Spiritual But Not Religious: One Minute Meditations

By John Zehring

If you are spiritual but not religious, this book is for you. Spiritual But Not Religious is a common term today, so common that it is recognized by its acronym SBNR. More than one in five Americans consider themselves as SBNR, and the numbers are growing. The SBNR – who tend to be more educated, younger, and liberal – recognize some form of the Divine or something larger than themselves, but reject organized religion.

The book contains brief “one minute” meditations for the SBNR to enhance your spirituality. There is no judgement, no condemnation, nor criticism. There is no sense that those who actively participate in religious organizations are somehow better or morally superior to those who do not.

It is written from the perspective of a Christian minister, although with the understanding that readers might not identify with any denomination or specific religion. The intent of the meditations is to inspire, educate, challenge, encourage, and lead to your deepening spirituality.

• Language: English
• Publisher: John Zehring
• Release date: Jul 17, 2021
• ISBN: 9781005595494

John Zehring

John Zehring has served United Church of Christ congregations as Senior Pastor in Massachusetts (Andover), Rhode Island (Kingston), and Maine (Augusta) and as an Interim Pastor in Massachusetts (Arlington, Harvard). Prior to parish ministry, he served in higher education, primarily in development and institutional advancement. He worked as a dean of students, director of career planning and placement, adjunct professor of public speaking and as a vice president at a seminary and at a college. He is the author of more than sixty books and is a regular writer for The Christian Citizen, an American Baptist social justice publication. He has taught Public Speaking, Creative Writing, Educational Psychology and Church Administration. John was the founding editor of the publication Seminary Development News, a publication for seminary presidents, vice presidents and trustees (published by the Association of Theological Schools, funded by a grant from Lilly Endowment). He graduated from Eastern University and holds graduate degrees from Princeton Theological Seminary, Rider University, and the Earlham School of Religion. He is listed in Marquis' WHO'S WHO IN AMERICA and is a recipient of their Albert Nelson Marquis Lifetime Achievement Award. John and his wife Donna live in two places, in central Massachusetts and by the sea in Maine.

Book preview

Spiritual But Not Religious:

One Minute Meditations

John Zehring

Smashwords Edition, License Notes

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Copyright 2021 John Zehring

Contents

Introduction

One Minute Meditations

About the Author

Introduction

I’m spiritual but not religious. Perhaps you have said that about yourself. Or maybe you’ve heard others say it. It is a common term today – Spiritual But Not Religious – so common that it is recognized by its acronym SBNR. According to The Atlantic (1/11/2018), more than one in five Americans consider themselves as SBNR, and the numbers are growing dramatically, along with the group known as nones who declare themselves to be not of the above when it comes to any religious identification. The SBNRs – who tend to be more educated, younger, and liberal, according to the Barna research organization – recognize some form of the Divine or something larger than themselves, but reject organized religion. Many have not set foot inside a religious institution and have no intention to.

This book recognizes that for a great percentage of the population, the church does not meet their needs. When a SBNR person does attend a worship service, often on Christmas, Easter, or another holiday, they can feel out of place. Sometimes they feel criticized for their lack of external religious practices, which reminds them of the very reason why they don’t want to be there in the first place.

If you feel like you are spiritual but not religious, this book is for you. There is no judgement, no condemnation, nor criticism. There is no sense that those who actively participate in religious organizations are somehow better or morally superior to those who do not. For you, I would like to provide brief – one minute – meditations to enhance your spirituality. Okay, they may not be exactly one minute, but they will be brief, easy to read, and each focused on a single point.

I write from the perspective of a Christian minister, although I understand that you might not identify with any denomination or specific religion. It is my hope that the meditations will inspire, educate, challenge, encourage, and lead to your deepening spirituality. For me, that spiritual relationship is found by loving and following God as described by Jesus of Nazareth, but I have no intention to impose my theology on you. I use the bible, composed of the Hebrew and the Christian scriptures, as the basis for the meditations.

I have spent my life as a student of Jesus. I have read, studied, preached, and written about him. And here is the crazy thing: I’m suspecting that Jesus would have identified himself with you as spiritual but not religious. His entire life pointed, not to himself, but to the Divine. He was not an organization man. His own organized religion rejected him at every turn. WHAT? You would think that his institutional religion would have embraced him, lifted him up, proclaimed him a hero, and hung upon his every word. Nope. Just the opposite. When he went to speak in his hometown place of religion, they ran him out of town, and came close to driving him off a cliff. It was quite clear that he was not welcomed there.

If you read about Jesus in the gospels, where was his creative spark? Not inside organized religion. He connected with people in common life – the marketplace, by the side of the road, in people’s homes, on a hillside, in a boat, out in the fields, and just about every place where people gather except for in organized religion. When Jesus wanted to feel particularly close to God or when he had something extra special to share with those closest to him, he went up to the mountain. We read very little about Jesus and his disciples being church people (or synagogue people). It actually seems that Jesus was a champion of the spiritual-but-not-religious, and perhaps today that might be how he would identify himself – especially if he witnessed how organized religion, in many places, has become deeply politicalized around hot-button issues instead of around the basic principles which formed the basis of his spirituality.

