Category: First Steps

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“First Steps” by Rev. Dr. Shane Green, October 7, 2024

October 7, 2024

Richard Rohr has written many books on spirituality and maturity.  He wrote one that I deeply appreciate and frustrates me to no end, Adam’s Return: The Five Promises of Male Initiation.  Drawing upon the Bible, Christian tradition, and other cultures, Rohr argues that men in Western society often lack meaningful rites of passage to help them mature.  Without significant rites of passage, one is confused, disconnected, and stuck.  

For Rohr, he believes that each male must own five key promises or insights to grow and mature (I agree but also think it would apply to women as well).  Here are the five key promises that each of us must learn:

  1. Life is hard.  Therefore, one must accept the inherent difficulties of life rather than avoid or deny them.
  2. You are not that important.  Therefore, one must emphasize the need for humility and the recognition that you are part of something larger than yourself.
  3. Your life is not about you.  Therefore, one must find purpose beyond personal success, focusing instead on service and the benefit of all.
  4. You are not in control.  Therefore, one must stress the importance of surrender which aids in the unpredictability and acceptance of what one can’t control.
  5. You are going to die.  Therefore, one must remember their mortality which inspires one to live with meaning, purpose, and urgency.  

We need these insights for our wellbeing.  Each of these precepts are part of the Christian journey.  If you have never considered these, I invite you to do so.  Don’t read them only to discard later today—dig deep with these, contemplate these over the next few months while listening to the voice of God beckoning you to go deeper.  

This Week’s Readings:

We are reading the Bible in just a little over a year!  We are now reading Leviticus. You may join anytime.  Just mark your Bible on the chapter you started and keep up with the weekly readings.

Things to Pray About:

  • Pray for our country and the 2024 Presidential Election.
  • Pray for spiritual maturity.
  • Our unwillingly absent members and shut-ins.
  • Pray for comfort for those who are grieving.
  • Wisdom for our church leaders, local leaders, and world leaders. 
  • Family restoration through forgiveness.
  • Continued growth of the faith of the people.
  • Pray for understanding.

“Don’t worry about anything; instead, pray about everything. Tell God what you need and thank him for all he has done.” – Philippians 4:6

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“First Steps” by Rev. Dr. Shane Green, September 30, 2024

September 30, 2024

Why is it that we are really proficient in compartmentalization?  For Christians, there is the uncanny ability to separate the secular from the sacred.  Peter Scazzero, a pastor in New York, summed up this problem by quoting a question asked by a church member, “Why is it that so many Christians make such lousy human beings?  In a word, compartmentalization.  We divide our lives into categories:  Over here belongs to God…over there belongs to me.  

For some, there is weekly attendance in worship on Sundays but no evidence of it from Monday to Saturday.  For another, the berating of a family member for their lack of spiritual maturity, all under the banner of defending God.  Finally, one can be lost in the joy of worship of God only to complain, gossip, and blame others.  

How shocking it is to read that there is no noticeable difference between the way evangelical church goers live, and non-church goers live when compared to divorce rates, giving patterns, sexual promiscuity and cohabitation, and racism (See Ron Sider’s The Scandal of Evangelical Conscience for statical data). 

Spiritual maturity is more than what one believes.  It equally involves how one lives.  Orthodoxy and orthopraxis must align.  When there are disconnects, where one compartmentalizes the spiritual and the secular, there will always be problems.  A life with God is one of unity (body, mind, and soul)—all of it is spiritual and sacred.  Everything that we are and everything that we do is connected to God.  The work of God’s Spirit is to bring wholeness.  Therefore, we can segment our lives so that what we do on Sundays and what we do the rest of the week aligns—everyday is Sunday for that matter. 

This Week’s Readings:

We are reading the Bible in just a little over a year!  We are now reading Leviticus. You may join anytime.  Just mark your Bible on the chapter you started and keep up with the weekly readings.

Things to Pray About:

  • Pray for our country and the 2024 Presidential Election.
  • Pray for spiritual maturity.
  • Our unwillingly absent members and shut-ins.
  • Pray for comfort for those who are grieving.
  • Wisdom for our church leaders, local leaders, and world leaders. 
  • Family restoration through forgiveness.
  • Continued growth of the faith of the people.
  • Pray for understanding.

“Don’t worry about anything; instead, pray about everything. Tell God what you need and thank him for all he has done.” – Philippians 4:6

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“First Steps” by Rev. Dr. Shane Green – September 23


As we continue to look at the connection between spiritual maturity and emotional wellbeing, one of the ways we bifurcate the two is by ignoring our feelings.  For most Christians, there can be a resistance by ignoring anger, sadness, and fear.  Some would even go so far as to say those feelings are sinful.  Afterall, aren’t Christians supposed to be filled with joy, love, and peace?

We ignore our anger because we assume that we are not loving.  We ignore our sadness because we think to be sad is a lack of faith in God.  We ignore our fear because we believe fear and faith are juxtaposed.  Therefore, when we experience these emotions, we quickly deny them which creates a disconnect in our lives.  Our emotional wellbeing suffers.  

One of my favorite passages is 1 Samuel 30.  David’s camp was ransacked by the Amalekites.  David’s family and all of David’s follower’s families were kidnapped as spoils of war.  Everyone was angry, sad, and fearful.  David was “greatly distressed, for the people spoke of stoning him, because all the people were bitter in soul…” (Verse 6).  Before David did anything, he owned his grief, acknowledged his feelings, expressed his emotions, and strengthened himself in the Lord his God.  He didn’t deny his humanity.  

When we deny our humanity, we push against what it means to be ourselves.  Human beings have emotions.  Jesus had emotions.  To repress our feelings is to rob ourselves of what it means to be created in God’s image.  Not only does it create a massive disconnect, but “it also deadens our humanity, instead of setting it free to develop richly, in all its capacities, under the influence of grace” (Thomas Merton).

Feelings and emotions are gifts from God.  They are natural expressions of human action and interaction.  People are not robots—so don’t try to be.  The spiritual mature and the emotional healthy own their emotions.  They use them in adequate ways to give expressions of their life experiences.  If you are struggling today with owning your emotions, I invite you to spend time in the Psalms.  Each chapter is filled with emotional discourse of what it is like to be a human following God.  

This Week’s Readings:

We are reading the Bible in just a little over a year!  We are now reading Leviticus. You may join anytime.  Just mark your Bible on the chapter you started and keep up with the weekly readings.

Things to Pray About:

  • Facing your honest feelings
  • Pray for our country and the 2024 Presidential Election.
  • Pray for spiritual maturity.
  • Our unwillingly absent members and shut-ins.
  • Pray for comfort for those who are grieving.
  • Wisdom for our church leaders, local leaders, and world leaders. 
  • Family restoration through forgiveness.
  • Continued growth of the faith of the people.
  • Pray for understanding.

“Don’t worry about anything; instead, pray about everything. Tell God what you need and thank him for all he has done.” – Philippians 4:6

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“First Steps” by Rev. Dr. Shane Green – September 16

September 16

Spiritual maturity and emotional health are related.  Part of the work of God’s Spirit (sanctification) is to lead us to maturity—emotionally and spiritually.  Part of God’s work is to rework some of our past that needs to be healed.  What is not processed (from the past) will be passed on (into the future).   God forgives past actions, but He also wants to transform the effects of the past so that those same patterns are broken.  This needed work can be painful because we must face areas of our lives that are filled with scabs.  Self-Honesty is crucial but difficult. 

For some, there will need to be a realization that we have used Godly activity to run from God.  We spend hours and hours doing things “for God” instead of “being with God.”  We fill our days with things of God that preoccupy our time and energy only to be too weary to be with God.  

Take prayer for instance—we spend time in prayer—praying for any and everything but won’t carve out 20 minutes to sit and reflect to allow God’s Spirit to bring to the surface the areas of our lives that need to change.  The same can be said with serving in different ministries.  We go and do, go and do, but don’t have time for crucial relationships.  How about the one who studies the Bible daily, but then uses those same scriptures to justify one’s defensive behaviors, critical attitudes, or the avoidance of anything that would lead to a life change.  

Do you use God to run from God?  Do you create a great deal of “God-activity” to avoid difficult areas in your life God wants to change?  If so, consider an alternative path.  Focus on your own self-awareness.  St. Augustine wrote, “O Lord, grant that I may know myself that I may know thee.”  Practice confession.  Engage a friend in accountability.  Listen to what they say without justification or blame shifting.  Sit with God in prayer—reflective prayer—asking God to reveal those areas that need to change.    

This Week’s Readings:
Monday – Leviticus 1
Tuesday – Leviticus 2
Wednesday – Leviticus 3
Thursday – Leviticus 4
Friday – Leviticus 5

We are reading the Bible in just a little over a year!  We have completed Exodus and are now reading Leviticus. You may join anytime.  Just mark your Bible on the chapter you started and keep up with the weekly readings.

Things to Pray About:
Pray for our country and the 2024 Presidential Election.
Pray for spiritual maturity.
Our unwillingly absent members and shut-ins.
Pray for comfort for those who are grieving.
Wisdom for our church leaders, local leaders, and world leaders. 
Family restoration through forgiveness.
Continued growth of the faith of the people.
Pray for understanding.

“Don’t worry about anything; instead, pray about everything. Tell God what you need and thank him for all he has done.” – Philippians 4:6
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“First Steps” by Rev. Dr. Shane Green – September 9

Rev. Dr. Shane Green wanted to share a First Steps newsletter from the past in conjunction with last week’s letter.

September 9

E. Stanley Jones, an American missionary to India, once said, “There are two groups of people in this world. There is a very big group of people in this world who are miserable. They live for themselves. There’s another group who have given their lives away to others. Their lives are filled with a wild joy.”

This week, find a way to live for another. Notice the people around you. Invite them into your life. Speak words of love and grace to them. In doing so, we can find joy in serving the One who makes us whole.


