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Do You Hear What I Hear?

Posted On October 26, 2009

Filed under Apostle Paul, Bible, Celtic Christianity, Change Your Life, Children, Christian Living, Christian Meditation, Christian Mission and Calling, Christian Mysticism, Christianity, Contemplation, Contemplative Spirituality, Cosmic Christ, Creation Centered Spirituality, Dao de jing, Discipleship, Discipline of Noticing, Emerging Christianity, God's Love, God's Story, Grace, Holy Spirit, Inner Light, Interspirituality, Issues in Transformation, Jesus, Jesus' Teaching, Meditation, Metaphysical Christianity, Mind of Christ, Mindfulness, Mystical Experience, Mystical Spirituality, Mysticism, Nature Mysticism, Parenting, Personal Renewal, Personal Vision, Renewal of the Mind, Sacred Center, Sacred Silence, Spiritual Disciplines, Spiritual Formation, Spiritual Practices, Spirituality
Tags: Christian Living, Discipleship, Jesus, Jesus' Teaching, Spiritual Disciplines, Spiritual Formation, Spirituality of Children

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L. Dwight Turner

Although many things in the modern world conspire to deafen us to the subtle voice of the Father, rest assured that his voice is indeed there. God calls to us continually, asking us to put down our nets and, like the fishermen disciples of old, come and follow. Jesus tells us in John 6:44 that no one comes to him unless the Father first draws him. What this means in highly practical terms is that we not only have a God, we have a proactive God that seeks relationship with us. Our end of the bargain is to put ourselves into a position of deepening receptivity, so that we might hear his voice more clearly and experience his love more intensely.

There are others who hear God’s voice and respond, accepting his offer of grace, forgiveness, and acceptance into his blessed family. These are generally sincere disciples and are often quite active in their local church fellowship. They also involve themselves in service work and serve the Master to the best of their ability. Yet it is these very people – these sincere followers of the Lord – who, in their heart of hearts, often find themselves asking, “Isn’t there something more to the Christian life? I feel like something is missing. I can’t put my finger on it, but there is a vague emptiness…”

It is to these genuine disciples that the still, small voice comes beckoning in the silence of a sleepless night, or drifting in on the golden leaves of an autumn wind. That irresistible, persistent voice that repeatedly whispers:

Come, follow me….

When we find ourselves in such a situation, we need to recognize that we are both blessed and vulnerable. We are blessed in that the divine source, the creative power that put this awe-inspiring universe together, seeks relationship with us. The incomprehensible intelligence that maintains all that we see and even more remarkably, the mysterious quantum realm that we don’t see, together in harmonious balance desires intimacy with us – intimacy beyond anything we have ever known.

Yes, friend, God calls to us in a gentle voice that only the mystic can truly hear. And in that persistent calling, the Creator invites us to join in the mysterious dance of spiritual transformation. Most amazingly, he is not calling us to go into a monastic hideaway or a hermit’s cave, but to stay put right where we are. And if we stay and we become open and discerning, he will use the mundane events of our daily round as his methodology of instruction. More often than not, God’s classroom is characterized by the pedagogy of the ordinary and it is precisely in the realm of the unremarkable that true divine alchemy occurs. Sue Monk Kidd, a woman who knows this process through personal experience, describes it this way:

It seems to me that Christ continually calls us through the daily events of our lives…In moments like these God stirs the waters of our lives and beckons us beyond where we are to a new dimension of closeness with Him…God desires to transform certain experiences of ours into awakening events. These may be our most common moments, but if we let them they can become doorways to a deeper encounter with Him. Who knows at what moment we may begin to wake up to the astonishing fact that Emmanuel (God with us) is still God’s name, that every moment the Word of God, Jesus Christ, is coming to us.

I know that in my experience, God calls me in ways I never expected. I have discerned his voice in the sacred silence of meditative stillness and his message has often slapped me to my senses as it spoke from the pages of Holy Scripture. I have also learned to be increasingly sensitive to his call as manifest in the choreographic harmony of the natural world and especially when it dances in the eyes of a child.

If you want to validate the existence of this divine presence, forget your test tubes, your state-of-the-art laboratories, and your most advanced computer programs. Instead, go find a child and spend the day with them. Any kid can teach you more about the inner workings of this energy, what the Chinese call the ‘Dao, than an entire university physics faculty.

Children are one of the most spectacular yet subtly sublime gifts God can bestow upon us. God surprised and blessed my wife and I with the birth of Salina in May, 2004. For me, it was particularly surprising as I was 55 at the time. Now I am 60 and Salina celebrated her fifth birthday a few months back. In this past half-decade, I have been given a new perspective on why Jesus told us to be as little children if we wanted to see the kingdom.

Salina has always amazed me with her curiosity, her sense of discovery, and especially her spontaneous wonder and awe as she encounters things new and exciting. Further, she never tires of things that strike her fancy, especially if I do something that she likes but has never really seen before. I am reminded, for example, when I first showed her how to blow bubbles with bubble gum. For me, it was old hat – but for her, this simple act was like seeing a rainbow for the first time or discovering the wonders of ice cream. Whenever I produced a large, pink bubble as if by magic, she would pop it with her hand, laugh in that way that only children can laugh, and say, “Do it again, Daddy; do it again.”

This amazing ability to turn something new into an almost sacred event is, I think, part of that unsullied and untainted aspect of the image of God that we are blessed with in our creation. Moreover, children never seem to tire of monotony, at least until they get a bit older. At those miracle ages of two through five or so, kids just seem to revel in both newness and repetition. I am reminded of the famous words of G.K. Chesterton:

Because children have abounding vitality, because they are in spirit fierce and free, therefore they want things repeated and unchanged. They always say, “Do it again”; and the grown-up person does it again until he is nearly dead. For grown-up people are not strong enough to exult in monotony. But perhaps God is strong enough to exult in monotony. It is possible God says every morning, “Do it again” to the sun; and every evening, “Do it again” to the moon. It may not be automatic necessity to make all daisies appear alike; it may be that God makes every daisy separately, but has never grown tired of making them. It may be that He has the eternal appetite for infancy: for we have sinned and grown old, and our Father is younger than we.”

