently been redefining my view on relationships. And I’m not talking about lovers and dating and cheesy romance, but the everyday relationships that are an intrinsic part of every facet of our lives. I have been so fortunate to meet and develop relationships with some truly amazing people, especially in the past couple years since I started college. The hard part is keeping up with them all. The more experiences I have, trips I go on, things I become involved with means the more relationships I have to balance.

The amazing thing about relationships is that they are all important. God puts every single person in our life for a reason. It may be a small snippet of some one’s story or a single word of wisdom or just a great shared experience that makes it all worth it. And sometimes it’s the relationships that start off slow that end up to be some of the most intimate and important ones you will ever have.

It comes to the point where you have to decide how much to invest in each relationship because it would be impossible to keep up with them all. But it is amazing to realize how much I have learned and how much I have been affected by the short conversations with strangers or a few words from a friend I haven’t seen in years. This makes me not only realize the value of what I can learn from every relationship but also the effect I have through every relationship. And I am realizing how important it is to invest into relationships that I value most.

With that said, I am making a commitment this year to relationships. I want to hear about my friends’ lives and genuinely listen and genuinely care. And hopefully, it will be a mutually beneficial experience. Paul tells the Romans in Romans 1:12, “When we get together, I want to encourage you in your faith, but I also want to be encouraged by yours.” I want to support people in their walks with God and lives, in general. And through investing in these relationships, I hope that I can grow and feel supported. God made us to be social people – we’re not meant to make this journey on our own.   

So, don’t be surprised if I hit you up for a coffee date…and don’t be afraid to hit me up for one, too.

-Ray

Wake on up from your slumber, baby open up your eyes

I mentioned in a past blog post about how I read a few different books before going to Australia that were themed to the effect of making your life a story worth hearing. With the impending release of Needtobreathe’s new album on September 20 (I’ve already preordered it, don’t even worry about it), I rekindled my romance with the song that was debuted to me at Needtobreathe’s show at Spring Arbor University last Spring (you know, the night I met the love of my life, lead singer Bear Rinehart). I took some time to really listen to the lyrics, and I think you should, too. Here it is, another masterpiece from the band that speaks to my heart.  

 

Days; they force you back under those covers, lazy mornings; they multiply,
Glory's waiting outside your windows. Wake on up from your slumber, baby open up your eyes.

Tongues are violent, personal and focused, tough to be with your steady mind,
Hearts are stronger after broken. Wake on up from your slumber, baby open up your eyes.

All these victims stand in line for, crumbs that fall from the table just enough to get by,

all the while your invitation.
Wake on up from your slumber, baby open up your eyes.

Wake on up from your slumber, baby open up your eyes.

Take from vandals all you want now, please don't trade it in for life,

replaced your feeble with the fable.
Wake on up from your slumber, baby open up your eyes.
Wake on up from your slumber, baby open up your eyes.

All these victims stand in line for, crumbs that fall from the table just enough to get by,

all the while your invitation.
Wake on up from your slumber, baby open up your eyes.

Wake on up from your slumber, baby open up your eyes.

Sing like we used to, dance when you want to, taste for the breakthrough open wide.

All these victims stand in line for, crumbs that fall from the table just enough to get by,

all the while your invitation.
Wake on up from your slumber, baby open up your eyes.

Wake on up from your slumber, baby open up your eyes.
Wake on up from your slumber, baby open up your eyes.

Come on, sing like we used to, and dance like you want to.
Come on darlin' open your eyes. I wanna sing like we used to. I wanna dance like we want to.
Come on darlin' open up your eyes.

This is basically what I get from this song – wake up, stupid! There is an amazing life out there waiting for you to live it. Don’t be lazy and miss it! Don’t live your life just enough to get by. Glory’s waiting outside your windows! Wake on up from your slumber, baby open up your eyes! I’ve never been a fan of mediocrity. I really just don’t think there’s any reason for it. Why would I live a boring, safe, typical American life when there is so much more out there!

Everyone has their passions. I happen to have a lot of them. In fact, I have to come to the conclusion that my true passion is for being passionate. Without passion, life is just…mediocre. I fall completely in love with things very easily, and when I do so, I commit my entire heart and soul. A few general categories of my greatest passions include traveling, missions, music, and most importantly, the big man upstairs. Of course, God pretty much dictates all the other passions, so He very well could have plans for me that don’t involve any of these things, and I will have to be okay with that. However, I firmly believe that God gives us our passions for a reason. And he equips us with the talents, skills, and opportunities necessary to take advantage of these passions.

