#010 - Empathy and the Holy Spirit - pt. 2

APRIL 2019

Flashback: Three weeks earlier.

I was booked to attend a high school camp three weeks earlier, and I had never worked for this church before, though I had heard stories about their charismatic nature. I believe I was suggested because of my charismatic nature. Also, I was the only one who said yes without extravagant compensation. I like doing camps. I’m weird, but you probably already know that. 

So I’m programming my epic light show for this camp when I turn and see this man approaching me- arms outstretched. I like to think I have a good memory for faces, and he is not in the memory banks. Also, he’s coming in, arms open wide for a full-bodied hug. Thank God I’m a hugger, and we begin what is one of the longest embraces of my life, especially with a stranger. For some reason, I'm floored by this, but miraculously, I keep my cool, and as with conversations before, I’m speechless in reflecting upon its simplicity. Simple things can change lives. I start, and the conversation goes something like this:

“Do I know you?”

“No.”

“Okay, I was just making sure I wasn’t being rude.”

“You’re not; I’m Tim. It's nice to meet you.”

“Hi Tim, I’m Taylor, it’s nice to meet you too.”

“Thank God I’m a hugger.”

“I’m a hugger too!”

He then walks away from me, and I’m left smiling and wondering what the heck just happened. Later, my client contact Lauren came up to me and inquired if Tim had just given me a hug. I respond with a sarcastic, “That was an embrace…” Then she proceeds to tell me that Tim is a well-known speaker, and he’s actually the speaker for the event. I think nothing of this until the student director comes up to me later and gives me the biggest hug in the world, once again out of nowhere and from someone whom I’ve never met. She then tells me that I am an angel. I roll my eyes and put it aside. 

For the rest of the weekend, I had students dancing around me, people speaking in tongues, and the Holy Spirit moving through God's power in me and igniting others around me. Tim was speaking the truth, and the band was hitting these epic moments. Everything was clicking, and it continued until the final beat. I left not only physically exhausted but spiritually refreshed. All through allowing the Holy Spirit to move through my life amplified by my surroundings. 

I go from this gig to a night of worship that has an already overflowing me, entering into another charismatic crowd. All I had to do was walk into the room, and the energy explosion was palpable. It was a direct result of my weekend. After the night of worship, I spent the next two weeks effectively cooling down from the intensity of the spiritual encounters I had over the course of a few days. This was my state of being when I began my trek to Nashville. When I unknowingly stepped into the world of the International Church of the Foursquare Gospel. 

Blow, Gabriel, blow.

There are some denominations of Christianity that do not allow women to hold leadership positions. I’ve worked for these churches before, and they feel horribly dated. Four Square, which was founded by a charismatic woman, had been fighting this religious stigma for decades. It was unheard of for a woman in the 1930s to be a pastor, let alone have a congregation numbering in the tens of thousands. By the time of her death, Aimee’s church had grown to international reach and had hundreds of churches all over the world. Part of her ministry was devoted to the esoteric spiritual, and after the first session, I felt this spiritual energy that is encouraged among the congregants. 

I began to write spiritually. I began to speak truth into others' lives. I began to talk with confidence about God and Jesus. More importantly, my influence was on point with my friend group. More importantly, the service I was helping provide this church was more than just a lighting one. Like on a pond, spiritual ripples were flowing through the crowd. I became filled with insatiable joy. Laughing, smiling, and dancing all from feeling the energy in the room. Crazy, right? Weird, right? But this wasn't because of me - It was because Jesus was in the room with us, and God showed up, too.

On the last night of the conference, I decided to hang out with the rest of the crew after the show. I never do it because I need my alone time to recharge for the next day, but I had gotten drinks with an old friend earlier that week and the crew felt slighted because of this. So I muster up some social energy and proceed to the suite that had been reserved for our hang. Not to mention, I’m at a spiritual apex I’ve never before experienced.  I have a drink, start to relax, and then someone makes the mistake of asking me what I thought about everything that was going on. 

Foursquare had just elected a new president, elected by a narrow margin. At the time of this writing, a women’s movement was going through the world much like the suffrage movement of the early twentieth century. There was a male and female candidate, and as you can probably guess, the female candidate lost. The aftermath of the results nearly caused a fissure to break apart an organization that had just gone through a season of healing. Everything inside of me wanted the female candidate to win. She would have been the first female president since the founder, and with the current social climate, she seemed certain to win.

When asked what I thought about the election, I spoke with certainty and truth that I could only describe as inspired. I began to talk with the crew about masculine and feminine energy. Even though we are all men and women, we can have a combination of other genders' energy. The man who was elected was an embodiment of this concept. He had this overwhelming feminine energy that only an empath could feel, and I knew then why God had led this congregation to elect him. 

It was a familiar package with new energy. It was what would be needed to transition to the next president, who will most likely be female. Then, I began talking to the crew about what it means to serve people in crisis and how to empathize with their struggle, a struggle nearly tearing our clients’ ministry apart. At the end of the day, we, as a production company, helped God move.

The party continues.

After speaking to the group, I told them that the best thing we can do to serve the people who rely on and trust in us is to create an environment for God to move. We created this for our client, and God did the rest. 

