My White Paper on Faith

I am part of a men’s small group that has gathered in person and online regularly since 1995. They are a significant part of my well-being. We have been through a lot together, including the passing of two members. Recently, one of our members suggested we share our statement of faith. I prefer to call it My White Paper on Faith. This was a powerful exercise in spiritual self-examination, which I have done before. I believe my White Paper on Faith is more important than my Leadership Philosophy. I refer to both of these dynamic documents regularly to ask myself and others, “How am I doing?”

David Carr – My White Paper on Faith – March 2026

“Faith is better understood as a verb than a noun, as a process rather than a possession. It is on-again-off-again rather than once-and-for-all. Faith is not being sure where you are going but going anyway. A journey without maps. Tillich said doubt isn’t the opposite of faith; it is an element of faith. Faith can’t prove a damned thing. Or a blessed thing either.” – Frederich Buechner, Wishful Thinking: A Theological ABC

I agree with Teilhard de Chardin that I am a spiritual being having a human experience. As a spiritual being, it’s my soul that is immortal. My human experience is teaching me many lessons and causing me to forget my spiritual nature. My human experience has scars, warts, imperfections, failure, and mistakes. These are treasure maps to my soul.

My spiritual nature reminds me that I am powerless and that, with the Holy Creator’s help, the only thing I can control is myself. I believe the Holy Creator knows me better than I know myself. I seek the Holy’s help continuously. My faith leads me to live with integrity, build trust, and set boundaries. My faith guides my thinking, asking W.W.J.D., reflecting, and journaling.

My spiritual nature requires silence. Silence to experience the Holy Creator’s divine intelligence. Silence to challenge the “chattering monkeys” in my brain to stop. Silence to meditate, contemplate, and pray. Silence to be inspired for better thoughts and actions to be uplifted and empowered. Silence to believe in times of unbelief. Silence to be curious and listen rather than speak. Jesus practiced silence. He asked 339 questions in the four Gospels and then listened. He demonstrated that the questions are more important than the answers.

My spiritual nature requires presence. Presence to see the extraordinary in the ordinary. Presence to experience the “thin places” of heaven on earth. Presence to acknowledge change and evolution are a part of life, as written in the Book of Ecclesiastes. Presence to let go of yesterday and not worry about tomorrow. Presence to get out of my comfort zone and become “woke.” Presence to be the hands and feet of Jesus Christ that this world needs, as He challenged in the Beatitudes. Presence not to fix anyone, but to acknowledge and encourage their strength, courage, and compassion. Presence to recognize that the opposite of love is fear, and that fear is at the root of all ugly, hurtful behavior towards others. Presence to recognize the hardest part of the 2nd greatest commandment is to love myself with all my failings, to love my neighbor with all their failings.

When people ask me what I do for a living, I begin by saying I am a collaborator in the Holy Creator’s design. I collaborate with the Holy to create safe, nurturing, healthy, inclusive, diverse, equitable commUNITY. CommUNITY embraces an important and significant word, “WE.” This is my purpose and my ministry in this life. Jesus Christ, Mohammad, Buddha, and Confucius modeled the way for this calling. I am an ecumenical Christian who prays well with people of other faiths and atheists. I don’t consider myself “saved,” but rather “found,” as in ways to embrace my spiritual being and enhance my human experience. My purpose, my ministry, is guided by the core values of Micah 6:8: loving kindness, seeking justice, and walking with God in humility. I choose to follow the Holy Creator rather than power or money.

My faith embraces doubt, uncertainty, ambiguity, and complexity as a part of my spiritual being. My faith is shrouded in mystery. I agree with Anne Lamott, “The opposite of faith is certainty.” My faith requires me to be curious and ask hard questions.

For me, the Bible is a dangerous book and should be on the “banned book list.” The Bible has been used to justify many ugly and hurtful acts against others, including war. The Bible was written by storytellers, poets, philosophers, visionaries, and sinners over the course of 3,000 years, and it contains contradictions and inconsistencies. I do not take the Bible literally. Beginning with Genesis, I believe the Earth is more than 6,000 years old. Many see the Bible as ending with a period, “the word of God for the people of God.” I see the Bible as a beginning, still unfolding, still evolving, still being edited, and ending with the line, “To be continued…” Consider the transition of the King James Version to The Message Bibles.

While there is support for creating commUNITY in the Bible, there is justification for marginalization, exclusion, abomination, and discrimination against LGBTQ+ and BIPOC that prevent commUNITY. In the book of Leviticus, slavery is justified. In the book of Romans, same-sex relations are described as “unnatural.” Galileo was nearly put to death for showing evidence that the Earth was not the center of the universe, as implied in Genesis 1, Psalm 104, and Isaiah 40.

I believe there are other “Holy Books” to read and ponder, such as Mere Christianity by C.S. Lewis, Learning to Walk In The Dark by Barbara Brown Taylor, Do I Stay Christian? by Brian McLaren, Inspired: Slaying Giants, Walking on Water, and Loving the Bible Again by Rachel Held Evans, America’s Original Sin: Racism, White Privilege, and the Bridge to a New America by Jim Wallis, and A Man’s Journey Through the Twelve Steps by Dan Griffin.

My faith is strengthened by my gratitude. My gratitude reminds me of the many blessings I take for granted in my life. It reminds me I have more than enough. Gratitude gives me acceptance, brings order, and clarifies what is truly important. Gratitude turns a meal into a feast, our house into a home, and strangers into friends. Gratitude helps me live into the less-is-more principle, continuously seeking to simplify my life and reminding me that excess is never enough.

The Holy Creator’s greatest gift to me is undeserved favor, kindness, and mercy – grace. My faith acknowledges the abundant grace in my life. Grace is connected to my practice of humility. Grace nurtures my spiritual being and growth. Grace acknowledges my need for the Holy in my life, especially when I am in the valley of the shadow of death. Grace reminds me to check my ego – Edging God Out. I need to extend grace to others, seeking to understand before being understood, and forgiveness.

Forgiveness is the antidote to my resentment, anger, shame, and fear. My faith requires me to understand and practice forgiveness, beginning with forgiving myself. Forgiveness requires me to be transparent, take responsibility for my actions, experience the pain I may have created, and change my behavior. Forgiveness gives me strength and helps me overcome bitterness. This means, like Jesus, I forgive myself and others who don’t deserve it. Forgiveness leads to joy and hopefulness and reduces anxiety. Forgiveness is a significant component of commUNITY.

I embrace Kent Keith’s Paradoxical Commandments for the foundation of my work in forgiveness:

  • People are illogical, unreasonable, and self-centered. Love them anyway.
  • If you do good, people will accuse you of selfish ulterior motives. Do good anyway.
  • If you are successful, you will win false friends and true enemies. Succeed anyway.
  • The good you do today will be forgotten tomorrow. Do good anyway.
  • Honesty and frankness make you vulnerable. Be honest and frank anyway.
  • The biggest men and women with the biggest ideas can be shot down by the smallest men and women with the smallest minds. Think big anyway.
  • People favor underdogs but follow only top dogs. Fight for a few underdogs anyway.
  • What you spend years building may be destroyed overnight. Build anyway.
  • People really need help, but may attack you if you do help them. Help people anyway.
  • Give the world the best you have, and you’ll get kicked in the teeth. Give the world your best anyway.

Finally, My White Paper on Faith is dynamic. As I continue my walk in faith, I will learn and add or subtract from this document.