It would be pretty easy for me to graduate college in a year and a half or so, get a job working at a very developed national or international nonprofit organization, and make a decent amount of money sitting at a desk for 40 hours a week doing boring work for a great organization. I would be financially secure, comfortable, safe, and relatively satisfied knowing that I was facilitating a nonprofit to do important things for the community and/or world. I also could work full-time all of next summer at my current job or elsewhere to save money so that I will have a buffer when I graduate to find a place to live, start paying off loans, buy myself something nice, etc. These things would be “easy.” And they would make life pretty “easy.” But I wouldn’t be satisfied. And I don’t think God would be, either. Because I wouldn’t be passionate about my life. And if I’m not passionate about what I’m doing, I can’t commit all of my heart and soul. And I want a life that I commit my heart and soul to.

I have mentioned this in a previous blog post, and I am going to mention it again, because this is such a convicting point (as usual) from Francis Chan. Crazy Love, people…read it! "We say things like, ‘I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me,’ and ‘Trust in the Lord with all your heart.’ Then we live and plan like we don’t believe God even exists. We try to set our lives up so everything will be fine even if God doesn’t come through. But true faith means holding nothing back. It means putting every hope in God’s fidelity to His promises." I do believe that I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me. I want to put every hope in God’s fidelity to His promises. That’s why I want to travel, even though I don’t have money. That’s why I want to do full-time ministry, even though it will never make me much money. That’s why I want to keep playing music, even though all I can do is sing and fake guitar and I know nothing about theory. That’s why I want to commit my life, career, destiny, all of me to God’s purpose, even though I have no idea where that’s going to take me.

Spending my summer in Australia was an amazing experience for far more reasons than I could ever explain, but it’s not just a great memory. It gave me a small glimpse of what this world has to offer. It showed me how big this world is and at the same time, how small it is. It gave me the itch to travel and see the world and do it for God, and it proved to me that I can.

I want to conquer another continent next summer. Maybe that’s financially irresponsible. Maybe I should work. I want to do a Discipleship Training School with YWAM after I graduate. Maybe that’s not practical. Maybe I should find a job first. I have a whole lot of student loans haunting my future. Maybe I should concern myself with paying those back...

It will all happen in due time. I have the rest of my life to work, so I’ve been told. I’m sick of sitting around being jealous of other people that have amazing opportunities to travel the world, do crazy awesome things…why not just be one of those people? Why not just trust that God has a plan for my life that is way more than mediocrity? Why not live a life that I’m passionate about? When I’m old and shriveled and giving my grandchildren this same lecture, I want to be able to tell them stories that are book worthy…maybe even movie worthy. Definitely song worthy. If my story isn’t worth hearing, then I haven’t done my job on this earth. God won’t get any glory from a story that puts people to sleep.

So the moral of the story is…Wake on up from your slumber, baby open up your eyes!

-Ray

Good lookin' out.

Prayer. It is an awesome and incredibly powerful thing. And I’m not going to lie…I have been known to be a bit of a doubter. Let’s just say that trust and patience aren’t my strong suits. And you need a whole lot of both of those things when it comes to prayer. But God has been proving to me that all things really are possible through Christ.

Like many other poor college students, finances are a pretty regular source of stress and a pretty constant subject of prayer. With the recent death of my car and purchase of a replacement, another tuition bill due, and a summer without working, money has not been in surplus to say the least. I am now back to my near-minimum wage part-time job living at home because I can’t afford rent with an empty bank account and a stack of student loans. And then there’s that pesky addiction to traveling that’s eating me out of house and home. I am a firm believer that God helps those who help themselves, and that is why I am working at an on-campus job and paid internship while going to school full time. And with all that, it's easy for me to start thinking my prayers are broken or something. But completely out of the blue, my campus minister brought up a scholarship opportunity for students that are involved with Campus Ministry, from Kent County, and have financial need…so basically, me in a nutshell. He nominated me, and I got it! I didn’t even have to do anything. It is a straight up blessing, and I am heaps thankful to know that God’s got my back. Good lookin’ out, God.