Sometimes when I sit quietly and open myself to what Chesterton says in these few words and what the Holy Spirit speaks to me when I reflect on them, I am literally stunned into silence; and then I shiver.

Children have not forgotten how to experience our world with a sense of wonder and awe. Noted Jewish philosopher Abraham Heschel, one of my very favorite authors, calls this capacity for reverence in life “radical amazement” and affirms that the spiritual journey cannot be completed until we reattain this inborn spiritual quality. Heschel makes this statement, “The beginning of awe is wonder and the beginning of wisdom is awe.” When I first discovered these words, I pondered on the meaning for weeks and eventually discovered by doing so I totally lost their true import. I have come to see that Heschel is alluding to the fact that true wisdom begins with the experience of awe, and this basic sense of “radical amazement” has its birth in a childlike wonder at the incredible thing we flippantly call “life” ; the unfathomable creation that surrounds us every moment. I will let Heschel say the rest:

The secret of every being is the divine care and concern that are invested in it. Something sacred is at stake in every event…..The meaning of awe is to realize that life takes place under wide horizons, horizons that range beyond the span of an individual life or even the life of a nation, a generation, or an era. Awe enables us to perceive in the world intimations of the divine, to sense in small things the beginning of infinite significance, to sense the ultimate in the common and simple; to feel in the rush of the passing the stillness of the eternal.

Deep in my personal spirit, when it is connected with and animated by the Holy Spirit, I know with certainty that my daughter Salina innately understands this. She cannot articulate it with the eloquence of Heschel but she expresses this sense of radical amazement nonetheless. Every time she giggles when Daddy blows a bubble; every time she sits on the deck and watches birds feeding in the back yard and cows feeding in the field beyond; every time her eyes dance with wonder when she sees a sunset and screams, “Look Daddy, God is smiling,” – I know she gets it just as much as Heschel ever did and just as much as I long to once again.

I am always amazed at how she sees the world in all its glory, the way God intended it to be seen, and responds without any sense of guile or bewilderment. Just yesterday we stopped the car along a rural lane near our home to watch a group of wild geese circle a field, then land in a large pond. My daughter’s eyes grew wide as she saw these birds gracefully glide almost silently on to the surface of the water. She sat there spellbound as she quietly took in this aspect of God’s remarkable world.

My grandfather was in many ways my first spiritual director. Working as a game warden, a career that my father also pursued, he spent most of his time in natural settings and he had this uncanny ability to see the intricate and interconnected patterns that were everywhere to be witnessed if a person only had “eyes to see.” My grandfather often said that it was important to see each new day with what he called “fresh eyes.” A deeply spiritual man, he rarely attended the Baptist Church where my grandmother was an active member. Instead, he often went off into the woods of north Alabama with one of us grandkids in tow, giving us his own version of Sunday School.

I don’t say this to discount the importance of church-going, only to say that, for my grandfather, it was not a high priority. Coming from a family with a long tradition of Quakerism, my grandfather treasured silence and solitude and often told me that my “inner light” could best be seen on a calm lake or pristine mountaintop. According to my grandfather, the best way to rediscover my “fresh eyes” was to go into nature and go into “the sacred silence,” then just notice what was going on around me. Yesterday, as I watched Salina as she “noticed” the geese as they went about their business, I understood deeply that she had “fresh eyes” and that most children possessed this significant talent, at least until they were educated out of it.

I also understood why my grandfather never said I needed to develop fresh eyes; he always said I needed to rediscover them. The childlike perspective of awe and wonder that we all possessed when we were young is still there. Our task, with the divine assistance of the Holy Spirit, is to go through the cognitive clutter we have all accumulated and find it once again.

On the way home I also recalled a passage from a remarkable little book, written by Jeanne Gowen Dennis. The book is entitled, Running Barefoot on Holy Ground and subtitled, Childlike Intimacy With God. A fine and educative book, “Running Barefoot” discusses the notion of having fresh eyes. Let’s listen to the author:

“Why do children notice so many things that adults miss? Maybe being closer to the ground gives them an advantage. Perhaps it’s because they’re discovering the wonders of the world around them for the first, second, or twentieth time, and somehow the novelty has not yet worn off. Unlike most adults, little children also pay attention to details. We are so distracted by our responsibilities that we often miss what is right before us. Perhaps we should take regular walks with toddlers and let them lead us along. Still, we’ll only learn to see through their eyes if we use the time to exercise our sight, not just our bodies.”

Having Salina around has been a blessing in many wonderful ways, but one of the most beneficial spiritual lessons she has brought my way is helping me rediscover my fresh eyes – helping me learn to see again. She has in some magnificent manner taught me the spiritual discipline of “noticing.” For example, there was the time she looked into a clear night sky at a quarter-moon and said, “Look, it’s just like my fingernail,” or the occasion when she sat in wondrous rapture watching three butterflies flitting about on our back deck. As the two of us “noticed” the choreography of their airborne dance, I became aware that I was, for a few brief moments, actually seeing what was going on. It was, in a word, exhilarating.

All of this comes natural to children, but we adults must now somehow train ourselves to be open to the marvels God parades before us on a daily basis. It not only involves “slowing down to smell the roses,” no – it goes much deeper than that. In my experience, I have had to learn to live in my body again; allowing myself enough time to become reacquainted with my five basis senses and perhaps discover a few I didn’t know, or more likely forgot, that I even had. In order to see like a child, I needed to rediscover how to experience life in the pristine clarity of the moment – unsullied by morbid memories or future fears.

I not only needed to learn how to see – I needed to learn how to be.