After our boss decided he wanted to go to sleep, a small group of us took the last six beers and headed down to have a smoke. I indulged a bit because it was the last night of the show, and we were celebrating. There's a Kendrick Lamar song that plays through my head in these movements, "The Art of Peer Pressure," and I begin to chill with a group of dudes that could only be described as my merry band of Christian brothers.

We start having spiritual conversations, the Holy Spirit is moving through the group, I’m talking about things I never thought I would and speaking truth into the lives of the group. We’ve all had bad church experiences and all were placed in that situation to empathize and encourage one another. We all predominantly work for Christian organizations and have home churches or small groups we are a part of. We all have worked for some of the largest megachurches in the world. And at the end of the day, with all of our combined experiences and all of our hurt, we find common ground in the fact that God, at that moment, had connected us all. 

I firmly believe that Jesus and a group of angels danced around us the whole time.

We end the night on a positive note and head back to our rooms feeling high off the Holy Spirit and slightly intoxicated from the beer and cigarettes. I feel the alcohol helped ease what could have been a more tense situation. We all have been a part of and have seen the downfalls of addiction and have come out on the other side, feeling less than worthy of the grace of God.  But even if you aren’t battling an addictive personality, I feel most, if not all, of us feel the same unworthy feelings. One of inadequacy compared to the incredible nature of a God of forgiveness, mercy, and grace.

For some, starting to forgive others and connect with those who are feeling the same pain can begin the process of growing your empathy. As Christians, allowing the Holy Spirit to move in your life can connect you and allow you to experience the love of God through this connection. Ultimately, by loving others through empathy. 

Pulling into empathy station.

Remember the three people I mentioned before? I never told you what tips or tricks they gave me to try out. Unfortunately, every single one of them seemed to be in the same childlike state as me when it came to this. I believe I can read and feel people’s emotions well. I use it like a poker player might read people’s facial expressions to determine a bluff. I can sense the uneasiness when a person lies as much as the energy of happiness infects me. In a church environment, happiness and joy invite the Holy Spirit to the room, allowing God to move in people’s lives.

Crystal decided to continue her relationship but felt that God may be pushing her towards ending it. Juan said the car ride with the man, who had weird energy, was uneventful, and the feeling went away as soon as the man left the car. Hercules tried to hone his empathy skills to make himself more approachable and likable. All so he could become a better boss and leader. I can relate to all of these other experiences, but the advice I gave to all of them was something I told one of my girl mentees recently over dinner.

Always approach stressful spiritual situations only when you are spiritually overflowing.

Spiritual battery life.

I can only speak the truth about other people’s problems when I am in this state. Only when I am at this point in my faith and spiritual journey can I begin to help others with theirs. Simplified, think of a battery on your most cherished possession. It holds a charge of energy that allows the operator to use the device remotely from the power source. Our power source as Christians is the Holy Spirit! It can be experienced easily en masse and personally through prayer and meditation. (P.S. The Bible says the minimum attendance requirement is two for Jesus and the Holy Spirit to attend.)

All of this is to help us love better because empathy requires love, and love requires connection. 

Connection to the source provides the spiritual energy needed to tackle tough situations. Think about trying to play a game on your phone or film a movie with a low battery. The chance of your battery dying is greater when your charge is low. So it’s best to help people when you’re fully charged emotionally, spiritually, and physically. Otherwise, you may end up with a dead battery. 

Final Thoughts on the matter.

I spent the whole summer thinking, praying, and asking God to place awesome people in my life. It’s my continuous prayer, and I have had numerous encounters with others who have helped me in my faith journey, or whatever you would like to call it. Only know that it is just that, a journey. However, this is a journey into the expected with God and into the unexpected when you give in to the chaos of our world.

So which one must you go to? That’s a Yoda thought I would like to end on. Remember the power of your words, the power of your emotions, and now the powers provided by the Holy Spirit to us Christians: the power to be empaths with one another, to share experiences, and to love one another through our built-in power of empathy.

God-inspired notes.

During the four square events, I began a note that I believed was God speaking to me then. For those of you who do not believe in such things, still look at the next words and gain from the wisdom I received. They can apply to any person at any point on their faith journey and came to me while asking God to speak truth into my life. 

Reader discretion is advised.

———————

 I want to create in you a new creation through me. I want you to use your influence to help others with their struggles. I want you to believe like you always have, that you will become the man I want you to be, that I want all my children to be. I’m proud of you. Your struggle is not the only one. 

Answer:

I am exactly as you called me to be Lord.

Mountains can be moved trust in me to move. God will move and remove anything in life that prevents you from growing closer to him. 

Answer:

The world is an obstacle, and God is the open door.

If you want to live in the will of God, then you must put aside all convictions, past and present. The perception of a conviction that can be positive to you but negative to others goes against the conviction of the Heavenly Father. 

Answer:

The convictions of the past must change so your future can be fulfilled in the convictions of God.

Battles are won not by the strong but by the just, and my battles are always just. The cause of God is a just one and always the best option for you. Should you ever find yourself doubting or unsure, know that the battle will always be won for those within Christ Jesus. Always know that the savior of the world died so you may have life again, and you may love it in fullness. So you don’t have to fight battles because God is the ultimate battle fighter on your behalf. 

You are always a worthy vessel for the love of God to shine light through you. We as Christ-followers can shine light in any circumstance.

I’m not necessarily doing what God tells me to do but feeling what God needs me to do.

Wherever I am, God is.

Amen.