Quaker Pastor Gregg Koskela came to Friends as a young adult, from various Evangelical Christian denominations. Here are the top 10 things that attracted him to Quakerism.
Resources:
- Subscribe to QuakerSpeak so you never miss a video
- Read Friends Journal to see how other Friends describe the substance of Quaker spirituality
- Learn more about the life and ministry of New England Quakers at NEYM.org
- Find out how Quakers are assisting military personnel stationed in 11 states
- Learn about the rich diversity of Quakers worldwide with FWCC.
- Work for peace with justice with AFSC.
Discussion Questions:
- Gregg Koskela comes at his list from an Evangelical Quaker perspective. Were there any things that surprised you about his list? What resonated with you?
- What would your own top 10 list look like?
Transcript:
I came to Quakers, I came to Friends growing up in a lot of Evangelical Christian denominations and when I showed up at George Fox then College, now University, I began to be exposed to Quakers, and there was a lot of life there that I hadn’t experienced before in other Christian traditions. We all come from our own perspective, so I came from an Evangelical Christian perspective and was introduced to Quakerism and loved it, so my top ten list reflects the things that I loved coming from that environment.
The Top Ten Reasons I Am a Quaker
I’m Gregg Koskela, I’m a Quaker here in Newburg Oregon, and these are my top ten reasons for why I am a Quaker:
Number 10: I’m put off by hierarchy and I’m energized by community. I think what that means is that I really want to be a part of a group of Christ-followers who are taking responsibility themselves to listen to God and to obey God. I want to be part of a community that challenges each other, that engages with each other. I want to be a part of a group because that’s how we do life better. I think that’s the Quaker vision of community.
Number 9: I believe nobody has it all and I believe nobody is a lost cause. What Quakerism has really brought out of me is this recognition there’s nobody who has their stuff all together. It reminds me of my own struggles, my own weaknesses, my own sinfulness. But it always holds on as well that none of that overwhelms us, none of us is a lost cause. God can work in any of us, even pastors.
Number 8: I believe God can and does show up in every human experience, and worshiping with Quakers reminds me that in this moment I can look and expect for God to show up. And not only in this moment, but in the moment I’m gonna have washing my dishes or driving in my car or going about my regular life. I can pay attention to God present. And that’s one of the big reasons I’m drawn to Quakers.
Number 7: Most influential people in my life are Quakers. When I think about the people who’ve affected me, who have changed me for the better, a huge percentage of them are people who are in the Quaker tradition, and that’s one of the reasons it draws me in.
Number 6: Silence speaks to me. I used to be one of those people who thought prayer was about getting your words right before God, and Quakers have helped me understand to listen for that Still Small Voice of God. And I don’t think silence is the only way to hear God, but I cannot imagine or fathom hearing from God without taking regular time to be in silence.
Number 5: I believe every person on the planet can hear God’s voice and can be a part of God’s plan. And this means that I look to work for justice and equality in every human relationship because there are no fundamental differences between us as people, and it means that I am challenged to not have nationalistic blinders on when I look at the world. It means that there is something inside of me that screams against capital punishment or war because all people have value; all people can play a part.
Number 4: I don’t want to be called ‘reverend,’ and as a pastor, I don’t want to be separated from the people with whom I live life, who I live community with. I think that only God should be revered, and I love that that testimony is part of Quakers.
Number 3: I want to be challenged to a life of simplicity and integrity. I want to be challenged to a single-minded focus on obedience to God. And I want to be removed, released, from the endless distractions of stuff. I want my focus to be on Christ.
Number 2: I believe the passionate power of God unleashes faithful, joyful, vibrant followers of Christ. I really want to be a part of being called to radical obedience. Out-of-the-box risk taking, ’cause that’s not part of my personality. I want to be challenged to live out vibrant life with God in ways that I haven’t otherwise done, and I’ve found that worshipping with Quakers helps me do that.
And the number one reason that I choose to be a Quaker is that I want to join Christ in transforming this world, and as Quakers, we believe God is alive and vibrant in every part of this world. Transforming people, working to reconcile creation, restore creation. God is at work breaking systems of injustice. I want God to enliven me. That’s one of the reasons, the best reason, I think, why I choose to name Quakers as my own.
The views expressed in this video are of the speakers and do not necessarily reflect the views of Friends Journal or its collaborators.
Thank you for Quakerspeak. It is a welcome addition to my inbox every week. I particularly enjoyed this week’s top 10 reasons for being a Quaker and resonated with many of his comments.
Terrific. Every Quaker ought to be able to say out loud at least the top THREE reasons they’re Quaker! (Besides potlucks, of course)
Thank you. I am motivated to write my own 10 reasons for believing I can call myself a Quaker. If enough of us do this an interesting pamphlet could be published by Pendle Hill as handouts at our Meetings. Any one out there called to make this happen?
I enjoyed, yes, enjoyed listening to the ten reasons here. I am in quite close in some of these ten, if not most. I so want to believe in the number one reason especially in being a part of God reconciling and restoring creation. I see signs of this happening at Standing Rock and the peaceful protests for keeping the water (the water of life) clean for future generations. I see the signs in the women in Poland and Mexico marching for their rights. I see the Catholic Pope, Pope Francis as one who is also working with a vibrant, transforming , and mindfulness who is walking with our God as a reconciling and restoring presence. God has been speaking to me recently about faith. We all wake up each and every day and walk in faith even if we do not profess a belief in God. God is showing me that all people walk in faith as people and all can be transformed.
Ty, for Quakerspeak, I enjoyed listening to everyone who spoke different experiences. I loved hearing their top ten reasons for being a Quaker. Beautifully done.
I was very moved by this. It was itself an example of the vibrancy and power fulness about which it spoke.
Thank you.
I am not a Quaker. . but am a “Quaker-phile” A friend of Quakers. . I am Lutheran. But, I agree with most of these. If it were not for a love of ritual and liturgy and the communion of friends at my church I would probably become a Quaker. Peace
Gregg, thank you for your testimony! Thank you for following Christ’s leading to become a Quaker, and now my pastor at Newberg Friends. I love you and appreciate you so much. You are a great role model!
Hi Greg,
Your 10 reasons for being a Quaker are a great blue print for every one striving to live lives of authentic discipleship, no matter their denomination. The perennial question is whether we view Quakerism as a “religion” or as a “way of life”. Perhaps it is a mixture of both. Granted, it is a “non-dogmatic” faith, but being rooted in Christianity it comes with a religious/spiritual vocabulary that with a little refinement and nuance can still serve us well. My concern with those meetings that rely heavily on that vocabulary is that they tend toward a degree of homophobia. It would be refreshing to find an explicitly “christian” meeting that doesn’t also regard lgbt persons as part of the “brokenness” of creation that must be “restored in Christ”.
I found Pastor Gregg Koskela’s 10 reasons very similar, almost identical to my reasons for being attracted to Quakerism. The silence, the listening, and the appreciation of the inner light in one and all rather than a reliance on words and rituals are most appealing.
I just listened to a Quaker for the first time. Much of what you said resonated with me. I guess only the question I have is obedience to Christ. I too came from Evangelicalism and managed to taste several different streams in my journey. I have come to recognize my oneness with Christ. Christ in me is my hope of glory. This is my ‘obedience’ or better said, my ‘yieldedness.’ In this case Semantics are important to me. sue