Dr. Neal Windham Brings Message of Compassion to Lincoln Christian University’s Midwest Ministers’ Retreat

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Former Lincoln Christian University professor, Dr. Neal Windham, returned to Lincoln this week to lead the Midwest Ministers’ Retreat at Lincoln Christian University. The theme for this year’s retreat was “A Call to Compassion.” Men and women in professional ministry from around the region gathered in LCU’s Restoration Hall on Monday afternoon for fellowship, food, and encouraging words. The retreat began with an official welcome and brief worship time followed by dinner on Monday evening.

After the meal, Dr. Silas McCormick, LCU president, introduced Dr. Windham who delivered his first message of the retreat entitled “What is Compassion? A Spirituality of Caring.”

Dr. Windham began his message by defining, first, spirituality and, then, compassion. He explained spirituality as experiencing God, especially in the context of a transforming relationship. Compassion, then, is a spirituality of caring. Windham stated, “We experience God in a meaningful way in the context of caring for others. Compassion is being present for others and caring for their needs.”

Dr. Windham cited from Arthur C. Brooks who, in his book “Love Your Enemies,” presents three options for addressing those who are antagonistic toward us: 1) Ignore them, 2) Insult them, 3) Destroy them. These approaches are common in our society and have a single word in common: contempt. America has a ”contempt addiction” and it is killing us, Dr. Windham stated. Windham granted that it is hard to be nice in a culture where a nice person is labeled as “weak.” He also explained that Brooks is not arguing to give up our views, but to accept a calling to express and listen with love.

So how do we live compassionately in a world addicted to contempt? Dr. Windham described an approach he has been working on for three years that is based on what we have in common. His approach is grounded in the belief that 1) All humans are created in the image of God and 2) We are all sinful. He went on to explain he understands the difficulty when we are told to find a platform and a brand and marketing. We are told to emphasize our distinctiveness. However, while the distinctives of faith are essential, by trying to be so distinctive, we have clouded what we have in common. Our distorted and contemptuous attitude toward others who do not see things our way, prevents us from seeing others at all.

Dr. Windham continued his message by reading Jesus’ parable of The Prodigal Son from Luke’s Gospel. This parable, which Charles Dickens called the best short story in the world according to Windham, is the story of a son who demands his inheritance from his father and leaves his family and then squanders the money until he is destitute. When he finally finds a job feeding pigs, but still cannot afford to feed himself, he decides to return to his father and beg forgiveness hoping for a job as a servant on his father’s farm. However, his father sees him on the road, runs to him, kisses him, clothes him, and welcomes him back with a public celebration. When the elder son who had stayed home and fulfilled his responsibilities returns from the fields, he is angry at what he perceives as unfair treatment, but the father expresses his love for his elder son while explaining his joy at the younger’s return because “he was dead and is alive again; he was lost and is found” (Luke 15:32).

This parable is often interpreted in terms of its contrasts, i.e. the younger son squanders while the elder is responsible, etc. However, Dr. Windham pointed out the similarities between the two as an example of his approach to finding commonality. Both sons had the same father, both sons are lost, both feel contempt for their father at points, and both are equal recipients of deep, unconditional love. Why aren't we hearing more about our similarities?, Dr. Windham queried, when all of us like sheep have gone astray, and what holds us together is deep love and compassion. “The prodigal’s story is our story,” Dr. Windham explained. The Father comes alongside us. He wants us to repent. He is patiently waiting for all of us to come home.

Dr. Windham concluded his message with the charge that all of us are capable of outrageous good. We all need compassion and we all can give compassion. We all can help rid this world of contempt. “How rich is the palette of all we have in common.”

The Midwest Ministers’ Retreat continued on Tuesday with two more messages from Dr. Windham: “How Do I Practice Compassion?: Habits of Self-Care in the Compassionate Life” and “How Do We Practice Compassion?: Participating Fully in God’s Ongoing Work of Restoration.” Following lunch, participants had the choice of eight workshops related to the theme of Compassion applied to various contexts. President McCormick and LCU Institute professor Dr. James Estep delivered closing remarks before dismissing the retreat with prayer.

[Stephanie Hall]