A good way to begin this process of rediscovery is by learning to pay attention to what is coming in through your senses. Pick on of your senses, say hearing, and go outside and just spend five minutes paying attention to what you hear – the birds chirping in the trees, a distant plane overhead, a passing truck on the Interstate two miles away. Don’t strain to do this; simply allow the sounds to come in and just notice them. Just allow them to be what they are and just allow yourself to just be. I have found it useful to spend about three days on each one of my senses and to keep a journal of my experiences. I record what I noticed and also what prevented me from being present to my surroundings. For me, as well as others I have taught to use this exercise, let the sense of vision be the last one you focus on. I can’t explain why this seems to be the best way to do this, all I can say is, for the majority of people, it works best that way.

In conclusion, let me suggest one other thing that might seem a bit silly to you. You may, in fact, think this is childish. Yet, when you think about it, that’s the whole point, isn’t it. Try doing things the way a young child does them. Experiment with your body and your posture. What do I mean? I’ll close with this quotation, again from Dennis’ book:

“To see as children see, all our senses must be alert. New worlds open up when children exercise their power of sight. They see with fresh eyes – fully, simply, and in intricate detail. Young children experience each new discovery to the fullest, first with their mouths, then with their hands and fingers, and finally with their whole beings. They “see” with all their senses and in every possible position: on their knees, on their stomachs, on their backs, upside down, backward, and sideways. They explore the world with eyes wide open, closed, or squinted; through drinking glasses or cellophane; from inside cabinets, under coffee tables, and even in mirrors.”

If you apply these ideas you may, like my daughter Salina and the great poet William Blake, discover (rediscover) that you “hold infinity in the palm of your hand.”

Pseudo-Repentance: The Pandemic of Superficiality

L. Dwight Turner

Over the past few days the Spirit has graciously led me to see that it all begins with “repentance.” The theme starts early in scripture, is emphasized in Psalms and the Prophets, and the New Testament is loaded with that word – repentance.

John the Baptist screamed it and Jesus’ first mission words recorded included it: Repent, for the Kingdom of Heaven draws near. Can we deny in any way that repentance is the key to the door of the Christian way? I think not.

In its most simple yet accurate definition, repentance is saying yes to Christ. The official definition is something like “to turn, or change direction” and it specifically implies “a change of the mind.” These are basic truths no doubt, but what is it that motivates and causes this process to begin? One thing:

Saying yes to Christ and really meaning it.

When we truly repent, we involve ourselves in the process of “consecration.” We consecrate our minds, hearts, wills, and bodies to God. From what I can gather, true repentance, the kind of repentance that makes a difference in a persons life – the kind of repentance that results in conversion and leads to transformation – is an event that is initiated by God and completed by us. We come to understand what is being offered, what is required, and we either accept the proposal or we reject it.

Yet things are rarely that cut and dry. Like most things involving humans, we tend to cloud even the most crystal clear situations and complicate things needlessly.

As I look at my own history with the faith, coupled with what I see going on in the Body of Christ as a whole, and what I see is something that is a bit puzzling and even more disturbing. Based on my own behavior and that of many others, it would seem that either we never really understood what repentance was all about and made an ill-informed decision, or, worse still, maybe we never really repented.

I can only answer this issue where I am concerned. I think, after honestly looking at my own history with Christianity, that I never truly repented. I never really intended to make the “complete turn” that true repentance calls for. It is hard for me to acknowledge this, but the facts lay bare the reality and truth of what I am saying. My initial repentance was not much more than skin deep and it never, ever, reached the level of my deeper mind and certainly never penetrated my heart. The result was that after a few years of youthful exuberance and activity, things leveled off into a lukewarm routine of going through the motions.

By the grace of God I finally woke up to all of this, but I discovered that it was so easy to repeat the same mistake. When ever I needed to truly repent, I would often think that I had when in actuality, all I had accomplished was to push a particular issue to the back burner for a time, rather than really deal with it.

I think I am not alone in this tendency toward “pseudo-repentance.”

I have also come to believe that part of the problem in all of this is the fact that the church does a generally poor job of letting believers know what repentance is really all about. We become so concerned about getting people “saved” or getting them through the church doors and into a pew that we fail to let new believers in on a central fact of the faith. Although God’s grace is freely given, much is required if you are to become a true disciple.

New and/or prospective converts need to hear the fundamental truth that Christianity is not about getting you into heaven; its about getting heaven into you.

Peter Vardy wrote a great little book entitled, And if it’s True? I am not sure it is even in print anymore. I found my copy of it years ago at a used book store, yet I can safely say it was a book that literally stopped my in my tracks. Vardy speaks clearly about what one has to consider when it comes to taking on this thing called Christianity and coming under the mastership of this being called Jesus Christ. Getting right to the meat of the matter, Vardy says:

Christianity calls each of us to believe and trust in God, a belief and trust based on love. This is not simply a matter of intellectual assent….It is a matter of the truth of Christianity becoming ‘true for you’, as an individual. Only when Christianity becomes true for you so that you are willing to stake your whole life on it, does it really become true in your own case.

Belief that God exists does not come near to what Christianity is about. It is only when the factual truth of Christianity becomes ‘true for us’ so that it becomes the center of our lives around which our whole existence revolves that we, as individuals, can see what Christianity involves….it means each of us coming to understand what it is for Christianity to become ‘true for me’, what Christianity is going to involve when it is taken on board and lived. Once we see and understand this, we then each of us have to decide whether or not we wish to try to live it – but that is our free choice. Until we have understood what is involved, however, we cannot even make the decision.

Christianity requires passion and total commitment – a commitment to a lived love relationship with God. The relationship has practical consequences and these can, to an extent, be foreseen.

‘What does it mean to be a Christian?’ ….The important way of looking at this question, however, is to see it as asking each of us, ‘What does it mean for me to be a Christian?’ This is much, much more uncomfortable and challenging. There is no single right answer – each of us needs to think the answer through for ourselves.

If you find that your walk of faith has not been what you feel it should be, then I would suggest that you spend a bit of time really studying what Vardy has said in this short passage. You may even try to get your hands on a copy of the book as I am sure it can be found somewhere. But be prepared to take an honest, hard appraisal of your walk of faith and also be prepared to practice a bit of brutal honesty with yourself. It may not be the most pleasant exercise you have ever undertaken, but I can say with assurance, for many of you, it will be far from a waste of time.

