We have a Father-Mother God

San Diego Reader: How long do you spend writing your sermon?

Pastor Blair Tabor: Usually I take four to eight hours a week, or more if I’m doing research on something I’m not familiar with. That includes preparing a PowerPoint; what I found is that visual presentations help people remember because they learn more from what they see than what they hear. I have a relatively conversational style — I see myself more as a teacher than a preacher. We don’t tell people what they need to think, but invite them to explore ideas and try some aspect of spirituality in their life and work, family and home.

SDR: What’s your favorite subject on which to preach?

BT: Joy. People who do spiritual exploration tend to be too serious about it. One of my favorite lines is “It’s too important to be taken seriously.” I think if people had more joy in their life, things would work out much better for them. I love the Old Testament prophets who would say, “The spirit of the Lord is upon me.” They’re connected with that energy or spirit — they’re alive with it.

SDR: Why the Unity Movement?

BT: What I like about Unity is that its teachings are based within the Christian tradition; we’re also eclectic in gathering ideas and symbols from other religions. So, I’d study all these different religions to not have to pretend I didn’t know anything about them. So, part of my attraction is the way we try to speak — the language we use — in Unity. Instead of a Father-God, we have a Father-Mother God; we also talk about Infinite Mind and terms like that. So, we don’t focus on God as a person but a presence that is everywhere present. But Unity is not pantheism — there’s a more useful term — panentheism. It’s not that the universe is God but that the universe is made out of God, but God is more than the universe.

SDR: What is the mission of your church?

BT: We have three words which embody our mission: Grow. Love. Serve. We encourage people to grow in spiritual awareness. We say be love in action — in a relationship. Then we ask people to be in service to the local community of the church and the larger community of the world.

SDR: Where do you go when you die?

BT: One of the things I’ve learned from my exploration from reading spiritual literature and my own meditation is that time doesn’t exist in the linear way we perceive it as human beings. There really is no other time and there really is no other place — there’s only in the absolute sense this oneness. So, in a sense, we don’t go anywhere but we’re a part of that oneness…. And we talk about the law of mind action and how a lot of people are living in hell right now in their lives. So, will they get another chance to live another lifetime or many more lifetimes to advance their consciousness? I would hope so. We don’t believe there is a final ending — that if you’re good you go one way and if you’re bad you go another. It’s an ongoing process — an evolution of the soul.