{"id":2274,"date":"2012-10-08T12:49:28","date_gmt":"2012-10-08T19:49:28","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.pnwumc.org\/gc2012\/?p=2274"},"modified":"2013-08-30T13:49:25","modified_gmt":"2013-08-30T20:49:25","slug":"when-faith-journeys-converge","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.pnwumc.org\/news\/when-faith-journeys-converge\/","title":{"rendered":"When Faith Journeys Converge"},"content":{"rendered":"

Musings & Younger Perspectives:
\nWhen Faith Journeys Converge<\/strong> | By Douglas Ferguson<\/em><\/p>\n

Life events often define who we are in the eyes of others, in part because we tend to describe our lives by highlighting these. Even if major events don\u2019t define us, the choices we make leading up to these events reflect on us. This is on my mind because I recently asked my (now) fianc\u00e9e, Kimberly, to marry me. I am excited for many reasons: not least of which is that I\u2019m marrying a Godly woman. I share this out of joy, and because I think it\u2019s helpful to know how milestones affect the faith journey of others. Since I\u2019m writing this you\u2019ll have to settle for what I have to offer, but I encourage you to think about major life events you\u2019ve experienced and the impact on your faith.<\/p>\n

Kimberly and I come from divergent faith backgrounds, yet our faith journeys are fast converging. We\u2019ve discussed, shared, and explored together\u2026 often challenging each other\u2019s beliefs. I am passionate about being Methodist because we put our faith into action, but Kimberly gently reminds me that I am a Christian first and Methodist second. One key reflection for us has been what it means to follow Christ, and how that\u2019s reflected in Jesus\u2019 top two commandments: \u201cLove God first and foremost and love your neighbor as yourself.\u201d Liberal or conservative, most Christians fall short of this. What if instead of arguing over the smaller issues Christ didn\u2019t even address, all denominations chose to support each other in God\u2019s charge to love? Reason, experience, scripture, and tradition tell us that when we learn to be compassionate towards our fellow Christians, we also learn how to be compassionate Christians in the world.<\/p>\n

Merging two different faith backgrounds is challenging. I am grateful to the Methodist church for teaching me to approach faith issues with an open mind, that it\u2019s okay to disagree on smaller issues, and that my faith can actually grow through doubt. Openly discussing our differences with mutual love and respect has strengthened my relationship with Kimberly. More importantly, focusing on our common faith through encouragement, studying scripture, and praying together has grown my personal faith.<\/p>\n

I have given much to the church, but as I enter this major transitional phase I need much continued support, understanding, and trust. Kimberly and I need to find a church that allows us to balance our different faith experiences. Leaving my childhood church is a painful prospect; I do not feel prepared. I\u2019ve not been taught how to leave the denomination while strengthening my faith, or for that matter how to return. I know I\u2019ll be welcomed, but what does that transitional process look like in light of life\u2019s unpredictable journey?<\/p>\n

Especially since I am a Christian first\u2026<\/p>\n

I hope my sharing encouraged you to think about the effects of current life events on your faith journey, and perhaps also provided insight into the challenges young adults face. Often life takes us temporarily out of our denomination\u2026 how are we prepared for this in order to return? One answer is listening to each other\u2019s stories. This enables perspective, encourages sympathy, and empowers empathy.<\/p>\n

\n

<\/em>Respond to this article at facebook.com\/channels.pnwumc<\/a>.
\nThis article was originally presented in Channels 57. Download this issue, here<\/a>.<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Musings & Younger Perspectives: When Faith Journeys Converge | By Douglas Ferguson Life events often define who we are in the eyes of others, in part because we tend to describe our lives by highlighting these. Even if major events don\u2019t define us, the choices we make leading up to these events reflect on us. […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":51,"featured_media":2275,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":false,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","enabled":false},"version":2}},"categories":[111,112],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-2274","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-channels","8":"category-ministries-with-young-people"},"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.pnwumc.org\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/10\/6_MYP_MYP.jpg?fit=600%2C307&ssl=1","jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p2l75j-AG","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.pnwumc.org\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2274","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.pnwumc.org\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.pnwumc.org\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.pnwumc.org\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/51"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.pnwumc.org\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2274"}],"version-history":[{"count":12,"href":"https:\/\/www.pnwumc.org\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2274\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":4922,"href":"https:\/\/www.pnwumc.org\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2274\/revisions\/4922"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.pnwumc.org\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2275"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.pnwumc.org\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2274"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.pnwumc.org\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2274"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.pnwumc.org\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2274"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}