I asked a bunch of Unitarian Universalist ministers to share a question that had been meaningful, challenging, or inspiring to them in their personal spiritual journeys.  Here are their responses (not all of them questions!):

Who do I serve?

Where is God in the dark places?

What skills count as spiritual skills?

Where did I serve/fail Love (God) today?

How do I grow God’s kingdom?

Why is forgiving so hard?

How does Spirit call me to serve?

One day at a time.

How is my helping hurting?

What does God want to say through me?

How am I a spiritual being?

Am I living in the present moment?

Why/how is there something rather than nothing?

Don’t forget the Good News!

Self-Noself

What am I afraid of?

What’s the spiritual world like?

What does love require of me?

How long is now?

What am I resisting?

When I pray for you, what shall I pray for?

Where is the life?

How do I love them all?

How do I appreciate the now?

Did I remember: be grateful and thankful today

Perhaps it is I who am wrong?

To whom or what am I responsible?

What is my life purpose now?

What would make this fun?

What is truly trustworthy?

Is this a hill worth dying on?

Leadership is creating space for others to excel.

What is God asking of me next?

Whose voice is missing?

What’s going on underneath?

Whose are you?

(In the voice Sean Connery from “The Untouchables”) What are you prepared to do about it?

Where is the spiritual growth happening here?

Is there an opportunity to laugh or praise here?

What is the top priority right now?

What does That Which Matters Most ask of me?

Where do I belong, and why, and how?

What Time is it?

Return to your breath.  You can do this.

What is life-giving?

Is it a full moon?

How do you love those who will never love you? (attributed to Susan Werner)

What is the meaning of “my” life in light of my impending death?

What is getting in the way?

There are days when I quote Socrates: “I drank what?”

Am I honoring my ancestors? (ancestors widely defined)

What does your heart say?

Don’t ever forget that a spiritual life requires.

Ministry can be spiritually, emotionally, and even physically taxing.  So, how do clergy keep at it for so long?  What helps them stay fresh, alert, and focused on mission?  Recently, I asked a Facebook group of Unitarian Universalist ministers to share their “ministry mantras,” using no more than 8 words.  A ministry mantra might be something a pastor says inwardly, as a reminder; or, it could be a line they use often in ministry, with others.  It could be a guiding principle or belief.  Whatever it is, it’s a short line that helps keep focus, purpose, and perspective.  Their answers are moving, funny, wise, and helpful.  I hope you enjoy them as much I did.  Here they are:

