I was born on a Thursday and went to church on Sunday. That is just the way it was with the Symonds Clan. Raised Wesleyan Methodist, we learned early on that we needed to respect the full authority of the scriptures. Questioning our beliefs was not encouraged and a strict regimen of attending Sunday service was expected. As I grew, I rebelled a bit and I can remember catching flack for attending sports practices on Sundays, something I was not about to give up.
While I was conflicted with my need to question the scriptures and skip the occasional Sunday service to participate in sports, my Christian upbringing has truly shaped who I am, how I live within my family unit, and how I interact with the world. At first, Friends Church was not what I wanted but with a firm persuasion from my wife, I found myself attending my first service in 2005. I learned quickly that Friends Church was what I was about and how I wanted to experience my Christianity.
My family and I do not attend church for community, rather, we attend church so we can be better in our extended community. As an Associate Principal, I choose to take Robert Greenleaf’s approach to leadership, “good leaders must first become good servants”. I believe Friends Church also takes this approach through “taking water”. This is an action oriented approach to Christianity and is a concept I love! I have been involved at Friends Church in a variety of ways, from speaking to volunteering for our Donating Financial Water (DFW) segment, to serving three years on the Board and this extends to the work I do outside of church.
My Methodist upbringing said, “don’t question, we have the answers” Friends Church says, “ask questions, it makes us better”. At Friends Church the Bible is presented as a story describing humanity’s interaction with the divine. When fast forwarded to today, the Bible is meant to support us but not to be taken literally. I focus more on questioning in a healthy way and coming to my own conclusions that I may or may not be comfortable with. This non-literal approach to interpreting the scriptures has, I believe, made me a better person.