Seminary Program

This is where we post the essays from many of our Universal Life Church Seminary students. When students finish a ULC course, they write a comprehensive essay about their experiences with the course, what they learned, didn't learn, were inspired by, etc. Here are their essays.

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Friday, August 28, 2009

Spirituality

"Developing a Spiritual Mentality"
A Final Essay for the Master of Spirituality Course
By Daniel L. Moore

    "Now we have received, not the spirit of the world, but the Spirit who is from God, that we might know the things freely given to us by God, which things we also speak, not in words taught by human wisdom, but in those taught by the Spirit, combining spiritual thoughts with spiritual words" (1 Corinthians 2:12-13 NASB).

    The above passage sums up what I learned from this course.  It was a challenging course for me.  The instructor did an excellent job in separating the spiritual from the natural way of thinking that people often do.  In order to minister in the spiritual realm, there needs to be an adjustment in my thinking.  The adjustment comes by…

    First…understanding how human thinks and philosophize.  It helps when one ministers to those who are the "just the facts" type of person and those who follow the typical western mindset of thinking. 

    Second…understanding the major persons (Plato, Aristotle, etc) who developed the philosophies.  They were products of their time and culture.  Knowing these influences help to understand the background of their thinking.

    Third…moving to understand what God desires us to know.  This is a radical transforming action.  Man is not God but a creation of God to reflect Divine character. 

    Spiritual learning and growth comes by responding to the circumstances and challenges God allows in our lives.  I learned that as I meet each challenge I will have to unlearn something to gain something from God.  This is the challenge of spiritual understanding.  It is to seek the divine perspective of things.  My small human mind may see an issue from a selfish angle.  As I adjust, setting aside my prejudices and biases, I am able to gain divine insight.  The spiritual mentality comes when I align myself with God's Person and Purposes.  When I can humble myself to a position to see as Christ sees, then I am able to obtain the mind of Christ and have a true spiritual mentality.

    The course has blessed me in many ways.  It will challenge every person who enrolls in it.  And I believe it will leave the person in a better position with a greater understanding to minister to people.


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