We were astonished by an article written by Pastor Brad Larson suggesting self empowerment is a bad thing.
We aren’t looking to pick a fight with the Pastor, but his thoughts on self empowerment may be one of the reasons people are leaving church.
Granted, these comments were made a few years ago, but we haven’t seen a retraction, so we can assume he still teaches this stuff.
First, he says, "since we have deceptive, dark hearts (Jer. 17:9), there is danger lurking in the self-improvement space.
Since we worship what we believe will satisfy us, improving ourselves can become idolatry faster than we can say “positive mental attitude.”
He goes on to say, "self-help can become a self-glorification mission that, in the end, robs us of the joy of beholding Jesus as our treasure, our Savior, and our helper."
While we feel people can believe whatever they choose, we always surprised when we are warned that we are powerless and helpless.
We believe the exact opposite is true, we aren’t powerless, we are “something” powerful because we believe in ourselves.
Brad Larsson warns us that by helping ourselves we become prayer-less, not asking God for help.
Much of self-help includes making aimless plans for our lives, but we don’t control our lives because we are powerless.
Plan as we may, we are not the architect of our destiny, only worshiping God secures who and what we are.
In contrast, Pagans believe that we are responsible for our own lives, because life is a do it yourself job.
Yet, the criticism of self empowerment is that it focuses on the self and while it encourages introspection and that can be helpful, too much navel gazing is not.
Mr. Larson says self empowerment wrongly assumes you have the ability to change yourself.
He says, "we can change our habits and make healthy choices, but our souls only change when we encounter God.
We do not need to focus on cleaning the outside of the cup, but rather the inside (Matt. 15:17–20; 23:25–26).
So, he believes it's a bad thing to shepherd ourselves.
The premise of self-help in Christian circles is that God helps those who help themselves.
The gospel of Jesus Christ, though, is that God helps those who cannot help themselves."
That's just it. As we've said numerous times, nature speaks to us, it has the answers, we just have to listen.
We are nature, not separate from it, as we reconnect with nature we will reconnect with ourselves.
By letting go of the everyday clutter and embracing the power of nature, your life will instantly be enriched because you'll see the world and yourself differently.
There is no complicated or confusing comprehensive solution when searching for answers. In reality, it’s often just paying attention to nature as it speaks to us.
By doing so we stay grounded with the energies of the earth and begin to learn who we are.
As Pagans we don't seek forgiveness or salvation, we search for the inner strength that exists within.
We are responsible for our decisions and from those choices we grow, become wiser and learn to trust in our self empowerment.
We keep hearing, with faith anything is possible, okay, but faith in what, in who?
If they mean faith in your own abilities, in the person you want to become, we would agree.
But sermons on faith usually have little to do with self empowerment.
It's amazing how people are willing to believe in something invisible but not in the things that are right in front of them.
The power of nature is all around, we can see it, touch it and learn from it.
But many choose to ignore it and believe in the traditions of dogma.
As Pagans we believe in self empowerment, we are responsible for our own lives, we are at the helm, captains of our own journey, surrendering our power to no one.
We are told to trust the unseen, have absolute faith and hand over all personal power because God is in control of everything.
If we surrender and allow God to work his miracles, everything
will be just fine.
Telling us that God is in complete control is difficult to understand, where does that leave us?
How do we grow or get stronger if we think someone or something is to to carry us every time we experience life's struggles?
Our advice: learn to believe in yourself.
