• Pray to the Lord. (This one, he said, is easily forgotten.)
• Begin a new life.
Two of these universal steps (step 2 and step 4) are expanded by the voice
from heaven (True Christianity 567.5) to include sub-steps. This increases the
total number of steps to as many as 10. But regardless of how many steps there
are, the real question is, “Do we live them?”
Mark walked everyone through the steps and said, “I want to get people
excited about this process, especially in terms of what it can do to help people
throughout the world.” His own excitement is infectious.
As an example of self-examination he suggested looking at how we
deal with such frustrations as driving in traffic. What are we doing, saying,
thinking, intending, and (at the core of our native will) desiring? The real goals
of the process are discovering where we are, being honest with ourselves, and
praying to the Lord to be led by His will, not our own.
Mark suggested – as we often hear with self-examination – that we focus
on just one sin at a time, maybe two at most. And prayer – talking with the
Lord and appealing for help and power – is most important. Something may
be making our lives a living hell, and unless we turn to the Lord for help and
power in resisting it, it will tend to get the better of us – eventually if not right
away. It’s a process that takes humility.
“The process of repentance,” he says, “includes elements of knocking
down and building up” – knocking down old patterns and building up new
ones. Both phases are important. If we’re caught up just in the “tear down”
phase of the process, that can lead to depression – to giving up and losing
hope. Beginning a new life means moving forward from “knocking down” into
“building up.” It’s what gives us a sense of hope.
The final step of the process comes down to abstaining from evil, living
a new life, and ultimately, not wanting or willing the evil because it is a sin
against God. When we act from heaven and not from hell, the Lord implants
a desire to do what is good, and that goodness has the power to drive out the
desire and will of evil.
What Mark likes about the process is its basic simplicity, but also how
profoundly effective it is. It can help people with everything from minor,
unwanted habits to the worst addictions. He sees it as a wonderful tool for
whatever we are working on in our lives.
He sees this program as just one of many good things the New Church
is offering to the world, including: Curtis Childs’ videos for the Swedenborg
Foundation, the Journey programs and Daily Inspiration available on the
New Church’s international website, the Rise Above It website, the Caring
for Marriage website, the New Christian Bible Study website, the Rev. Dr.
Jonathan Rose’s Bible study program, live streaming of Bryn Athyn Cathedral
139