I acknowledge that there is an ugly underbelly to organized religion. The flames of conflict within are fanned by difficult and often troubled people. Their behavior reeks of hypocrisy and a lack of kindness. Is it any wonder that many younger people are turned off by the institutional church (or synagogue)? Let us recognize this ugly side of the organizational life, but also consider two important facts: First, this ugly side is common to every volunteer organization and perhaps every institution of any kind, including the church. The rub is that we expect more from church people. But people are people, and whenever they gather, there will be a few who make life miserable for others. That leads to the second important fact: The difficult people in any institution, including the church, make up only about five to ten percent of the whole. That means that ninety to ninety-five percent of the others are likely to radiate the best side of humanity, yet that five to ten percent can wreak havoc way out of proportion to their numbers. So it is understandable if you find that organized religion does not meet your needs, but without giving up on your faith in the Divine or your recognition of the value of the Spiritual.

So where to from here? Start where you are. Perhaps you possess within you a spiritual inclination, perhaps even a recognition of the Divine. Maybe someone in your past – a parent or grandparent – was a faithful member of a religious community, and you affirm that it was a centerpiece of their lives, but it is not working for you the same way. Put aside any guilt or raw feelings about previous experiences you had with the church or any religious community. Set aside criticism of the imperfect side organized religion, and instead allow yourself to open your mind, body, and soul to growth.

Growth. Create. Creation. If there is a common thread to centuries of spiritual curiosity, it is how the Divine played a role in the creation of the universe, of our beautiful blue-green spinning sphere, and of you personally and individually. It is an idea bigger than any single religion can contain. And yet, there is something there, something real and spiritual. As one who considers yourself to be in some ways spiritual, allow your soul to grow. As you grow, may you nurture an even closer understanding of, or a relationship with The Divine.

Notes about this book

Scriptures used in this work come from the New Revised Standard Version, unless otherwise noted.

I have attempted to use inclusive language wherever possible in the words I have written, although I have not altered the author’s reference to God as he. I recognize that the Divine has no gender and for many it may be just as appropriate and accurate to acknowledge God as Mother or Father. Whichever pronoun is used, consider God as a loving parent.

Some of this work is adapted from other books or eBooks I have written. My website can be found by searching online for John Zehring books.

Now, as you engage Spiritual But Not Religious: One Minute Meditations, may these messages enrich your faith, your life, and lead you further into spiritual growth as you consider your encounter with the Divine.

John Zehring

COVER PHOTO: Used with permission from Unsplash

One Minute Meditations

Brief meditations, based on Hebrew and Christian scriptures, to inspire, encourage, challenge, lift up, and draw people who identify as spiritual-but-not-religious closer to an encounter with the Divine.

Go to the hills, the mountain, the sea, or the woods

People have said that it is often when they are outdoors that they feel closest to God. A fly fisherman talked about the flowing waters: "That is my real sanctuary." For some it is the mountains or the hills. For others it is by the sea, or in the forest, the garden, or the lakeside. When our eyes behold the beauty of nature, our souls often feel a deeper connection to the spiritual.

When the writer of the Psalms wanted to feel close to God, he did not go into a building. He went outside. As he gazed at the majestic hills, perhaps he reflected about how they existed long before him, and they would continue to look the same way after he was gone. Surrounded by a sense of permanence, perhaps he considered what a tiny speck he was in the universe of God’s creation. Nature lifted him up and inspired him. Here is what he wrote: "I lift up my eyes to the hills – from where will my help come? My help comes from the Lord, who made heaven and earth." (Psalm 121:1, 2). Spiritual refreshment can result from feeling close to the Divine in nature. Being in the presence of God’s creation in nature puts into perspective our finite journey on this planet. The beauty of our favorite places in nature provides a calming influence. These are our happy places, and a spiritual center.

Psalm 121 is an outdoors Psalm. Can you imagine the Shepherd tending his flock by day and by night, spending hours looking at the stars overhead... the purple mountain majesty in the distance... and feeling particularly close to the Divine? When he felt troubled or anxious, he looked up to the hills. His religion came from the hills. That is where Moses went to meet God. Atop that mountain, God said... (Exodus 3:5) Remove the sandals from your feet, for the place on which you are standing is holy ground. There is something holy about being in God’s creation.

The hills reminded of author of the Psalms that God is his help and his keeper. His verse raises the question and then answers it: Question: from where will my help come? Answer: My help comes from the Lord, who made heaven and earth. Help does not come from the hills. Nature is not your help. Your help comes from God. This is not about nature worship. The hills are not to be worshipped. The hills will not be your help or your keeper, but the hills are reminders