~ MISSION AND
PURPOSE ~
A Personal Mission Statement
May 1996
~ 10 RELATED
QUESTIONS AND ANSWERS ~
~ Reverend John-Brian Paprock ~ 1999/2000 ~
1. What do you
think needs to be done in the world today, and what do you intend to do about
it?
·
Spiritual healing of individuals and groups
·
Greater understanding of each other’s beliefs to end prejudice
and bigotry
·
Respect and love of all life as created by God
·
Honor of elders and concern for future generations
·
Bringing down spiritual light into the darkness of this world
for the nurturance of greater spiritual progress and healing
I am already involved with all
of the above and have dedicated my life to the service of God and humanity,
knowing that all things done for the glory of God and the welfare of mankind
shall be blessed.
2. Please
summarize what is most important to you.
Following my heart with the
visions and gifts of insight that I am unworthy to have; being in service,
doing the “right” thing for the “right” reason, to God, the source of all Light
and Love, and humanity, the principal creation of God. This includes: continued
personal spiritual development; honor, love and fidelity for my wife; honoring
fatherhood; community service; honoring the autonomy and integrity of
individuals and their relationship with the loving, compassionate, merciful God
of Truth.
3. Tell us a
little about your spirituality and your search for meaning.
My spirituality is based on
decades of discipline, synchronicity and lessons about the frailty of our human
existence, the stubbornness of our human will, the invincibility of God’s love
through Christ, the endless mercy and compassion of God the Father, and the
power and guidance available through the Holy Spirit the giver of life. Meaning is found in the continuing instant,
the only time and place we may be completely with God. Observation of my inner life and the outer
life of humanity and the created worlds give ample opportunity for continued
spiritual improvement.
4. Please
briefly your philosophy of life concerning its meaning and purpose.
The purpose of life is to
become fully conscious and aware of who and what we are and who and what God
is; to assist in the raising up of the densest of the fallen matter back to the
rarified essence that was originally created; to always begin this work with
ourselves, seeking to improve knowledge of our true selves and our shortcomings
and sins which will lead us to eventually understand our true relation to our
compassionate and merciful Creator; then, to reach out with compassion and
assistance to others for “as the least of these...”.
Here is an analogy I have used
before. It is called:
The Island of Truth and the
Land of Confusion.
The Island of Truth is
surrounded by a deep moat with sheer cliff coasts. Around this moat or river is the Land of Confusion. Yes the Land of Confusion surrounds the
Island of Truth. Its mass is 10 times
as large. In the land of confusion,
roads and paths seem to have destinations but are only made to see how far
someone else will travel. There are
kingdoms and fiefdoms and even democracies in the Land of Confusion.
Now, there are those that have
been to the Island of Truth who see the Land of Confusion for what it is. For once a person has seen the Land of
Confusion from that central perspective, the peripheral world is forever
peripheral and can no longer hold the power of centrality that every spot in
the Land of Confusion is supposed to have, according to those that live
there. Occasionally, but a lot more
rare than most would believe, someone wondering in the Land of Confusion (as
most do) comes across the myth of the Island of Truth, perhaps even meet
someone who “claims” to have been there.
The individual is inspired and either follows the directions given in
the myth or by the person that had been there.
That individual gets to a point in their journey that they can actually
see the Island of Truth with the surrounding moat and cliffs.
Unfortunately, many stop here,
thinking they have arrived. In fact,
there are many cities and kingdoms set up with picturesque views of the
beautiful Island. One could pay a lot
of money just to live in a home with an Island view. What a few figure out is that there are still in the land of
confusion. These journey onward.
As the mighty and deadly moat
is approached, bridges can be seen that transverse the span of the moat’s
canyon from the Land of Confusion to the Island of Truth. Some are quite ornate. Others look very simple. Some haven’t been used in a long time and
have fallen into dis-repair. Getting
closer to the nearest bridge, it is obvious that entire cities have been built
at the bridges’ entrance. When the
residents are asked how many have actually crossed the bridge into the Island
of Truth, many believe they don’t need to since the bridge is there in their
midst (but they have lost track and forgot they are still living in the Land of
Confusion). Thank God! Many have
traveled the bridge and can encourage our traveler to cross.
When he steps on the bridge,
what was once a beautiful island is now covered with fog. In fact, the other end of the bridge is not
even visible. No matter how secure,
ornate or sturdy the bridge appeared, once stepped on it is narrow and the
torrent of the water so far below is fierce.
If one takes the time, vicious dragons and crocodiles can be seen
waiting for those that fall walking the narrow bridge.
Now, as I said before, once one
has been to the Island of Truth, this Land of Confusion never will be able to
deceive as long as we take the time to visit the Island and remember our journeys
there. The Land of Confusion has many
wonderful diversions that come and go, fads of lesser beings. The Island of Truth has peace, love and
light – spiritually given that can never be taken, but can always be given up.
Every time I articulate this
story, which comes from a dream that I had several years ago, it always seems
slightly different, but always meaningful for me in the articulation.
5. Please give
your top five values, that is, what motivates you.
·
Service to God and humanity
·
Loving-kindness (compassion)
·
Healing
·
Truth
·
Enjoyment of beauty and laughter
6. Please list
your top five priorities for accomplishment in your life.
·
Continued personal spiritual growth and development
·
Serving, protecting and nurturing my wife and family and all my
relations (including economic stability).
·
Healing of individuals and the community.
·
Building (or rebuilding) the Church with communities that are
balanced spiritually and physically. Understanding that communities need to be
seen as individuals, groups and as a whole.
