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Recently I traveled to Nashville and visited with a couple of our families at the Vanderbilt Hospitals. It’s never fun going to the hospital, usually it’s serious, somber, sometimes it’s sad. While I was at Vanderbilt I seized the opportunity to raid their Divinity Library and sit among some great books while studying for a sermon. It was refreshing to be in a beautiful library overlooking a park-like campus.
I left the library and went across the way to a chapel. It was apparent that the chapel was built at a time in Vanderbilt’s history when the sacred was valued a bit more. This enormous sanctuary was a small piece of the sacred among an institution seemingly devoted to the secular. What made that place even more holy was a group of students who had sought retreat during their lunch hour to pray. Fifteen students among thousands pausing in that place to pray – I was standing on holy ground. A second visit to the hospital and I traded the warmth of that place for the sterility of fluorescent lights and lab coats. But my encounter with our divine God in a moment of pause carried with me that day.
These divine moments, seizing the sacred among the secular, are what a lifestyle of worship is about. Carrying Christ with us into sterile and dreary places is the act of a lifestyle of worship. These are the kinds of moments we want to share here at church. One of these sacred sharing places is our worship room. I’ve posted a picture and a thought from my day and encourage you to do the same. Let us claim this year for the Lord and take him with us throughout. Let us live lives of worship, carrying Christ with us always! We make the secular sacred through the presence of Christ in us.

Vanderbilt's Benton Chapel

A great email came to me this week about the challenge I issued Sunday where I asked all the married folks to make a tangible expression of love daily for their spouse and the single people to make a tangible expression of their love for Christ. The question is, “How do you make a tangible expression of love for Christ?”
Great Question! It’s a bit vague isn’t it? Tangible expressions of love for God…how do we do that? I don’t have this figured out entirely which is why I asked for people to share their experiences with me (if you have suggestions leave them in the comment section below). I do have a few guiding thoughts on this. First, the goal is to do something that physically shows your love for God, move it out of the cerebral realm and into reality.

Second a few tangible suggestions:

• Journal, write out a prayer to God or write him a letter
• Send a postcard to someone who needs encouragement or whom you have a strained relationship, let them know about your faith and conviction to care for them
• Help someone anonymously, buy groceries – leave it on the doorstep and run include a note letting them know it came from Jesus
• If someone asks you to pray for them stop and pray with them right there
• If you’re artistic or crafty make something for God then give it to someone or the church
• Make a sacrifice this week financially and give the money to the Salvation Army or the church (even if it’s five dollars)
• Go serve at the Salvation Army for a meal
• Pray and ask that God would show you something you’re supposed to do and then do it!

This is a short list, I’m sure you can add to it. Let me know how this goes.

My family and I will be taking some time for rest.  Along with this I’ve decided to take an e-Sabbath – a total disconnection from e-communication.  I’m a pretty connected guy, but I’ve decided to totally unplug, no email, no Facebook, no Twitter, and no cell phone (except for “emergencies”).  I’m not sure how this will go, but I want to honor the cycle of disconnection.  I might have to enter rehab for techies, but I want to unplug because I believe it’s part of the cycle, disconnect – reconnect.   I’ll report on my progress when I return, and hopefully encourage you with a good testimony from the cycle of rest.   Until then take some time, even a minute to disconnect from the world and connect with God perhaps you can do that through some of the posts I’ve got scheduled to post here…although they’ll wait if you get the chance to escape.

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This is an installment of the “Sacred Space” series – the first post available here explains this series.

One of my favorite places to pray and reflect is in Bowling Green and open 24 hours a day.  Christ Episcopal Church on State Street has a small but beautiful prayer chapel.  The “Duncan Hines Memorial Chapel” is accessible by a combination lock and available for the spiritual sojourner seven days a week.  The church office can be contacted during normal business hours for a code which gives access to the door.  I’ve come to pray here several times and find the stained glass, stillness and that “holy smell” common in more liturgical churches to be inviting.

The focal point of the prayer chapel.

The small size provides for quiet intimacy in prayer

I will continue with this series be sharing sacred space that I have found, with most of them from Bowling Green, KY.  If you have a suggestion let me know, I love to discover sacred space and take advantage of a few hours of personal worship and stillness before the Lord.  With warmer weather coming I look forward to finding and enjoying sacred space outside and sharing it with you, but for now these images from the Duncan Hines Chapel will have to suffice.