Thursday, 27 December 2007 by Paul Dubuc.

I never tire of reminding people that Christmas lasts twelve days and it takes all of Advent to prepare for it.  More each year I try to observe Advent in the old way, as a time of preparation for receiving Christ anew in to my life. I still enjoy some of the parties and festivity that lead up to Christmas Day, but spiritually I try to keep those in the background and focus more consciously on what the Incarnation (God becoming human in Jesus Christ) means for the world and for me. I’m not always as “successful” as I think that I should be but I’m hardly disappointed and I keep trying. Robert Webber’s book, Ancient-Future Time is a very inspiring description of the ways in which Christians can use liturgical year observances to deepen their faith and open their lives to God’s transforming power. I’ve been using some of Webber’s ideas to guide our “Prayer at Six” meetings during Advent. Here’s a summary: Read the rest of this entry »

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Monday, 15 October 2007 by Paul Dubuc.

When I was looking around for a devotional topic for last week’s Prayer at Six meeting, I came across the evening devotional for that date (October 8th) in Charles Spurgeon’s Morning and Evening. The 20th verse of the book of Jude exhorts us to “pray in the Holy Spirit.” In this devotional reading, Spurgeon gives his rendition of what this means. First, he characterizes prayer as a two-way relationship with God when he says that, “Only the prayer which comes from God can go to God.” Prayer is a conversation with God, not a monologue. Prayers that are entirely self-motivated have little effect. He then goes on to describe five qualities of praying in the Spirit. We considered the first one at this evening’s meeting: “Praying in the Holy Spirit is praying in fervency. Cold prayers ask the Lord not to hear them. Those who do not plead with fervency, plead not at all. As well speak of lukewarm fire as of lukewarm prayer—it is essential that it be red hot.” This got me to thinking about what fervency means for prayer. Read the rest of this entry »

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Thursday, 6 September 2007 by Paul Dubuc.

For devoted Christians who struggle with clinical depression, bipolar disorder, or schizophrenia this book will be a godsend. The author is a trained theologian and Anglican priest who has experienced these forms of mental illness and anguish first-hand. The title comes from a translation of the last verse of Psalm 88.  Subtitled, “A Christian Response to Mental Illness“, the book is not so much a chronicle of her experience as it is one of her effort to find meaning in that experience through her Christian faith. Christians have often experienced suffering in one form or another, but mental illness bears a stigma that makes it a form of suffering that is often borne in secret. In sharing her struggle, the author reveals remarkable insight and courage with a touch of humor. She bravely confronts those who do not understand her experience–from fellow Christians with less than helpful advice to secular psychiatrists who show bafflement or even distain for her religion–even while accepting from them whatever is true or helpful. The only true enemy she has is her illness and its symptoms. She comes through her struggle wounded but transformed by the experience, a whole person, able to find meaning in it in the light of her faith in Christ. Read the rest of this entry »

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Saturday, 1 September 2007 by Paul Dubuc.

The weekly prayer meeting at Bethel Church has recently moved from Sunday evening to Monday evenings at 6:00 PM (except during holiday weekends). This change was made to make it accessible to more members. The meeting is open to anyone, not just members. Contact me if you are interested in more details, or just drop in and join us. The following paragraphs describe the purpose and content of the meetings. I hope they will be useful to others who lead prayer meetings. Read the rest of this entry »

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Saturday, 11 August 2007 by Paul Dubuc.

There’s a popular expression that seems to be going around ministry circles today that says, “Nothing happens (or, nothing gets done) without prayer.” I’ve heard or read this saying many different places. It isn’t meant literally, of course. Lots of things actually do get done without prayer and many things in spite of it. But sometimes I’m so puzzled by slogans like this that I have to think for a while about the meaning they are trying to convey, especially with regard to prayer. Something bothers me about this one. It’s probably the emphasis on ”getting things done“ or ”making things happen“ with prayer, as if prayer were a tool for accomplishment. Of course, it goes without saying that the accomplishments are really those of God’s design and execution, not ours, and what we’re really trying to say is that prayer ensures that what gets done by us is that which is aligned with Gods purpose, right? Maybe. Read the rest of this entry »

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Tuesday, 12 June 2007 by Paul Dubuc.

Last year I was given a copy of this devotional guide as a gift by some very good friends who seem to know me very well and I have been using it regularly since then. Dallas Willard’s writings are a tremendous inspiration and encouragement to me. They are best read in small bites and chewed thoroughly. Jan Johnson has done a fine job of compiling the main points of Willard’s book Hearing God into a devotional format that encourages just this type of reading on a very essential matter for every Christian. Reading a book about how to interact with God is not enough, no matter how good the book. The opportunity to practice is a crucial part of the learning process. Many devotional reading books jump from one one topic to another. This has much more continuity and focus. This format is ideal for the way one ought to approach such a foundational spiritual subject. Of course, it’s no substitute for the original book but it’s a great help in soaking in that book’s ideas. It should be easy for anyone to find the time to do the short readings and exercises in this book. There is a short introduction that is helpful in getting the reader started in doing the kind of prayerful meditation and reflection that is encouraged by the book but people who aren’t familiar with these practices might want to read one of Jan Johnson’s other books on prayer and meditation as well. I highly recommend this book and all of Dallas Willard’s books.

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Wednesday, 16 May 2007 by Paul Dubuc.

I’ve recently finished another quarter at ATS and I have no classes until October so I hope to be writing more here between now and then. This quarter I took the senior seminar in spiritual formation. This class consisted of discussion, reading four modern spiritual classics, some reflective writing on those books, and a project. My project was to design and lead a men’s retreat inspired by the spiritual exercises of Ignatius of Loyola. Five other guys from the Friday morning men’s group and I spent a weekend at Salt Fork State Park and had some very good discussion, prayer, meditation and fellowship. I enjoyed it very much and the other guys seemed to like it too. I couldn’t have asked for a better group. For about three years now, I’ve had the great blessing of meeting with this group of men for study and prayer. They’ve been a tremendous encouragement and help to me. Read the rest of this entry »

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Friday, 12 January 2007 by Paul Dubuc.

In my 19 December posting, I said that I would post a copy of the integrative paper I wrote for my class on Emergent Christian Spirituality at Ashland Seminary. Well there it is. Comments are welcome. The only remark with which I would like to preface the paper here is that, in spite of the reservations that I express about Rob Bell’s book Velvet Elvis, I like the book very much and found almost everything else he said in the book very helpful and agreeable.

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Saturday, 30 December 2006 by Paul Dubuc.

Some very nice people at Bethel Church are working on an Advent devotional calendar for 2007 and asked me to write something for one of the days. This reflection on what was probably the saddest, and best, Christmas that I have ever had is my contribution. I’m looking forward to seeing what the others have written.

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Tuesday, 19 December 2006 by Paul Dubuc.

There’s nothing quite like the feeling that goes with sending your last paper off in e-mail and saying, “I’m done” with another quarter at Ashland Seminary. That was early Friday morning for me. I was exhausted. I’ve finished two more courses in my seminary education, both very interesting and challenging.
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