• I’d rather deal with that person than be him.
• It’s all just information. (Translation: see the reality in front of me and choose my response to it, rather than exerting myself to reframe it the way I wish it were.)
• It isn’t better in the UCC.
• No one purifies another. (from The Dhammapada)
• Small things often.
• Breathe and allow
• “Good information to have.”
• Just keep swimming, swimming, swimming.
• It’s not (really) about me.
• Assume Good Will most of the time.
• This has happened before and will happen again.
• There’s always another degree to get.
• “Let me get back to you on that.”
• Change is Constant.
• “Thank you for sharing.”
• Breathe deeply, speak slowly, love the people
• Show up. Pay attention. Tell truth. Let go.
• Authenticity trumps perfection
• Not too long till retirement.
• You gotta love the people.
• Don’t take it (other people’s bad behaviors) personally
• Let go of the tasks and love the people
• Change is inevitable; progress is optional.
• Lead with empathy, follow with curiosity.
• In times of trouble, spend more time with God.
• Duck feathers. (It means let things roll off your back).
• This too shall pass.
• Ministry is impossible, start there.
• You can’t save them.
• More love, less control.
• Meeting deadlines is a way of showing respect.
• These are my people and I love them.
• Prepare for every meeting, no matter how small.
• Always remember how lucky you are.
• By your stumbling, the world is perfected.
• God, please give me the right words.
• They’re not out to get me—today, anyway.
• Don’t resist the resistance—feed the health.
• Nothing a half-hour meditation wouldn’t solve.
• Less muscle, more love.
• “Your words, not mine.”
• This is not about me.
• We’re building the ark before the rain.
• We are the luckiest people in the world.
• Always in beta mode. Try something new.
• Don’t be the hero of your own story. (A preaching mantra)
• Only solve real problems. Don’t build boats for ducks.
• There’s got to be more to ministry than just hating the people. (from The Simpsons)
• It’s all an experiment.
• Lord Jesus Christ, Son of God, have mercy on me, a sinner.
• I’m not running for Jesus. (from The Simpsons)
• This is the business we have chosen. (from The Godfather II)
• House of the Holy/Home of the Human
• If I stay grounded and centered, then….
• Who’s NOT the savior: you aren’t.
• Never call them jerks (to their faces).
• Be ye wise as serpents and gentle as doves. (Matthew 10:16)
• This, too, shall pass.
• When in doubt, love.
• Always choose love.
• Be a broken record (until they start saying the same thing).
• You WILL fail. Go.
• One needs to love one’s people.
• It’s not about me, it’s a larger system operating, often an anxious system.
• Whatever it takes.
• Bless their hearts.
• The system is the system.
• Trust God’s love.
• It is what it is.
• They are who they are.
• “We do not negotiate with terrorists.”
• Remember why you love them. Because you do.
• Make Jesus visible in the world.
• She/he/ze is beautiful and worthy.
• Toward a better self and a better tomorrow.
• Per/her/his gifts are better used elsewhere.
• Just doing the work of the Lord.
• The church is not your boss. Pray. Sing.
• When in doubt, use puppets.
• It’s not about what you know; it’s about who you are.
• Forgive them; for they know not what they do.
• Sometimes, being a non-anxious presence makes me anxious.
• Don’t let the bastards grind you down.
• Ministry comes in many forms.
• Comfort the afflicted; afflict the comfortable.
• If it’s difficult out here, imagine what it’s like to be inside that person.
• From Byron Katie’s “The Work”: “Is it true?” “How do I react when I believe that thought?” “Who would I be without that thought?” And then to reflect on the “turnaround”—the opposite of that thought.
• They need to be loved.
• Be the non-anxious presence.
• Good to good people, good to bad people. (from The Tao te Ching)
• God, guide/help me to do the next right thing.
• God don’t make no junk.
• What can you do TODAY?
• Always in beta.
• It’s all just information.
• Dear God, help me not be an a$$hole. (from Anne Lamott)
• Action is the antidote to despair. (Joan Baez)
• The interruptions are the work.
• Not feeling great about your ministry? Go visiting.
• May I minister to these people in Your love.
• “It’s interesting that you think you’re more stubborn than me.”
• You are the minister. This is what you do.
• Just finish one thing today.
• Effort, not outcome.
• The interruptions are the work.
• I never lost sleep worrying. If there’s something that I can do about it, I get up and do it. And if there’s not—might as well sleep.
• Speed of church.
• Size is no barrier to being a caring community.
• When all else fails, lower your expectations. (Gloria Vanderbilt)
• Feel the fear, and do it anyway. (Susan Jeffers)
• Power means not having to respond.
• “What you think of me is none of my business.”
• “What does my anger have to do with you?”
• When I breathe in, I breathe in peace. When I breathe out, I breathe out love.
• Don’t let the crazies make you crazy.
• Never underestimate the capacity of the liberal heart to bleed for the wrong object.
• Be kind, for everyone you meet is fighting a great battle.
• Chaos is the disguise life’s changes wear as they move toward order.
• When I am kind to myself, I am kinder to everyone around me.
• Let go or be dragged.
• Never fight with a pig. The pig likes it, and you only get dirty.
• We teach best what we most need to learn. (Richard Bach)
• Just keep swimmin’. Just keep swimmin’. (Dori)
• Here not to make friends, but to usher in the kingdom of God….
• Live well; love openly; laugh much; leave gracefully.
• Nothing human surprises me. (Terrence)
• We exist for two reasons: to change lives and to change the world.
• Hmmmmmm…..
• To grow our souls, to build a beloved community, and to serve the world.
• [When church members are messing up] Help them (the wayward members) to succeed.
• Don’t give sunshine to weeds.
• Don’t let the perfect be the enemy of the good. (Voltaire)
• I wonder what will happen today? (Pema Chodron)
• You become what you resist.
• You can’t teach a dolphin to type.
• A minister is not always right, and humility does matter.
• You could be wrong.
• There are always more than two options.
• How might we re-frame that?
• Remember, everyone you meet is fighting a great battle.
• If you are too busy to be kind, you are too busy.
• This, too, shall pass.
• All things in moderation—including moderation.
• If you give a mouse a cookie….
• We are a religious/spiritual community, not a therapeutic community…
• It’s just church.
• Don’t process in the pulpit.
• Make ‘em laugh. Make ‘em cry. Make ‘em feel religious.
• OK, [name]. You wanted to be a minister.  Here it is: do the ministry.
• They come from central casting.
• May I offer something they need.
• Preach from your scars, not from your wounds. (Bolz-Weber)
• God help me.
• God, how may I help—right here, right now?
• “Say more…..”
• This is the work, these are the people.
• We’re here to further a mission, not to make everyone happy.
• Doing the best I can with what I’ve got.
• With love and consultation, clarify responsibility, authority, accountability.
• When things get intense, it’s time to double my spiritual practice.
• God, you put me here. What do you want me to do?
• Where you are, God has drawn a circle on a map. (Hafiz)
• Give it to G-d.
• Let’s experiment!
• Walk slowly. Bow often. (Mary Oliver)
• Ministry: going where you can’t possible know what you’re doing.
• The opposite of love isn’t hate: it’s efficiency.
• It’s because I’m the Mint’ster. (Leaves out the “I”)
• All in over our heads.
• When things work out, to the tune of “Mystery, Mystery…”: Victory, victory, sometimes I get to say victory!
• The main thing is to find the main thing (and to keep the main thing the main thing. That’s the main thing.)
• The purpose of the church is to keep the saints from killing each other.
• We see the world not as it is, but as we are.
• Worship, fellowship, education, service.
• Connect, grow, serve, reach, worship.
• Forgive them, Lord, for they know not what they do.
• It’s all good.
• Let it go, let it go, let it go. (Sung to tune of “Let it Snow”)
• Live loving; love living.
• You can’t replace the Bible with bylaws.
• If you’re going to preach socialism, you have to dress like a banker. (John Haynes Holmes)
• Not my circus. Not my monkeys. (Let go of outcomes and responsibility for solutions)
• It’s an aff-gee (AFGE: Another Freaking Growth Experience).
• Deeds, not creeds.
• Lord have mercy.
• “Bless Your Heart.”

