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I am a pastor and a clinical psychotherapist. My life's passion is defining healthiness from a human perspective and paralleling it to the holiness of God, divine perspective. Shifting perspectives creates a paradigm that is alongside of rather than over and against. The parakalein of God and the paradoxes of humanity are redefined. Humanity is all about winning and yet we are losing ground everywhere. Divinity is all about letting go of the desire to win and the fear of loss. The Divine embraces the world with loving care regardless of anything.

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The Integrity of Witness

Posted by Don Paine

I recently received an email presenting the cultural difference between European and American views of using athletics to bear witness to the Gospel.

For instance going into a school as an under cover agent for Christianity is acceptable to western evangelism techniques while frowned upon in European culture.  The intent is to bring the Gospel to light as light.

In a way as a Christian therapist I do something similar.  I use therapy as a means to bear witness to the peace of God and the love of God that can transform any trauma or problem by shifting the focus of that problem.  At he same time I never hide the reality of my faith (see my website) but I also never impose it.  I wait for an invitation based on our work to open the door to a faith discussion.  So while an end goal is present it is not a means ot an end.  As if the person never wanted ot hear of spiritual faith he would not.  For me it is an issue of integrity leading into sharing rather than suspending integrity for the opportunity of witness.


It is similar to what I am doing  by speaking clearly yet boldly of the Jesus way as not a particular or peculiar religious way but as the way of surrender, sacrifice and serenity. No means to the end justifiable or not.

As some of you know I have been thru a dark place of depression and grief and so I have come out with renewed passion and even some insight (one persons insight is another persons folly).

You can check my web site for some writing on this but for here one idea is to see faith in a non-sectarian way.  Faith is seeing what no one else sees.  For me seeing God at work even in and thru tragedy.  Others do not see God at all in tragedy, still others see God as responsible for tragedy and attribute all kinds of things to that (God gets a bad wrap here).  In a sense they see what some do not and it is what they want to see.  I see what others do not and feel it is God revealing to me truth.  When I use sports to be a cover for witness my witness is breached by the apparent less than honest statement of intention.  If I say to play a sport you need faith.  You need to see your and esteem him better than you and if he does the same for you you both play better as a team. That is faith operating in sports.  Seeing God on your team and his esteeming you as better than him so he dies to set you free of thinking you have to be better than you are that is faith in a spiritual sense.  Parallel truths serve both the sport and the Gospel message.  

A key for me is integrity and honesty and honor. as we witness to the world of the transforming faith of Jesus Christ.  As Soren Kirkegaard said years ago, "To know the truth and not be the truth is to embellish that truth with error".

Teh character of our witness is important that the content of our witness.


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