In fact, it may be life changing in ways you would have never imagined.

Recognizing the Universal Christ

L. Dwight Turner

If we read scripture with both diligence and an open mind, we come to see that we humans were created with a purpose and a holy mission from the Father of Lights. We were to be his representatives here on this earth, to have dominion, and to be the spirit-beings through which God’s kingdom principles were translated from heaven to earth. Just because of the Fall and its effects, nothing has really changed. How can I say that? It is simple, actually.

I can safely say that our mandate has not changed because of the work accomplished by Christ, when according to his calling and his mission, he abandoned his Heavenly Home and took up residence here on this world. Through the successful work of Jesus Christ, God reclaimed all that was lost when humankind was exiled from the Garden and sent “East of Eden.” I have little doubt about the fact that we humans, with our finite understanding, have but a faint – a very faint – awareness of the mysteries involved in Christ’s mission to this world in general, and his work on the cross, his death, and subsequent resurrection and ascension. In the words of the Apostle, we see through a glass darkly. We do know and can take assurance of this cogent reality: What was once lost has now been reclaimed by God and part of that reclamation is the re-establishment of humankind’s dominion rights and authority.

Scripture also reveals to us another reality as a result of Christ’s successful mission to earth. Christ is now not limited by a physical human body, nor is he in any way limited by special dimensions as we understand them. Paul tells us in Ephesians 4: 10 that:

And the same one who descended is the one who ascended higher than all the heavens, so that he might fill the entire universe with himself.

We learn here that Christ exists above all things and within all things. His being is pure love and unbridled compassion and in some very real way in which none of us fully comprehend, his being is like a magnetic force, drawing all things toward himself. I am not saying here that everyone and all things will be saved, but what I am saying is all will be drawn to a point of awareness where they will have a clear choice whether or not to accept Christ’s offer. In essence, Christ is now cosmic and universal in scope and in that universal identity has established an ongoing presence and a continual victory.

This biblical teaching is one of the reason why I don’t respond in a negative fashion when any of my friends who are followers of New Age ideas claim “the universe did this” or “the universe presented me with that.” The biblical teaching is quite clear: Christ is the universe and his presence pervades all that exists.

Christ sacrificed much so that we might once again live in freedom and in intimate fellowship with God. Now Satan is forced to operate underground, or in more subtle ways. One of his strategies, as we have seen, is to convince us that rather than joint heirs with Christ and God’s children of the Light, we are nothing more than sinful worms, with no power or status under God. It is a lie from the pit of Hell.

Your choice, my choice – the choice before every believer is whether or not we will live according to Satan’s lie or Christ’s empowerment. As for me, I choose the latter. I will take possession of my status as God’s representative here on earth.

What say you?

Personal Authenticity and Spiritual Worldview

Posted On August 28, 2009

Filed under Bible, Biblical Worldview, Change Your Life, Christian Living, Christian Mission and Calling, Christianity, Church, Church Renewal, Church and Culture, Compassion, Contemplative Spirituality, Creation Centered Spirituality, Discipleship, Emerging Christianity, God's Kingdom, Grace, Holy Spirit, Identity In Christ, Incarnation, Inner Light, Issues in Transformation, Jesus, Jesus' Teaching, Kingdom of God, Mainline Denominations, Ministry, Mission and Calling, Morality and Values, Mystical Experience, Obedience, Paul's Teachings, Personal Discipline, Personal Growth, Personal Renewal, Renewal of the Mind, Sacred Character, Spiritual Disciplines, Spiritual Formation, Spiritual Practices, Worldview
Tags: Authentic Personhood, Biblical Living, Christian Living, Discipleship, Integrity, Jesus, Jesus' Teaching, Spiritual Formation, Spiritual Values

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L. Dwight Turner

Spiritual transformation is not so much a process of creating a “new you” – but instead, is about becoming the “real you.” As we increasingly grow “in Christ” we are led by the Holy Spirit into a deeper level of self-evaluation and, as the Spirit reveals to us both our strong and weak points, we gain understanding into who we are and why we do what we do. It is sometimes a painful process as we begin to see who and what we are behind the various masks we create. Still, this is a part of the process that we must undergo if we are to become useful vessels in God’s kingdom.

In essence, it is all about becoming a person of “authenticity.” An authentic person is a person who is guileless and consistently exhibits impeccable integrity. If more of us displayed just these traits, an absence of guile and consistent integrity, think of how different life would be. Wouldn’t things be more pleasurable and less taxing emotionally if we consistently dealt with people who are trustworthy and responsible?

You see, that is exactly what would happen if we developed enough authenticity to operate without guile and lack of integrity. We could count on others being worthy of our trust and we could also reasonably expect them to do what they said they were going to do.

Many of you must be thinking that this is both naïve and unrealistic. In the real world where “look out for No. One” is the most fundamental moral principle, to think that people can be trusted or that we can expect them to be responsible is nothing more than pie-in-the-sky idealism. This is certainly a viable response, at least on the surface of things. However, I think we need to take a deeper look.

Think of it like this – if we can never expect people to become better than what the currently are, why bother? The fact is, people can become better, a good deal better. Spiritual growth is not only possible, it is practical and furthermore, we live in a universe that is both evolving and purposeful. As integral parts of that evolving universe, we humans, as a whole, are also subject to what amounts to a universal law: something either grows or it dies. As we look about the created order, we can see this principle at work. The minute something stops growing, it begins the process of disintegration. God created a purposeful world and that purpose is continuing to unfold. As part of that purposeful creation, we, too, must continue to grow.

I am always amazed at those people who contend that spiritual formation and the classical spiritual disciplines of the Christian faith are not “biblical.” The fact is, if we didn’t need to grow spiritually, we wouldn’t need a Bible. Further, the notion that we can do nothing to improve ourselves is, in my mind, the worst form of heresy. Not only does it confuse justification with sanctification, but it also slanders the consistent teaching of Jesus, Paul, and Peter. Moreover, it ignores the biblical fact that Jesus, Peter, Paul, and all the rest – prayed, fasted, meditated, and practiced spiritual disciplines such as solitude, celebration, and especially, selfless service to others.

