In Canada and across the Western world, we live in a cultural moment dominated by the lie of time scarcity. In such a culture of radical busyness, the call to love God and neighbor often feels impossible to balance. However, the interplay between study and love of God and service to, and love of, neighbor is deeply woven into both this blog and the Christian Training Institute. It is tempting to view love of God and love of neighbor as somehow in tension. Too often, we reduce this question to a matter of efficiency alone: how best to use our limited time for the glory of God. In consideration of this tension, the voices of two friends echo back and forth.

With vigor, courageous Walter might contend:
“With the pressing needs of poverty, oppression, and social injustice growing around us, Christians must work actively to bring about God’s Kingdom on earth. There is no time to idle in abstract speculation when lives are in need of care and reform.”

In quiet contrast, noble Thomas might respond:
“The needs of the world are indeed many, yet the soul’s union with God must come first. Only by cultivating devotion, meditation, and imitation of Christ can our actions bear true fruit; thus, it is right at times to delay worldly endeavors in order to attend to the life within.”

You, dear reader, may find yourself pulled in agreement towards one of these friends. I certainly have my own tendencies, as it is perfectly natural to have. But what if love of God and neighbor are not enemies at all, but natural friends? That is the very vision expressed by Gregory the Great, and the vision of the Christian Training Institute.

But first, an introduction to our mentor, Gregory. Gregory the Great was a sixth-century church leader who longed for a life of quiet contemplation. Following the death of the former Bishop of Rome, Gregory himself was elected his replacement in 590AD with wide acclaim. Gregory sought instead to flee in the night, feeling unworthy to the task. But the people would not be denied, and Gregory was endowed with temporal power.

The early writings of Gregory after he received the Papacy, indicate a sense of depression and darkness in his mind. He was pulled into a position of heavy responsibility, when Rome itself was in crisis. In that, he was also ripped away from his preferred life of contemplation and peace.

Gregory’s reluctance to lead echoes Plato’s conviction that the best rulers are those least eager to rule. And by all accounts, Gregory led well. He became a great servant of the people, revised worship, emphasized missionary work to the Anglo-Saxons of Britain, and lived into the role and responsibility he was called into. John Calvin, the later reformer, even admired Gregory, calling him the last good pope.

Gregory the Great’s leadership skills are particularly exemplified in the writing of The Book of Pastoral Rule. This text was an early and foundational entry into the field of Pastoral Theology. His goal was to give direction on how best to shepherd the people of God, as a leader and a servant. He incorporates both insight from his time as a contemplative monk, and from the realities of leadership over the Western church. As a result, his work is still influential and practically applicable, even for modern pastors and church leaders. It is with a lengthy quote from that work that I opened this initial post, which brings us again to our initial question: how best to balance love of God and neighbor?

It was out of this tension between contemplative desire and public duty that Gregory wrote Pastoral Rule. He points to Jesus in the quote at the top, as the model for our own Christian walk. He references Jesus’ manner of moving between service of neighbour in the cities, and prayer with God on the mountain, best seen in Luke 6. Jesus alternates between doing miracles to serve the poor, oppressed, and needy, then spends time on the mountain, alone with God his Father, before returning for further work. There, Jesus gives no intimation of conflict between the two necessary loves. Rather, as Gregory explicates, the more tenacious the love of neighbour, the more powerful the closeness and union with God. It is notable that the imagery of miracles in the cities and prayer on the mountain indicates an ascension to God and descent to service. Gregory aptly describes what I define as the ‘Divine Push and Pull’.

Jesus said “You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind. This is the great and first commandment. And a second is like it: You shall love your neighbor as yourself.” [Matthew 22:37b-40] These two loves do not compete, but feed into each other. The more deeply we love and care for our neighbor, the more we will be drawn into union and closeness with God. That closeness with God, pushes us more vigorously into service and love of neighbor, which again, pulls us closer to God. That is the Divine Push and Pull. That is the vision for the Christian Training Institute.

Coming out of nearly 100 years of experience in the ministry of tables (see Acts 6:2-3), Hope Mission’s Christian Training Institute is a vocational discipleship program, which joins the love of and service to neighbor with the love of God. Hope Mission has witnessed the effects of the love of neighbor in the lives of people like Junior. When Junior came to Hope Mission, he was living a life of lostness and addiction. He gave fake names, was aggressive with staff, and was often under the influence of drugs. Through patience, service, and love, Junior eventually was able to take his recovery journey into the Breakout program. Despite a few slips, he eventually attained sobriety, even becoming a Hope Mission staff. He shared the love of God that was shared with him, to the same kind of hurting people he had been in his past. This is just one of countless stories of lives changed through love and service to our neighbor.

The goal of the Christian Training Institute is to create the next generation of Christian leaders, who will, following Gregory’s wisdom, and learning from Hope Mission’s example, be joined into the overwhelming and outpouring love of the Triune God, through love of neighbor and God. As a result, students of CTI will exit the program as better servant leaders, well-equipped for the ministry of tables, which is central to the Church’s witness in the world and service to the world.

This blog is intended to contain some of the thoughts, teaching, and ideas that I, the Senior Manager of the Christian Training Institute, have while journeying with our students on their discipleship and leadership journey. My passion for CTI is born out of my 10 years with Hope Mission, my academic study, and the way service and study together have shaped me. I hope you will join me as we experience the Divine Push and Pull: the love of God pushing us outward in service, and service drawing us deeper into God.