Better together

The “spiritual but not religious” group is growing. These “believers” do not participate in formal religious communities. They are faith freelancers: carrying God and moral values in their hearts, but not worshipping with others on Sundays, serving or teaching or praying with others, or giving their money to the mission of a religious institution that they belong to.

The trend away from religious practice in America is disturbing (especially to a pastor, for obvious reasons). Every new report brings worse news than the last about the disappearance of people from the pew.

Reasons for disaffection are diverse, yet not all defensible.

Some have left church because they have been wounded or offended by judgmental believers or unbending leaders. Upholding moral standards can morph into scorn for those who fall and fail. Instead of mercy being the air we breathe in the church, it is reluctantly doled out to contrite sinners. Since we are all sinners, some sinners therefore are in charge of reminding other sinners of their sin and then dispensing grace grudgingly. A lack of humanity and humility in spiritual leaders is demoralizing. Some dropouts have grown weary of the unhealthy encounter.

Others can no longer reconcile their faith with their intellect. The faith that made sense of the world to them as children makes less sense to them as adults. They accept the theory of evolution as fact. They believe the equality of women to men and gays to straight are self-evident. They can’t mesh a loving God with one who condemns most people to hell because they haven’t professed Jesus as their Savior. Appeals to reject science, qualify equality or insist on eternal damnation in the name of faith leaves them cold if not hot, and some take their leave from church because of it.

Increasing numbers are not closing the door on church; they are just not darkening the doors of churches. I see more drifting away than running away. It happens when kids get involved in sports activities on Sundays or after kids are gone from the home. The habit is broken, even if the faith isn’t.

But if faith isn’t practiced within a community, is it not broken? The church may be broken, but what about those who leave it behind? Attitudes of pride and superiority can creep in there, too. Neither scorn nor apathy is a virtue, even if directed toward church.

Most churches work to pass on the meaning of a good life that pleases God. Practiced religion — more than unanchored spirituality — points to that life, reinforces those truths, and bears witness to God by concerted acts of justice and kindness.

The Rev. Lillian Daniel has written a new book titled “When Spiritual But Not Religious Is Not Enough.” Says she: “Throughout time and history people grow closer to God by going deeply into a religious tradition. There is value in landing somewhere and going deep, … allowing yourself to be shaped by a tradition that is bigger than you are. I think the danger of creating your own spirituality is that you simply create a God in our own image. That works when your life is going well, but when things fall apart that is not really much of a foundation.”

Relationships are hard work, even — maybe especially — a relationship with God. Working on it with others is time-tested wisdom. We get better together. Together, we get better.

People

Lake Highlands residents Laurie and Robert Kidder of MyCare Personal Assistance recently won the RJ Roper Award presented by the Alzheimer’s Association Greater Dallas Chapter. Robert opened MyCare in 2003 when his mother, Roberta Kidder, was diagnosed with Alzheimer’s disease. MyCare Personal Assistance has cared for more than 2,000 dementia patients since 2003, and this is their fifth RJ Roper Award. The Kidders also are dedicated volunteers for the Alzheimer’s Association. They teach “The 10 Signs of Alzheimer’s” and “The Basics of Alzheimer’s” to area churches, memory care facilities and community centers.

Lake Highlands High School 2007 graduate Meredith Alloway recently launched an online interview show called “All the Way with Alloway.” For her first round of conversations, she traveled to the Sundance Film Festival to chat with writers and directors about what makes a great film great.

Meredith Wachel and Lauren Farish, both Lake Highlands High School graduates, traveled to Washington, D.C., last week to participate in a national competition as part of the Baylor accounting team in the PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC) national xTREME games in taxation. The team won $1,000 for being the top team at Baylor and $10,000 for being one of the top five teams nationally.

Schools

Several Lake Highlands High School seniors committed to colleges on National Signing Day last month. Bonnie Vernon will play volleyball at University of Texas, Dallas; Kent Perkins , considered the area’s top recruit, will play football at University of Texas, Austin; Nick Thurman will play football at University of Houston; Reginald Marshall will play football at Southeastern Oklahoma State; and Jesse Johnson will play football at Tyler Junior College.

The Lake Highlands Highlandettes brought home several awards from the February Texas State Championship Dance Contest. Officers won Outstanding Choreography and Super Sweepstakes awards for their novelty, jazz and contemporary dances. They also received the Officer Line Winner’s Circle award and the team was named Best in Class in the largeteam division and received the Outstanding Dance Technique Team Award. They also brought home Super Sweepstakes, Outstanding Choreography and High Point Awards for their contemporary, jazz and pop routines. Team member Anna Starr earned fourth runner up in the solo awards, and the elite dance team was named second runner up.

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Collecting for a cure ...

Families and students — Emily Sisk, Laura Beth Rote, Kaden Henley, Parker Mosley, Hazen White, Allison Keller, Landry Addison, Jordan Carll, Mrs. Patterson, Dani Josselyn, Landon Wallace and Taylor Mackey from the Highlander School collected $4,711.28 to support the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society. They did it for class member Laura Beth Rote, who is undergoing treatments for leukemia.

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