·
Writing the books that I am called to write.
·
Bringing beauty into the world as I am able.
7. Please
characterize in brief your present spiritual orientation and religious outlook.
God is omniscient, omnipotent
and omnipresent, the source of light and life.
The human life is growth toward this source of light much like plants
grow toward the sunlight. The best
repository and revelation of that light and life is the Truth lived and passed
on from the early Christian Church, kept alive in the Eastern Orthodox
Community of Churches. St. Justin the
martyr said that what Christians believe is true and reasonable because Christ
is the Logos, which is usually translated “Word” but also translated as
“Reason.” So, he said, whatever is
reasonable is part of the Christian beliefs. St. Justin was also one of the
first to point out and explain that distortions of truth have also been taught
through the ages. These need to be
corrected even into the present age. As
a Christian, I believe in acknowledging truth and goodness wherever it may be,
that our worship and devotion is public, but not to unduly draw attention to
us, but give God all the glory. In a
pluralistic society, such as our modern existence, Christians, as agents of
God’s love, need to be involved in interfaith and other cooperative efforts for
the betterment of our shared human condition, including dialogue with
non-Christians. There is no need in
this for a lessening of my Christian teachings, but rather it is the
opportunity to be an example of Christianity in truth, wisdom and
loving-kindness toward all.
8. How would
you envision the Church of the future, what would be the Ideal?
The Church of the future will
be readily available, public and using the fullness of technology. Yet there will be a profound continuance of
the need for human presence in real time as a testament of the compassion and
endless mercy of God through the agencies of the Church, that is the clergy and other
ministers of various gifts as well as locations where to gather. The Church will be more of a unified body
that works toward greater reconciliation of humanity’s broken relationship with
God, allowing and celebrates diversity, at the same time, acknowledging
mystical paths that require unique blessings, devotions and discipline
There will be great strife, as
the Christian Church needs to take the lead in a growing world ethic,
acknowledging a universality and inclusiveness of all creation, even as former
Christians will more openly attack the Church.
The Church will never have to give up Christ and will not be directly
persecuted in an age of pluralism and eclecticism, but will have to contend
with no longer having the influence of the majority religious belief. This time, the Word will not be lost.
The ideal would be the natural
evolution of the Universal Church toward the devotion, inclusiveness, clarity
and compassion of the best of the early Church without the horrors of
persecution and crusades.
9. Please name
the five people whom you admire most and briefly state why.
The difficulty is that I admire
so many spiritual, intellectual and world leaders as well as the ordinary
person doing the extra-ordinary and the simple person of devout faith. My first list had 25 people that I truly
admire. Knowing that there is a necessary discrimination to complete the task
in this question, howbeit seemingly arbitrary, I will give the following as
those I admire most:
·
Jesus Christ – the exemplar of Life and Light itself
·
King David – the beloved penitent
·
Gandhi/Martin Luther King, Jr. – non-violent change of
injustices, coalition building, integrity and public acknowledgement of their
faith willingness to work with diverse peoples.
·
Paulos Mar Gregorios – the late Metropolitan of the Malankara Syrian
Orthodox Church of India. He wrote that people of diverse faiths need to learn
to live together peacefully and opened the 1993 Parliament of the World’s Religions
in Chicago.
·
St Seraphim of Sarov – one of many I admire for simplicity and
depth of faith, discipline and loving-kindness.
·
Archbishop James Toombs (Blessed Memory!) – he sacrificed so
much for an American Orthodoxy that could build better human relations and
teach mystical teachings directly. (Ok, that’s really seven, but these are the
tops.)
10. Please
list your top five books and state briefly why you rate them at the top of your
list.
Like the people I admire, my
list of significant books is large and always growing. My first list had over 20 books. Again, with the disclaimer that this list
has a certain but necessary arbitrariness, I submit the following five books:
·
The Holy Bible (Septuagint canon – KJV) – the source of truth
and revelation
·
Beginning to Pray by Metropolitan Anthony Bloom – probably the
best introduction to Christian prayer ever written
·
Tie = Mere Christianity by C S Lewis & The Orthodox Way by
Bishop Kallistos Ware – these are probably the best modern introductions to
Christianity written.
·
Twelve Steps and Twelve Traditions of Alcoholics Anonymous by
Bill W. – one of the most profoundly spiritual books ever written.
·
People of the Lie by M. Scott Peck, MD – a clear, accurate and
necessary explanation of evil for our modern age.
Other top books but not the top
five: The Human Presence – Paulos Mar Gregorios, Tao Te Ching, The Way of A
Pilgrim, Wonderful Revelation to the World (St Seraphim of Sarov’s story), The
God Illumined Cook-Brother Lawrence, Meditations on the Divine Liturgy-Gogol,
The Flexible Organization, Being Naturally Therapeutic, Works by Kahlil Gibran,
Works by Herman Hesse, Dune-Frank Herbert, The Earthsea Trilogy – Ursula
LeGuin, Be My Priest-A Monk of the Eastern Church, Drama of the Gifted Child –
Alice Miller, Byzantine-Slav Liturgy-Kucharek, The Golden Journey-unknown,
Adult Children of Alcoholics-Woititz, Philokalia (especially single volume –
Art of Prayer), My Life in Christ – St. John of Kronstadt, and many many
others.
A PRAYER FOR MINISTRY
God, my Father in Heaven, the Creator of the Universe, be gracious and merciful to your unworthy servant and grant my needs to the fruition of ministry. Amen.