At the end of the day, the purpose of spiritual transformation is to become more authentic and humankind is in the process, sometimes slowly and certainly with pockets of resistance, becoming more authentic.

If we are to, indeed, become more authentic persons the obvious question becomes, from a spiritual standpoint: How do I become more authentic?

Chances are if you ask this question of a dozen different people, you will get 12 different answers, depending on the spiritual framework or tradition a person identifies with and advocates. Still, I think it is vital that we find at least a few universal principles that will help us answer this important question. Regardless of our spiritual tradition, I tend to think we can begin our journey toward authenticity by laying the proper groundwork and this fundamental task is accomplished through the establishment of moral integrity filtered through a well-thought-out and internalized worldview.

Authentic personhood and its foundational spirituality begin and end with personal morality. As I have expressed in other writings, our own system of personal values and morals should serve as the foundation stone for our lives. For me, this means that I have to have a clearly defined worldview and, as part of that worldview, clarity of vision in terms of what is right and wrong. My personal value system serves as my North Star, guiding my actions and fostering better decision making as well as personal integrity. My personal worldview and its component system of morality serves as a matrix through which not only are decisions made, but also, a filter to determine and evaluate how disciplined I actually am. How consistent am I in terms of keeping my behavior in line with my system of personal morality?

A further connection between personal values and my overall worldview is the ability to judge behaviors, feelings, and thoughts in relation to my worldview. Is a particular action, for example, conducive to living by my code of ethics? Will a particular action or decision move me toward the goals that flow out of my worldview? In this sense, is a specific course of action productive or counter-productive in reaching my goals and manifesting my purpose and vision? In this sense, our worldview becomes the matrix through which we can filter our thoughts, feelings, actions, and the events we encounter in our daily lives.

As we have seen, the presence of an internalized system of values and moral integrity, coupled with and flowing from a well-reasoned, cogent worldview are necessary if we are to mature as authentic persons. All of these things, taken together, are intimately connected with one another and form a kind of “spiritual hologram.” By this I mean that each component, the value system, moral integrity, reasoned worldview, and authentic personhood, contains all the elements of the other components.

Granted, putting together a workable worldview involves dealing with intellectual abstractions, but even these cognitive pursuits have their base in every day living. For it is our worldview that gives our lives meaning, purpose, and direction. Further, it is our worldview that forms the basis for our decision making process. Few things are more “down to earth” than these issues.

Authentic personhood, personal responsibility, trustworthiness, and the other spiritual traits we have discussed all flow from the common source of moral integrity and this foundational integrity is anchored in our worldview. Without a worldview, we have no compass to guide our actions – no North Star to serve as a reference point as we attempt to navigate the uncharted waters of our current cultural drift. Using another analogy, it is like weightlessness. Using the metaphor of gravity, Elisabeth Elliot speaks to the importance of our calling to discipleship:

In space, astronauts experience the misery of having no reference point, no force that draws them to the center. The effort of performing ordinary activities without the help of that pull is often vastly greater than it would be under normal conditions (try pouring a glass of water, eating a sunny-side-up egg, or turning a screwdriver – water will not fall, the egg will not stay on your fork, the screwdriver will not revolve; you will). Where there is no “moral gravity” – that is, no force that draws us to the center – there is spiritual weightlessness. We float on feelings that will carry us where we never meant to go; we bubble with emotional experiences that we often take for spiritual ones; and we are puffed up with pride. Instead of seriousness, there is foolishness. Instead of gravity, flippancy. Sentimentality takes the place of theology. Our reference point will never serve to keep our feet on solid rock, for our reference point, until we answer God’s call, is merely ourselves. We cannot possibly tell which end is up. Paul calls them fools who “…measure themselves by themselves, to find in themselves their own standard of comparison.”

From what we have covered in this article, it should be apparent that we, as both a culture and a spiritual tradition, need more people who exhibit authentic personhood, personal integrity, and purposeful living. In fact, it is around such people that the emerging forms of the Body of Christ must be built. With Christ as the cornerstone and authentic people as the foundation, the church can not only survive – it can come alive and thrive.

Full Service Christianity: A Prophetic Call

Posted On August 19, 2009

Filed under Bible, Bible Study, Biblical Worldview, Change Your Life, Christian Kindness, Christian Living, Christian Mission and Calling, Church Renewal, Compassion, Discipleship, Emerging Christianity, Enthusiasm, Evangelism, Fruit of the Spirit, God's Kingdom, God's Story, Gospel, Grace, Holy Spirit, Identity In Christ, Incarnation, Jesus, Jesus' Teaching, Kingdom of God, Mission and Calling, Missions, Morality and Values, Obedience, Personal Renewal, Positive Faith, Positive Living, Prophecy, Purpose, Revival, Service, Spiritual Disciplines, Spiritual Formation
Tags: Christian Living, Christianity, Discipleship, Incarnational Christianity, Kingdom of God, Mission, Service, Service to Others

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L. Dwight Turner

Imagine for a moment that you are one of Jesus’ twelve disciples and you, your band of rag tag friends, and the Master arrive at the Upper Room after a long, tedious, dusty day going about your business. You sit for a moment to catch your breath and unwind a few moments before you go wash up for the evening meal. You close your eyes for a few minutes, only to feel something or someone taking off your sandals. And to your utter disbelief, kneeling in front of you is the Master Jesus with a basin and a towel.

Never a supporter of lukewarm spirituality, Jesus taught his disciples a clear and concise example of the essence of spirituality: selfless service with a heart of humility. If only more of us, especially those who claim to be followers of Jesus, would take this lesson to heart, our world would have much less pain.

