This is Part 1 of a four-part series leading up to Holy Thursday. Each day, three disciples who were present at the Last Supper will be highlighted. It is partially inspired by the Unity teaching of the Twelve Powers.
I am sitting here imagining the Last Supper. It is first-century Palestine, in a room with a simple, wooden, rectangle table where Jesus and 12 disciples are seated. There are no...

In mid-October 2016, I had the privilege of conducting an interview for Unity Leaders Journal with Rev Howard Caesar. Our focus topic was on mission, vision and values at Unity of Houston, Texas, where Howard has served as the senior minister these past thirty-three years. This article is a snapshot of what transpired during that fall afternoon.

Unity Worldwide Ministries’ Rev Steve Colladay has a great job: He gets to help bring new ministries into manifestation. As Ministry Expansion Coordinator, Steve coaches spiritual leaders on vision and mission, and supports them through the extensive application process to become an official Unity ministry.

“These people have a vision and they step out on the edge of faith. They may not even have people yet. It’s a major calling and response to Spirit. It’s a God job all the way through,” he says.

Part 1: Everybody into the Pool

By Rev Jim Marshall

I am sitting on the floor of the Canyon de Chelly in Arizona. The towering red rock walls and Spider Rock glisten in their evening bath of sunset. Soon I will hear the yip of the coyotes and behold a star-filled sky.

During this last evening of the four-day solo portion of my first vision quest, I am thinking back to how it started.

Now that we know the vitality of the Earth is declining every day, the question becomes, “I’m just one person. How can I make a difference?”

According to Lynne Twist, co-founder of the Pachamama Alliance, “The answer starts by first asking, ‘Who do we need to be?’ And I think who we need to be are people who know that the decisions and choices we make now impact the future of life for the next hundred years. Everybody alive today has a role to play.”

My grandson asked, “How come you never get upset?” I reflected for a moment and responded by saying, “When people get upset, it is difficult to know what to say or do.”  As a teacher of tools for tough conversations, I have applied principles that take me from a place of shutting down around conflict to a place of purpose in resolving conflict.

In October of 2000 I was taking a Spiritual Gifts workshop. The results showed that the gift of Faith was coming into play. I wondered what that was all about. I was soon to find out. In December, after a fall on the ice, it was discovered that I had a rare, aggressive and often fatal type of cancer in my left knee. I was thankful for the workshop and the awareness of the gift of faith.