Pondering the future as a Christian person

Pondering is not usually identified as a religious virtue. For me it is the key to my spiritual health. I do not do what most people would identify as meditation. If put on a time clock, I do not spend much time praying, and when I do, I consider it a very private exercise. I do not oppose prayer meetings, but they are my least enjoyed religious gatherings. My most important religious exercise is pondering. I ponder what God might do in our world if he/she could get a little help from common folk, starting with me.

I ponder the meaning of life, but more often I ponder the possibilities of life. I spend little time pondering the reasons that something cannot be done. Barriers do not intimidate, but become the object of pondering what needs to be done to remove the barrier. I ponder what can be done.

I am a very religious person. (Often people tell me they are spiritual, but not religious. I do not have the foggiest notion of what they speak.) I am a child of the church and still love church life. A Sunday never passes without my attendance in a formal worship service. Nothing moves me quite like singing hymns that are imbedded in my mind, heart and soul.

Among my favorite hymns is “Praise to the Lord, the Almighty.” In the third verse, I sing my challenge: “Ponder anew what the Almighty can do, if with His love He befriend thee.” I dare say that I never remember a week of my adult life in which these words have not been recalled. I have no more enduring commitment than to do my part in bringing about the life that can be. With a participating God, the possibilities are boundless.

My ponderings need all the help available. They need content and direction. About 14 years ago, a friend and I had a conversation about the needs of our beloved town of Palmer. We agreed that we would meet every Wednesday morning at 9 a.m. at Vagabond Blues coffee shop. The topic of conversation would always be Palmer. Others would always be welcome at our coffee table. Except for holidays, we have not missed a Wednesday meeting in more than 14 years. Sometimes there are only two or three in attendance, other times the group grows to eight to 10. There is no leader and there is no organization. It is a gathering at which the only agenda is Palmer.

The ideas that have emerged out of 9 a.m. coffee on Wednesday morning are numerous, and Palmer is a different place because some of the ideas have been transformed into action.

Yet another pondering group meets every Thursday morning at 7 a.m. for breakfast at the Noisy Goose Café. This gathering has been taking place Thursday mornings for about 10 years. It is a gathering of “do-gooder” types who share a commitment to the doing of good with those who have special needs. We talk about folks who are homeless. We talk about people who are being released from the Alaska prison system. We talk about people who struggle with mental illnesses. We ponder the services that are needed and can be delivered effectively within resources that are available.

Like the Wednesday morning coffee group, the Thursday morning breakfast group has no leader, no organization, no bylaws and no agenda other than discussing the good that can be done. Ideas, information, pondering and an occasional argument — that’s what the gatherings are about. Many good things have taken place in our community because of the group’s exercises in pondering.

Young people are abandoning churches in droves. This is an undisputed fact verified by modern scientific research. Why they are leaving is in dispute, but I have some ideas. I believe many of our churches have lost their ability to ponder the meaning of Christ’s gospel in a modern, ever-changing world. Churches can have exciting music and entertaining events. I do not believe young people are looking for entertainment. I believe they are looking for lives fully engaged with a world that makes sense.

I find it noteworthy that I have found my two most engaging weekly meetings outside of churches. Conversations about what life can be and ponderings about how to create the truly good and fruitful life are taking place in coffee shops and restaurants, not in churches.

Everywhere I go, I go as a religious person. Jesus is at my side and an angel is always on my shoulder. I do not care if others do not see my special friends. I know they are there and that is what matters. They seem to feel at home in coffee shops and restaurants. I am thankful our personal ponderings find a place of hearing and are joined by the ponderings of others.

My nagging concern is that churches are not known as the places where ponderings are welcomed, encouraged, tested and sometimes turned into exciting actions.

It gives us all something to ponder.

The Rev. Howard Bess is a retired American Baptist minister who lives in Palmer. His e-mail address is hdbss@mtaonline.net.