Incarnational Christianity is a faith with a heart of compassion and eyes of discernment, which are able to empathize with those in distress and see a vital need where others see nothing. It is an incarnational Christianity that Jesus described in the 25^th chapter of Matthew, in that moving section where he describes the judgment seat and the separation of the sheep and the goats. As followers of the Master, we should always keep these words inscribed on the tablets of our hearts:

Truly I say to you, to the extent that you did it to one of these brothers of mine, even the least of them, you did it to me. (Matthew 25: 40)

I mention all of this because last night I saw an example of a Christian woman going about the business of being the hands, feet, and heart of Jesus. Her name is Margaret and she is now in her 80’s. Last night, one of the local news programs had a short feature on Margaret and the work she is doing. Unheralded and unknown, this octogenarian is an example of what incarnational faith is all about and is surely what the Apostle Paul called a “living epistle.”

Each Friday and Saturday Margaret does what quite a few folks in this part of the country do: she gets up at the crack of dawn and drives around the area visiting yard sales. Here in the South, yard sales, garage sales, and the like are very common and great bargains can be found, if you know where to look and how to negotiate. Margaret spends about four hours each Friday and Saturday shopping for the best bargains she can find.

The items Margaret buys, however, are not for her.

Instead, this spry lady in her 80’s shops for school supplies, backpacks, and clothing for underprivileged children in the local community. She has been doing this for over 40 years and says she has no intention of stopping. Her efforts are even more remarkable, considering the last two years have not been kind to Margaret. She has watched her husband and two children die slow, agonizing deaths from terminal illnesses.

Margaret’s efforts on behalf of the poor children in her community have gone largely unnoticed, except for the families that receive her help. According to her pastor, even most members of the congregation where she attends church are unaware of her activities.

Margaret is an example of what Christ was talking about when he gave that teaching about “doing it to the least of these.” This elderly lady is an inspiration and a blessing to those honored to know her and she is what incarnational Christianity is all about.

Incarnational Christianity is what James was talking about when he defined religion that was pure and undefiled. What did he say? Something about visiting widows and orphans, I think. Incarnational Christianity is what the prophet Isaiah, centuries before Jesus walked with us in the flesh, describes when he said:

Is this not the fast which I chose,

To loosen the bonds of wickedness,

To undo the bands of the yoke,

And let the oppressed go free

And break every yoke?

Is it not to divide your bread with the hungry,

And bring the homeless poor in the house;

When you see the naked, to cover him;

And not to hide yourself from your own flesh?

Then your light will break out like the dawn,

And your recovery will speedily spring forth;

And your righteousness will go before you;

The glory of the Lord will be your rear guard.

Then you will call, and the Lord will answer;

You will cry, and he will say, “Here I am.”

If you remove the yoke from your midst,

The pointing of the finger, and speaking wickedness,

And if you give yourself to the hungry,

And satisfy the desire of the afflicted,

Then your light will rise in the darkness

And your gloom will become like mid-day.

And the Lord will continually guide you,

And satisfy your desire in scorched places,

And give strength to your bones;

And you will be like a watered garden,

And like a spring of water whose waters do not fail.

And those from among you will rebuild the ancient ruins;

You will raise up the age-old foundations;

And you will be called the repairer of the breach,

The restorer of streets in which to dwell.

(Isa. 58: 6-12 NAS)

As I look around the globe these days, whether it be a few blocks from my home here in Tennessee or halfway around the world in China, where my wife is from, I see one glaring similarity. We need more people like Margaret – people with a heart of compassion and eyes of discernment. We need more people with a proactive commitment to live the teachings of Jesus, rather than pay lip service to the faith by warming a pew with their overly ample rear ends once a week. We need a genuine faith of service and compassion, a faith that is, in the final analysis, obedient to the call of Jesus. Our world and our churches can no longer afford a counterfeit Christianity that blows a lot of hot air about social, hot-button issues while two kids down the street go without breakfast and sleep with rats the size of Dachshunds. At the end of the day, my friends, we need a faith that is authentic. Larry Crabb, in his foreword to Siang-Yang Tan’s excellent book Full Service, makes the following cogent remarks about Christian servanthood:

True servanthood, the opposite of self-serve Christianity, grows out of a human spirit filled with God’s Spirit…..Self-serve Christianity, our pervasive perversion of the real thing, not only accommodates the flesh, it attempts to socialize it with external goodness and then pass it off as spiritual maturity. Beneath so much of what looks like good Christian living is the stubborn attitude that thinks God really exists to serve us. His pleasure isn’t the point. Ours is. And we think there’s a more direct and immediate way to secure our well-being than to live for his glory. Our felt desires now fill the spotlight. Our needs have assumed greater priority than his pleasure.

As I look around the world, including the church, and look into people’s hearts, including mine, I see no worse evil than self-obsession. It’s the root of every other expression of evil…And I see no greater battle in the regenerate human soul than the too often hidden conflict between self-obsession and God-obsession. It shows up in every relationship, every conversation, every sentence. And I believe that the only path to real victory in this fierce battle is to become true servants.

Crabb’s words are perhaps hard to take, but they are true and they are prophetic. And it is this very kind of prophetic voice we in the Body of Christ need now, more than ever. We need to be called back to the important business of the church. We need to be called back to Christian servanthood in the manner and model of the Savior himself. In essence, we need today’s prophetic voices to consistently call us back to our kingdom mission. And what is that mission? The answer is simple, really, and there is no need to complicate it with theological nitpicking or rhetorical cleverness. Why don’t we, following the example of the Master we profess to serve, state our mission just as he did?

The Spirit of the Lord God is upon me,

Because the Lord has anointed me to preach good tidings to the poor.

He has sent me to heal the brokenhearted,

To proclaim liberty to the captives,

And the opening of the prison to those who are bound.

