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October-December, 2016

Valuing Content Over Form

by Rev. Michael Graves, O.M.C.

When I became a Pathways of Light Ordained Ministerial Counselor a few years ago, I dedicated my life and ministry to doing what Holy Spirit wanted me to do. Actually, I think that most people who study ACIM eventually do the same thing as they grow in their understanding of what the Course teaches.

The problem with this approach for me, has been to avoid looking at what I am doing and making judgments about it.

As POL ministerial students we were counseled to avoid the temptation to create our own (ego) vision of what our ministries would look like and let the Holy Spirit guide us. And, to the best of my ability, I think I did that. We were further counseled that what actually comes to pass will most likely be quite different from we had envisioned.

It wasn’t long before I started having thoughts that told me there was something missing or something wrong. I thought, I “should” have been doing more and bigger things with my newfound “calling” by now. 

What I would learn over the next year or so was that this kind of thinking is, while common, one of the many traps of the ego, and you don’t have to be a minister or ministerial student to fall headlong into it.

I see how this kind of thinking has permeated my entire life. The old, I “should” have done this or I “shouldn’t” have done that thinking has been with me for a long, long time. I always thought there should be an 11th commandment. “Thou shalt not should on thyself.”

It was really hard to look at what a few of my fellow ministers were doing in their ministries and avoid comparing it to what I was doing, or more accurately, not doing, in mine. Some of them had been ordained with me or just a short time before me and were creating awesome websites, speaking at conferences, teaching classes, giving sermons at metaphysical churches and writing books etc.

Of course, I never thought to look at what the majority of the other ministers were doing. Many were very simply and quietly working in their part of the vineyard, doing whatever Spirit sent to them with a peaceful, grateful heart. What better way is there to minister to others than that? To me, that is valuing content over form.

For other ministers, I’m sure the ordination process was a way of getting the help and learning that they needed to heal their own lives and that their ministry would be somewhat formless as they shared what they had learned with others by moving through the rest of their lives in a more peaceful, loving way.

I know that this was at least partly true for myself as well. My wife would often comment to me that she was convinced that I was led to the ordination program mostly to be healed myself.

I went to Holy Spirit about my ministry a lot, and was generally not very happy to hear that I was perfectly on track and there was no need for concern. In fact, I heard from Spirit more than once that my concern was actually getting in the way. You would think that would have brought me the peace I was after, but it didn’t. I was totally focused on the form.   

As time went on, I learned to just relax about it and keep the focus on my own learning and growth. As I did, things really started to change. I became available to Spirit because I had at least become willing to see things differently.

Before I knew it I had been asked to perform a wedding, several memorials and two students chose me to facilitate them through the Ordained Ministerial Counselor program. But Spirit didn’t stop there.

I learned something very valuable in the process. For one thing, I learned the True meaning of the words, “Minister or Teacher of God.” I learned that Spirit works with all people and most of them are not ACIM students and may have never even heard of it. I learned that Spirit is only concerned with the awakening of The Son of God (content) and not the tools (form) he uses to awaken. Actually I think I had always known that, but I was having trouble applying it.

Today, many of the people Spirit sends to me come through 12 step programs that I have been involved with for over 20 years. The Spirit I feel when working with them is identical to the Spirit I feel when working with a ministerial student. Again, Spirit has made it very clear to me that the forms of the world and the way I meet others does not matter, (every encounter is a Holy Encounter) but what we do together has eternal significance for both of us.

I often say to those that I work with that I am not sure what they get out of our interactions, but I know what I get out of them. They teach me new things and strengthen other things in me each time we meet and invite Spirit to be with us.

I remember a quote (paraphrasing) by Mother Theresa of Calcutta where she said, “It isn’t about doing great things but doing small things with great love.”  Just a simple smile can change someone’s day and a few seconds of eye contact that says, “I see You” can change their life.

I will never forget, and practice every day, the last words Ken Wapnick spoke in a class of his I took. He said that we could make the most progress in our practice of this Course by just being kind.

I am not discounting the value of reaching many people with our words, but who is to say that the value of reaching many who may not be ready to hear, is more valuable that reaching only a few who are?

© 2016, Pathways of Light. https://www.pathwaysoflight.org
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