When a toaster keeps producing burnt toast, we don’t blame the bread—we fix the toaster.  When a dishwasher won’t wash the dishes, we don’t blame the dishes—we fix the dishwasher.

Trayvon Martin, Eric Garner, Michael Brown, Ezell Ford (a young man in L.A. yesterday).  All African-American.  All unarmed.  And all dead.  The drum beat goes on.

In 2012, police, security guards, or self-appointed vigilantes extra-judicially killed at least 313 African-Americans.  In other words, at least every 28 hours, an African-American person was killed by someone purporting to uphold justice, but acting outside the legal process.

In a country where African-Americans and white people use and sell drugs at about the same rates, African-Americans are about 3 times more likely to be arrested for drug crimes, and then to receive significantly longer sentences, compared to white people.  This difference in arrests and sentencing means that African-Americans make up only 13.1% of the US population, but 40% of the prison population.

In Ferguson, Missouri, African-Americans make up 67% of the population, but 5.7% of the police department.  Journalist Zoe Carpenter says, in “The Nation,” that, “in 2013, 92% of searches and 86% of traffic stops in Ferguson involved black people.”  She goes on, “The skewed numbers don’t correspond at all to the levels of crime.  While one three whites was found carrying illegal weapons or drugs, only one in five blacks had contraband.”

In 2014, open-carry white people can hang out at Chipotle with automatic weapons, but Michael Brown, an unarmed African-American teenager, can have his hands in the air, saying, “Don’t shoot,” and he will still end up dead—one is seen as a threat, one is not.

Our country promises liberty and justice for all.  But we’re failing that standard.  It’s not one person, or one event.  It’s not even one police department, or one city.  We’re all part of it–my prayers tonight are with and for everyone in Ferguson, Missouri.  For peace and strength in the hearts of police officers, community leaders, clergy and teachers, mothers and fathers, children and teens.  This isn’t about who’s the bad guy and who’s the good guy–I’ve talked with enough police officers to know how stressful their jobs can be, and how the stories of how they help in the neighborhoods don’t make the news.  It’s about a statistically predictable pattern.  About a system across the country that’s been producing injustice: different outcomes for the same behavior, depending on the color of your skin.

This is hard for a white person to see.  Because, for people who look like me, things seem to work fine.  It’s my lived experience that the system is working, that things are fair, and that the difference is in individual behavior.  But we know that our individual experience of things is not the same thing as the facts of the world.  That’s why it’s important to back up and look at the patterns, the outcomes, that the system produces like clockwork.

As protests in Ferguson, Missouri go on tonight, a lot of my white brothers and sisters are focused on how, in the short-term, to restore order.  But the real question is how, in the long-term, to restore justice.

Trying to listen here.  Trying to learn.  Trying to see how I, and we, might help our country live up to its promise.

DAY SEVEN

DAY FIVE