To proclaim the acceptable year of the Lord,

And the day of vengeance of our God;

To comfort all who mourn,

To console those who mourn in Zion,

To give them beauty for ashes,

The oil of joy for mourning,

The garment of praise for the spirit of heaviness;

(Isa. 61: 1-3 NKJV)

One of the most encouraging signs of life in the church is the large number of younger Christians that are embracing a wider social agenda. Whereas issues like family values and pro-life issues remain highly important, these energetic believers have a less myopic view of our society and the long-standing problems that just won’t go away. What we are witnessing, and again it is very encouraging and vivifying for the Church as a whole, is nothing less that a rekindling of the social consciousness of a faith tradition that was born out of the compassion that God felt for his fallen and rebellious creation. I use the word “rekindling” because this tradition of selfless service is nothing new to Christianity. It is, as Michael Gerson said in an article in Newsweek way back in November, 2006:

A politically progressive evangelicalism is not an innovation, it is a revival; not a fresh track in the snow, but a rutted path of American history.

I pray daily for those front-line workers who are on the streets and in the fields, everywhere giving flesh to the compassionate grace that this faith calls them to. May they be blessed in every way as they, like their Master, carry forward the tradition of the towel and the basin.

On Vines, Branches, and the Inner Light

Posted On August 5, 2009

Filed under Apostle Paul, Bible, Buddhism, Celtic Christianity, Change Your Life, Christian Living, Christian Meditation, Christian Mysticism, Contemplation, Contemplative Spirituality, Cosmic Christ, Discipleship, Evangelism, Global Church, God's Kingdom, God's Love, God's Story, Gospel, Grace, Inner Light, Issues in Transformation, Jesus, Jesus' Teaching, Kingdom of God, Mystical Experience, Mystical Spirituality, Mysticism, Paul's Teachings, Personal Discipline, Personal Growth, Personal Renewal, Personal Vision, Quaker Spirituality, Renewal of the Mind, Scripture, Spiritual Disciplines, Spiritual Formation
Tags: Spiritual Growth, Mysticism, Spiritual Formation, Discipleship, Christianity, Christian Meditation, Contemplation

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L. Dwight Turner

Keep watch over your heart, for therein lie the wellsprings of life. [Proverbs 4:23]

Abide in my love….[John 15:9]

For the Christian, these scriptures imply that life is to be lived from the inside out. This is something that cannot be reiterated too often. The wellsprings of life flow from within. Christ calls his followers to tap into the divine source of power residing within. Without this vital connection we can do nothing. It is only by realizing that there exists within us a Divine Light that gives us both life and power that we can begin to accomplish any task that Christ has set before us. If we are to be successful in working with the indwelling Holy Spirit in the process of spiritual transformation, we must have an experiential understanding of the fact that the core of the Christian life involves connecting with the Divine Source, which is the Inner Light.

When this awareness finally dawns in our hearts and minds, we can exclaim along with the apostle John:

See how great a love the Father has bestowed upon us, that we should be called children of God; and such we are. (1 John 3:1 NAS)

What happens when a person begins to abide more consistently in the Light of the Holy Spirit? What sort of changes is wrought in his or her character and what impact does this have on daily life? Thomas Kelly tells us:

They become a holy sanctuary of adoration and of self-oblation, where we are kept in perfect peace, if our minds be stayed on Him who has found us in the inward springs of our life. And in brief intervals of overpowering visitation we are able to carry the sanctuary frame of mind into the world, into its turmoil and its fitfulness, and in a hyperesthesia of the soul, we see all mankind tinged with deeper shadows, and touched with Galilean glories. Powerfully are the springs of our will moved to an abandon of singing love toward God; powerfully are we moved to a new and overcoming love toward time-blinded men and all creation. In this Center of Creation all things are ours, and we are Christ’s and Christ is God’s. We are owned men, ready to run and not be weary and to walk and not faint.

Kelly’s vision of the person abiding in Christ is astounding but not different from what Jesus prayed to the Father in the seventeenth chapter of the Gospel of John. Imagine what it would be like to be touched with Galilean Glories, to be owned men…ready to run and not be weary and to walk and not faint. These truly are the blessings of abiding.

When we abide, truly abide, the living and Word of God becomes a concrete reality in our lives, giving us guidance, comfort and peace. The Living Word becomes a tangible reality, not a distance, broken echo.

When we abide, truly abide, our spiritual life becomes a living organism, not a withering garden. We are grafted to the life-giving vine. Kelly says:

To that divine Life we must cling. In that Current we must bathe. In that abiding yet energizing Center we are all made one, behind and despite the surface differences of our forms and cultures. For the heart of the religious life is in commitment and worship, not in reflection and theory.

And when we become deeply engrafted into the Vine, God speaks to us on all levels, giving direction, comfort, strength and assurance. A.W. Tozer says it well:

He communicates with us through the avenues of our minds, our wills, and our emotions. The continuous and unembarrassed interchange of love and thought between God and the soul of the redeemed man is the throbbing heart of New Testament religion….

So when we sing, ‘Draw me nearer, nearer, blessed Lord,’ we are not thinking of the nearness of place, but of the nearness of relationship. It is for increasing degrees of awareness that we pray, for a more perfect consciousness of the divine Presence. We need never shout across the spaces to an absent God. He is nearer than our own soul, closer than our most secret thoughts.

Isn’t that a wonderful thought? Our intimacy with God deepens and our sense of his presence becomes more consistent and less sporadic. In fostering our ongoing connection with the vine, we come closer and closer to realizing that divine light that shines somewhere in the breast of every believer. Tozer speaks clearly to this theme when he states:

As we begin to focus upon God the things of the spirit will take shape before our inner eyes. Obedience to the word of Christ will bring an inward revelation of the Godhead (John 14:21-23). It will give acute perception enabling us to see God even as is promised to the pure in heart. A new God-consciousness will seize upon us and we shall begin to taste and hear and inwardly feel the God who is our life and our all. There will be seen the constant shining of the light that lighteth every man that cometh into the world. (John 1:9)