So, this week alone, God has blessed me with a car and a completely unexpected scholarship. And that is after He gave me the incredible opportunity to spend my summer in Australia. Which was after he answered months of prayer about his will for music in my life by blessing me with the CM music internship. And after the past three days at our Campus Ministry Leadership Retreat, I am feeling nothing but grateful and completely blessed for the amazing community I am a part of and the role I have in that community. So basically, I am ready to take on the world. From Grand Valley. Because I can. For with God, nothing is impossible.

-Ray

Greater things have yet to come and greater things are still to be done...

I own a car. That's right people. After my little brother oh-so-kindly totaled the ole Tinkmobile, I have been left without a vehicle, which is necessary for transporting me to school, work, my internship, and other minor details like that. But I now have a new warmly welcomed set of keys on my key chain to a 2002 Dodge Neon (yes, the same kind of car as my dad and the same color as my Cavalier...I guess we're afraid of change in the Mason family or something). For those of you that have experienced the joy of my 1997 Cavalier in all of its disastrous glory, you will understand that this is quite a bit of an upgrade for me. I mean, when I put it into park, it stays there! And when I drive over a bump, my windshield wipers don't turn on full speed! What!? I am moving up in this world! It looks a little something like this:

I have been praying hardcore for God to bless me with a vehicle before I head off to the three-day Campus Ministry Leadership Retreat that starts tomorrow because from there on out, I will be kicking the semester into high gear and will be lucky to have a moment to breath, let alone search for a car. And shuffling between my parents and brother's cars would get a bit more tricky when my mom goes back to work and my brother moves out to Cornerstone. I was at the point in my car search where I was ready to start lowering my standards and/or finding ways to increase my budget because I just needed something. But I found a car that had everything I wanted, and I could actually afford. So lesson learned: Don't ever give up on prayers, and God always comes through...usually at the last minute.  

Campus Ministry is hitting the ground running as we jump into this school year, and I am really excited for what God is doing here at Grand Valley. I met with our amazing worship director, Stacie, last Friday to start taking on my duties at Music Intern, and we had an intern night for all of the CM interns out at our campus minister's cottage on Lake Michigan last night. As I was discussing with a friend of mine last week, our return to Campus Ministry activities feels like we're reuniting with our family after a summer apart. Jumping into this leadership role has really helped me get excited for this year and excited to be here. It was a weird transition to come home from Australia to the last couple weeks of a summer that I haven't been a part of, but the last few days have brought me both peace of mind and excitement for what's next.

Romans 12:6-8 says, "In his grace, God has given us different gifts for doing certain things well. So if God has given you the ability to prophesy, speak out with as much faith as God has given you. If your gift is serving others, serve them well. If you are a teacher, teach well. If your gift is to encourage others, be encouraging. If it is giving, give generously. If God has given you leadership ability, take the responsibility seriously. And if you have a gift for showing kindness to others, do it gladly." One of the things that I learned in Australia is that God has given me a gift for singing, and it's for a reason. It's more than just a passion or a dream. God has blessed with something that I can use for his glory, and I have been given a huge opportunity to use music to bring glory to God and to disciple others through this internship with Campus Ministry. 1 Peter 4:11 says, "Do you have the gift of speaking? Then speak as though God himself were speaking through you. Do you have the gift of helping others? Do it with all the strength and energy that God supplies. Then everything you do will bring glory to God through Jesus Christ. All glory and power to him forever and ever! Amen." So, I'm going to sing like God himself is singing, and I'm going to lead with all the strength and energy God supplies. I'm here at Grand Valley right now with this role ahead of me for a reason, and I'm not going to let myself miss it because I'm too caught up in the past or the future.

It's interesting how life comes in seasons. I am currently experiencing both a painful goodbye to my season of Australian adventure and an eager hello to a new season at Grand Valley and with Campus Ministry. I have realized that there is no such thing as transition time. Nothing is wasted. Every season of life that we go through is for a reason and affects both seasons past and seasons to come. Life is a really interesting tangled web of little stories that make up one big epic journey. And even though I am really sad to let Australia go (for now), I am really excited for the next chapter.

So, bring it on, God! Here I am. Send me!

-Ray