September 2 (to read again)

What is the connection between emotional health and spiritual maturity?  Can someone be spiritual mature and emotionally immature?  It has been my experience that the two are related, maybe more than realized.  Unfortunately, Christians tend to bifurcate their life.  This is spiritual while that is emotional (or relational, physical, or mental for that matter) and think they aren’t related.  But they are—very related.

We jump into more Bible study, small groups, worship, prayer, and service thinking it will fix everything.  They are helpful but disciplines are tools, not the solution. Emotional health and spiritual maturity are inseparable.  As one grows so will the other.  Peter Scazzero, a pastor and author, referenced his own life’s struggles to illustrate this point: “I was a Christian for twenty-two years.  But instead of being a twenty-two-year old Christian, I was a one-year-old Christian twenty-two times!  I just kept doing the same things over and over again.” (Emotional Healthy Spirituality, P.21).

This process was not lost on the Apostle Paul.  He wrote this to the Corinthians: 

“Brothers and sisters, I could not address you as people who live by the Spirit but as people who are still worldly—mere infants in Christ.  I gave you milk, not solid food, for you were not yet ready for it. Indeed, you are still not ready.  You are still worldly. For since there is jealousy and quarreling among you, are you not worldly? Are you not acting like mere humans?” (Cor 3:1-3).

The sanctification process has as much to do with how your past experiences influence your present as it does your future.  When God makes all things new—some of that work is instantaneous—like our status before God; however, some of that work takes times.  A long time!  The work of the Holy Spirit involves years of continued transformation.  Perhaps past healings lead to future wholeness.

In the coming weeks, I want to use this First Step devotional to identify some of the ways one might bifurcate their life which can lead to spiritual immaturity.  I hope you will join me in prayer as we all are going on to perfection.  Remember, God’s desire is for all to be whole—spiritually, mentality, emotionally, and physically.  

This Week’s Readings:

We are reading the Bible in just a little over a year!  We have completed Genesis and are now reading Exodus. You may join anytime.  Just mark your Bible on the chapter you started and keep up with the weekly readings.

Things to Pray About:

  • Pray for our country and the 2024 Presidential Election.
  • Pray for spiritual maturity.
  • Our unwillingly absent members and shut-ins.
  • Pray for comfort for those who are grieving.
  • Wisdom for our church leaders, local leaders, and world leaders. 
  • Family restoration through forgiveness.
  • Continued growth of the faith of the people.
  • Pray for understanding.

“Don’t worry about anything; instead, pray about everything. Tell God what you need and thank him for all he has done.” – Philippians 4:6

Posted on

“First Steps” by Rev. Dr. Shane Green – September 2

September 2

What is the connection between emotional health and spiritual maturity?  Can someone be spiritual mature and emotionally immature?  It has been my experience that the two are related, maybe more than realized.  Unfortunately, Christians tend to bifurcate their life.  This is spiritual while that is emotional (or relational, physical, or mental for that matter) and think they aren’t related.  But they are—very related.

We jump into more Bible study, small groups, worship, prayer, and service thinking it will fix everything.  They are helpful but disciplines are tools, not the solution. Emotional health and spiritual maturity are inseparable.  As one grows so will the other.  Peter Scazzero, a pastor and author, referenced his own life’s struggles to illustrate this point: “I was a Christian for twenty-two years.  But instead of being a twenty-two-year old Christian, I was a one-year-old Christian twenty-two times!  I just kept doing the same things over and over again.” (Emotional Healthy Spirituality, P.21).

This process was not lost on the Apostle Paul.  He wrote this to the Corinthians: 

“Brothers and sisters, I could not address you as people who live by the Spirit but as people who are still worldly—mere infants in Christ.  I gave you milk, not solid food, for you were not yet ready for it. Indeed, you are still not ready.  You are still worldly. For since there is jealousy and quarreling among you, are you not worldly? Are you not acting like mere humans?” (Cor 3:1-3).

The sanctification process has as much to do with how your past experiences influence your present as it does your future.  When God makes all things new—some of that work is instantaneous—like our status before God; however, some of that work takes times.  A long time!  The work of the Holy Spirit involves years of continued transformation.  Perhaps past healings lead to future wholeness.

In the coming weeks, I want to use this First Step devotional to identify some of the ways one might bifurcate their life which can lead to spiritual immaturity.  I hope you will join me in prayer as we all are going on to perfection.  Remember, God’s desire is for all to be whole—spiritually, mentality, emotionally, and physically.  

This Week’s Readings:
Monday – Exodus 31
Tuesday – Exodus 32
Wednesday – Exodus 33
Thursday – Exodus 34
Friday – Exodus 35

We are reading the Bible in just a little over a year!  We have completed Genesis and are now reading Exodus. You may join anytime.  Just mark your Bible on the chapter you started and keep up with the weekly readings.

Things to Pray About:
Pray for our country and the 2024 Presidential Election.
Pray for guidance in times of wilderness.
Our unwillingly absent members and shut-ins.
Pray for comfort for those who are grieving.
Wisdom for our church leaders, local leaders, and world leaders.
Continued growth of the faith of the people.
Pray for understanding.

“Don’t worry about anything; instead, pray about everything. Tell God what you need and thank him for all he has done.” – Philippians 4:6
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