Sadly, for many sincere followers of Jesus, the Master’s words about being with us always and about his love for us are little more than arid ideas with little emotional, experiential impact. This is due to the fact that so many times we are distracted by “busyness” and spend little time communing with the light and love that are the first emanations from Christ’s being. The only way to rectify this and turn God’s love for us into a living, life-changing reality is through regular periods of quiet communion. Contemporary spiritual director Jan Johnson speaks clearly to this issue, reminding us of the importance of our times of spiritual refreshing:

One of Jesus’ greatest promises was this: “I am with you always.” (Matthew 28:20), but we may not experience this. Instead, we keep praying, “God be with us.” That’s because we are distracted by life’s thousand demands and by our habit of filling in empty time slots with entertainment. Our mind flashes from one thing to another, always occupied. A weekly visit to church can’t begin to penetrate this busyness. Contemplation reconnects us with God in the midst of this scatterdness. Life pulls me in so many directions – between the demands of my work, my husband’s plans, the kid’s needs…..I may say I am “thirsty for God as the deer is for water,” but at the moment I need to get my hair cut. However, when I pause to contemplate and be with God, I sense that this God who holds the universe together can also hold me together. In the quiet, I recall how God has helped me in the past. Without the clamor of demands around me, I remember that I am one God so loves.

Contemplative practice can be far more than a powerful mode of mystical prayer – it can also be an exercise in healing. This is especially true in relation to psycho-spiritual issues. Jan Johnson discusses a few of the ways in which contemplative practice can help with personal healing:

The simple practice of contemplation creates a bond with God in which God can heal the scatterdness of our lives and these other unhealthy spiritual states you may be experiencing:

Spiritual dryness

Guilt and Shame

Lack of Direction and Purpose

I don’t know about you, but in my life, I can relate to all three of these negative psycho-spiritual states. And, like Sister Jan, I have found that contemplative prayer, in whatever form it might take, can be of immense value.

Evelyn Underhill, that master of the mystic life, vividly described the nature of her prayer life in its more negative aspects:

We mostly spend our lives conjugating three verbs: to want, to have, and to do. Craving, clutching, and fussing, we are kept in perpetual unrest. My jabbering prayers have been full of what I want, what I think I should have, and what I want God to do.

Johnson goes on to describe how our self-absorbed prayers have a tendency to lead us down the road of spiritual anguish and despair. In the end, it results in a sense of hopeless desperation and the irony of it all is that it stems from our own misguided notions of what prayer is to begin with:

Imagining He has let us down, we become estranged from Him. In a culture that teaches us to perform for rewards, prayer becomes one more place of defeat and God is one more disappointment. We may even keep going through the motions spiritually – going to church, helping others – but in our heart we wonder, “If God is good, wouldn’t He give me the good things I want? Because He doesn’t, either God is not good, or I’m hopeless….We come to a dismal place because we misunderstand prayer as a means to have our desires fulfilled instead of a place to encounter the compassionate, all-seeking God.

There are times, those special times when I sink deeply enough into the silence, when I come face to face with my own tendency to not pay close enough attention to what is going on in these “quiet times.” I love the way the writer closes out the paragraph with that stinging juxtaposition about whether we see prayer as a place where we have our desires filled or a venue where we encounter the compassionate, all-seeking God.

In his own marvelous and direct way, Steve Brown shares with us the fact that he, like so many Christians, was well educated about the realm of the spirit, even that quiet center that so many have described over the centuries, but had little personal experience of that quiet abiding.

I was only a tourist describing a country I had never visited. I was convinced that the country was there, I had read the travel brochures, I had worked hard at learning the language of that country. I had even met people who lived there and had listened to everything they said about the country. The problem was that I had become an expert on a country that I had never visited.

Richard Foster opens his classic book Celebration of Discipline by stating that what is needed today is not more gifted people or intelligent people. What is needed today is more deep people. And how to we become deep? We become grafted into the Living Vine. We abide.

Sometimes I think we lose track of how incredible the whole concept and process of prayer is. I know I am guilty as charged. In my work at LifeBrook I once designed a two-day training, not on prayer as many people had asked, but on preparing for prayer. You see, I had come to the point of awareness where I saw that I had not been giving the practice of prayer the place of honor it deserved.

It is hard to express this in words, but I had a personal epiphany around this issue. It dawned on me, in my gut, that when I went into my prayer closet I was coming into the presence of that very being, that inexplicable intelligence responsible for putting together this incredible universe, with all its complexity, diversity, and finely-tuned balance. Friends, it literally took my breath away.

What made this prayer experience so profound for me was the reality that God, the divine being and creator of all that is and ever will be, not only wanted to spend time with me, but he actually loved me. And what is even more amazing was the fact that his love was not static, but instead, was dynamic – a genuine affection that provided me with provision, purpose, and passion for life. As I sat there in silence that blessed morning, the words of the prophet Jeremiah jumped off the page and penetrated my heart in a way both novel and life-changing:

For I know the plans I have for you…They are plans for good and not for disaster, to give you a future and a hope. In those days when you pray, I will listen. If you look for me wholeheartedly, you will find me. I will be found by you…I will end your captivity and restore your fortune. (Jeremiah 29:11-14a)

As I said, this episode literally left me panting for breath, but it didn’t end there. As is my practice, I normally take a book of devotions with me into my prayer sanctuary, just in case the Spirit leads me to open and read, especially if my period of prayer seems do be without direction. I opened the book, a short collection of essays on scriptural themes. It was no coincidence that I opened the book to the page where I had placed book mark, totally at random, prior to beginning this period of prayer. You can imagine what I felt when I began to read these words by Lloyd Ogilvie:

Talk about a conversation opener! Imagine someone you love and admire and whose thoughts and opinions you cherish, saying to you, “You are constantly on my mind. And when I think of you they are wonderful thoughts of peace and future happiness for you. I’m pulling for the very best for you. What a joy it is to be your cheerleader!” I would not be difficult to find time for conversation with a person like that. Multiply the best of human care and concern for us a billion times and you’ve only begun to fathom God’s love for us as He calls us into conversation. That’s the whole point of time alone with God. It is to allow Him the opportunity to love us.

Rather than write more about this, let me issue you a challenge. