Pastor Steven Thomas was born in Houston,
Texas. He graduated from New Mexico Tech with a BS in Chemistry. He was working
as a chemist in Baltimore for a few years, and then decided to pursue the dream
of being a pastor. In 1993, Pastor Steve graduated from the Lutheran
Theological Seminary in Gettysburg.
Pastor
Steve enjoys hiking, kayaking, and reading. Pastor Steve’s passion is always
looking for greater understanding - especially in how our expanding scientific
knowledge reveals additional wonders of God.
Some
of his favorite books are The Bible (of course), Awareness by
Anthony DeMello, One Minute Nonsense by Anthony DeMello, The
Power of Now by Eckhart Tolle, E=mc2 by David Bodanis,
and the Tolkein trilogy.
Occasionally, people say that they would
like to experience a more fulfilled spiritual life. Often times, when a person says this, they
are thinking about spirituality as something that you can get through some
book, or workshop, or seminar. The title
of such a book might be 10 Easy Steps to a Spiritual Life. It would give ten practical steps to
developing the kind of life the author sees as “spiritual”.
One time I saw an article in a popular
news magazine that presented this kind of idea.
The article seemed to suggest that everyone should just drop their
current life and job and move to the Rocky Mountains, the Midwest Prairies, or
the West Coast and adopt a “simple life”.
However, the Christian approach to
spirituality is not one of escapism - nor does it propose to be easy. Christian spirituality begins and grows in
the midst of life. When we talk of
spirituality, we are talking about the whole of life. Spirituality flows throughout every part of
your life - when you are living out your role as mother or father, son or
daughter. When you are buying your
groceries and going to the doctor. Your
spirituality encompasses your relationships at work - with coworkers (both good
and bad) - with your boss - with those under your authority.
Some spiritual questions that might come
up in these situations might be...
How much freedom
should I give my child? Enough to
encourage their personal development, but not enough to endanger them. Or, what are the best friends for me to have? Do I want to do the things that they do? Do they value the same things
that I value (like
knowing Jesus or making decent grades)?
Spirituality may affect how you buy
groceries. In caring for God’s creation,
you might ask how far the items that you are buying have to be shipped. All of that transportation burns fuel which
damages the air and causes global warming.
And, what foods are best to create a healthy body? St. Paul says that your body is a temple of
God.
And, as you go to the doctor, you may
consider the blessed gift of God - your health.
Or considering your mortality - what one last thing would God like you
to do with your life?
True spirituality is the kind of
spirituality that connects with your whole life. True spirituality is trying to put Jesus at
the center of all that you do. First it
requires that you get to know Jesus by reading the gospels and the New
Testament. And then you need to
intentionally put yourself in a Christian environment like church. There you will find good and loving people
who can listen and guide and provide a model of the way life ought to be. And finally, pray all the time. Talk to God like the powerful, awesome and
loving friend and parent and Creator that God is.
Those are the kinds of things that shape
your life and your spirit. Those are the
kinds of things that infuse your life with peace and joy and love.
May Jesus bless you and guide you in your
spiritual journey.
