We are Called to Love with Edwin Gungor EP: 83
Isn\u2019t it interesting that, often in our younger years, we feel as if we should be able to \u201cWin the World in a Weekend!\u201d Many of us get caught in the thinking that we have to really make a difference, make our lives count, and so we work, work work. Becoming workaholics, we disguise it as \u201cpassion,\u201d and neglect or take for granted the things and people who really matter most.
\xa0If we are fortunate, and paying attention, as we grow and experience new things, we come to understand there\u2019s more to life than the work we are doing. This is one of the personal stories Ed shares during this episode with Laura.\xa0
As a younger pastor, with a young and growing family, Ed had a sense that his family life was important, but more in the way of having responsibility for it rather than truly understanding it was intended to be a higher priority for his time and energy than his work in the church.
\xa0Laura asks him about a particular story he told in his book, One Small Barking Dog, about a powerful encounter with the Holy Spirit while tending to his wife who was not feeling well. The experience was beyond his imagination at the time but turned out to create a significant shift in his perspective on his \u201cwork\u201d and what he was called to do in the world.\xa0
Ed goes on to share several nuggets of wisdom he has gleaned along the journey, including these:
- Learning is like seeds; we need to nurture them and allow them to grow within us first, before passing along what we\u2019ve learned.
- A few minutes of stillness and quiet would re-energize him after a long day at work and before engaging with his wife and children.
- God is everywhere all the time, and often his work is hidden; we don\u2019t get to see what\u2019s really going on in all things around us, but there is definitely more afoot than what we see.\xa0
As Laura and Ed near the end of a conversation filled with laughter, insight, and a few Bible verses, Ed shares this thought: \u201cEveryone is in a battle. We have no idea what other people are going through, afraid of, challenged by, or working on\u2026 Simply be kind.\u201d\xa0
He and Laura both share stories of when an opportunity to be kind presented themselves in their respective lives and how they responded. It doesn\u2019t take much to change the course of someone\u2019s day if we are paying attention to what\u2019s happening around us and who we are with. And, in fact, those simple actions may actually change the course of someone\u2019s life for generations into the future!\xa0
Resources Mentioned:
\xa0
\xa0About Ed:
Ed Gungor is a veteran pastor who focuses on philosophy, church history and current trends. He became a follower of Christ as a teenager in the early 1970\u2019s and has been deeply involved in the spiritual formation of others for over forty years. Ed has a passion for authentic transformation; a phenomenon he feels is all too rare in today\u2019s church.
As a kind of \u201cchurch futurist,\u201d he is constantly aware of the changing needs of the next generation of Christians, the ones who haven\u2019t yet experienced spiritual formation. To effectively communicate the gospel to this group, he believes our notion of \u201cdestiny\u201d in the American church needs to be re-imagined. Ed longs to see believers willing to abandon their Christianized versions of the self-important American Dream, embracing instead the miraculous, surprising, and contagious Christianity that comes when they see themselves as the servants of God who find their home with Messiah and his people, as they participate in the mission of God (missio Dei).
Ed is known for his down-to-earth, engaging communication style. With transparency and his own unique brand of wry humor, he cuts through the usual \u201cchurch-speak\u201d, gleefully slaughtering any sacred cows that distort the true message of Christ. He is the author of several books, including: Religiously Transmitted Diseases: Finding A Cure When Faith Doesn\u2019t Feel Right; The Vow: An Ancient Path Of Spiritual Formation That Still Transforms Today; the New York Times bestseller, There is More to the Secret; and One Small Barking Dog.
Ed and his wife Gail have been married forty-two years. They have four children, eight grandchildren and live in Tulsa, Oklahoma. Ed currently serves as the Bishop of the Diocese of St. Anthony (dicoceseofstanthony.com).
\xa0