Returning to the Awe and Respect of God

When working on my Zohar studies, the concept of the awe of God is a constant theme. At times the rabbis and sages (and the occasional mule driver) present God as Ein Sof-(Unending or No-End) and other times God is described in very human and relatable terms, like having hands or wings. While we understand that God does not have hands or wings, we often can read into these terms that God is easily understood or defined. This is very dangerous and is an ongoing problem for the Christian church today.

A term the Zohar uses to describe God is “Concealed of All Concealed”. If God wants us to serve Him, why does it seem so hard to understand and know Him? Why is there work involved? Did God provide us a trail or path? Zohar Scholar Dr. Daniel Matt explains that even in the “concealed”, we can can find an answer. Sometimes for us to be able to see or comprehend something powerful-think of a solar eclipse for example-its effect on us must be reduced. So to aid in the “revealing”, the powerful force of God-Ein Sof-must be concealed.

Many Christians today don't want to hear that. They have been raised in a “Jesus is my Life-Coach” and God is “The Big Man Upstairs”. They are neither. By shrinking God down to human understanding and terms, we have betrayed the very fact that He is Ein Sof-He is Concealed of All Concealed. He is God, and we are His creation. Lately and sadly, I have been seeing more people making God their creation and magically He fits and believes all the same things they do.

Think of our sacred meeting places. If someone walked into your service, observed what was going on and had never heard of God-worshiping God-what would they think they had seen? Would your reverence and awe of God, the way you dressed and conducted yourself-provide them a sign that something of significance is happening here? 

 

We throw bibles on the floor, we dress more for what we will be doing after church than for church, we show up late, we criticize the sermon... Where is the awe and anticipation for meeting with the Creator? 

 

In the Zohar, one of my favorite and inspiring sayings of the Rabbis and Sages happens when they discover a great truth or revelation. They will say, “If we were brought into this world to only hear this, it would be enough”.

Sadly, I see that the Christian faith moves from one spiritual “high” to the next, each week seeking some kind of “battery charge” and “new revelation” from God... almost demanding it. Riddle me this.. why would God grant new revelations when we refuse to do the work to master the “old”ones, when we have questionable motives about why we need “fresh rain”, and lastly, when we show no more concern or respect for God than any other weekly event we attend?

For my friends that will surely start screaming “This sounds like legalism”, it has always struck me odd that a faith practice that believes in a “final judgment” of all of mankind- (well, mostly sinners) and the Bible addresses an “Heavenly Court”, it seems like there are rules and commandments we are all suppose to obey.

David Fournier

Restoring Grace

My Disc Golf Story-Growing the Sport for the Good

Disc Golf is one of the widest serving sports out there. All ages, sizes, shapes and athletic abilities can play and enjoy the game. We have youth, ladies, men, old guys (like me) out side by side tossing plastic and enjoying a walk in the park and a slight physical exertion. And I am not bragging here (who am I trying to kid?) we are the most diverse group of humanity gathered together with one common cause-put the biscuit in the basket!

Many people talk about “growing the sport” and from what I can see, it is a lot of talk. We need to define what growth would look like and how we know we are doing it right. I would like to suggest three measuring tools and one word of warning.

First, growth measured by numbers is often misleading. As a church consultant for years, I can tell you that most church growth is lateral. By that I mean that person “A” and their family no longer likes Brand X's pastor, moves down the street to Church 101,,, you get the picture. It is just a lot of people moving around, it is movement without achievement. Measuring growth or success numerically can be a trap... think of it like this.. lot's of teenagers have acne, but that does not mean they want it.

Growth in disc golf should be measured by fun, depth and eliminating agendas. Allow me to explain..

The one that has the most fun wins. What if that was actually our training mission? To train and teach people to have fun while playing, helping them overcome their fear of failing or getting embarrassed? To actually show them how much fun this can be.. and we all know it can be a lot of fun. To me, this is one of the greatest ways to promote enduring growth of disc golf-make it a fun experience.

Next comes depth. There is a very useful ministry saying “you can't serve them if you don't know them”. This is where depth comes in. We cannot be stand-offish, stuck in our little “clicks” and just expect people the “click” with us. The fact that they are going to a park and walking around with often total strangers, means we need to be warm and welcoming. Getting to know people that are new to the course, hearing their stories, offering to walk with them, these are the future players. We can have a lasting impact on them-for the good.

And lastly, for most disc golf groups, tournament directors and leagues, new players are simply cash cows to boost better payouts for ongoing events. The idea that we need to grow the sport so that the upper 10% of players per division can get better payouts and prizes is wrong. 

 

Most of the players I know are good-hearted people and love to see new people out playing. Our focus on their success will goes miles for an enjoyable and engaging commitment to disc golf. When we commit to focusing on the person-working with them-for their benefit-we are finally on track. Do I know this works? Yep, every Sunday for three years it has worked very well. Grow it for the Good!

David Fournier

PDGA#28254