When it comes to engaging in faith, my hook is mysticism. I absolutely love delving into the world behind the text.

Unfortunately, not many share my passion for the subject.

Actually, let me be clear: very few people care about mysticism.

What this forces me to do in my work is think beyond myself. While that one particular subject attracts me, I know it’s not going to attract others – especially in my ministry with teenagers.

It forces me to consider other people’s needs first and find what works for them. At no point do I ever think I get it right, but I keep trying anyway.

As hard as we might look to find it, there’s no magic bullet to connecting with others.

Hence, there’s no point in trying to find the one absolute activity, subject or intellectual pursuit that will connect everyone together. It’s just not going to happen.

At the same time, you don’t want to stretch so far you completely lose touch with what keeps you grounded.

It’s easy to undervalue what you have to offer and let others undervalue it because it doesn’t have mass appeal.

This seems like such conflicting viewpoints to hold up, but if it were to boil down to a single rule, it would be this:

Be authentic and stretch just beyond your comfort zone.

I do know when you are the most authentic version of yourself, people connect with you because they want to.

The fact that I’m entrenched in the mystic tradition, while reading about current advances in science and listening to indie female artists (I know – it’s such an odd combination)… and people still want to connect to me… is an indicator that it works.