Some time, half-way-through my 400 hours of Clinical Pastoral Education (CPE), Big Jim Kok, with piercing eyes looked deep in mine and said, “Nathan, you need to learn how to make a long-distance call.” I knew it wasn’t a compliment, but needed clarification, “What do you mean?” He motioned, “From your head to your heart—a LONG distance.” He wasn’t wrong. I had become, or I always was a Bible trivia winner, a doctrinal encyclopedia, an organizer of religion, but unfamiliar with the geography of the heart.
Recently, I experienced the collapse of much of my ‘organized’ religion because of a devastating disappointment and a history that ended up reading different than I had long imagined. I cried, “Help!” I reached out to my friend Winn, who talked to his friend Chuck, and both agreed. “You might want to talk to Rusty McKie.”
I knew Rusty’s trusty voice from his helpful podcast: The Art of Stability. For the last months, Rusty’s spiritual direction and formation coaching have been stabilizing me in the grace of Jesus that is true and good and beautiful even when religion gets disorganized. I have often given thanks for the privilege to meet with Rusty week-after-week. Jim helped me make a long-distance call to my heart. Rusty has invited me to do the same to my clenched jaw, and tense shoulders and neck, my pressurized gut and my busy and too-often stress-aching-head. Rusty is helping me understand that I am more than a body (soma), but not less than a body. And God (and Nathan) said, “It is good.”
Today, his voice becomes available to everyone. For the last few weeks, I have been reading a pre-release of His book, The Art of Stability. It is really good. I can hear his voice and recognize his wisdom on every page. Rusty writes in a way that is deep-crying-out-to-deep, but is accessible for all. This is not just for professional Christians, this book is for humans.
I strongly recommend The Art of Stability as resource that is “a path for weary hearts to find their way back to Love.”
Order it here: https://www.steadfastmin.com/theartofstability
"...deep-crying-out-to-deep, but is accessible for all." Sounds like Jesus-!
Nathan, I think we know some of the same people...I am in process like you...