Coming out: A story about faith, fear and future (Part 1 of 3)
Fear of judgment often stands in the way of people sharing about their beliefs. However, the sharing of our faith unlocks power to manifest a better future for all.
This is part 1 of 3 in this series and focuses on A Shifting Faith Journey.
I recently attended a virtual meeting with colleagues who shared stories about how they “came out” or became more explicit and open about their faith at work. The conversation was quite interesting because my colleagues are very diverse, representing many faiths and cultures. As I listened to people share, I thought over my work life and how faith has been a part of it for decades. However, as I got older and learned about diverse religions and faiths, I found myself less likely to openly discuss my faith when I did not know if others shared the same beliefs. I do believe, however, that faith is not something we have to say out loud but rather live out loud. My commitment to live out my faith has sometimes led me to be courageous when I have wanted to cower. I believe this same commitment to live my faith out loud is creating a future for me to carry out a vision that I do not yet have all the strategy nor resources to make possible.
A Shifting Faith Journey
When I started working in corporate settings, I found it near impossible to not talk about Jesus, Holy Spirit, and God because I had experienced so many spiritual encounters and had spent so much of my younger years serving in a Christian, Missionary Baptist ministry. I grew up as a youth Sunday School teacher in my home church and loved studying the Bible. I had a teaching pastor who wrote very detailed notes and shared them with us. I still have some of these notes today from decades ago. Given my passion for learning the Bible, I immediately joined a lunchtime Bible study group at my first corporate job during my young adult years.
What I remember most about that study group was how they prayed for me during a season of infertility. One member of the group ultimately invited me to join her church one evening for an event. I didn’t know what I had signed up for but went to support her. As it turns out, there was a prophet visiting who called me to the altar for a prophetic word. She said that she saw three boys running around my house. Doctors told me I would never have children without medical intervention, which I could not afford at the time. Prior to receiving that prophetic word, I had given up on being able to have my own children. That word stirred up my faith. Today, I have three sons and never had a medical intervention.
Faith is important in my life, but, as you will soon learn, my faith journey gets a bit more complex. I started out as a Christian, raised in a Missionary Baptist church. Let’s just say I was very religious. Church every Sunday. Bible study every Wednesday. Choir practice Tuesdays. I attended the Sunday school service, church service, the after service, and the afternoon programs when my pastor served as the guest minister at other churches. It was almost like a job except I was not even 18 years old nor getting a check. Much of my actions during these early years of my faith journey were shaped by my desire to get to heaven — not really knowing what that meant. Also, there was a handsome young man around my age who I enjoyed seeing each Sunday though nothing ever developed between us. He liked me too. We were both too sanctified to tell each other.
Today, I am still Christian but consider myself non-denominational and non-religious. I attend church whenever possible to fellowship and not as ritual. This includes most Sundays unless I’m traveling or sick. I attend Sunday school, too, though I do not teach or sing. I have pretty much been a benchwarmer and loving it until recently I did raise my hand to manage new member orientation. Although I and my church leaders take this role very seriously, I live in a very small, rural community and growth is pretty stagnant at our church due to the dwindling population, in my own personal assessment. I actually did the math before raising my hand to take on this role, and I estimate that I may interact with a dozen new members over the course of this year. That’s a moderate estimate. You have probably figured out that I do not consider myself religious anymore. I am spiritual and always striving to be better connected with God, other people, and the planet.
It’s that last part about being connected to planet that I feel gets me a little side eye from some folks so I tend to keep this close to my heart. However, a little over a year ago, I moved into a forest and have slowly began to embrace this part of my spiritual life more and more. I’ll share more as this series continues with part 2 focused on Facing Fears in the Forest.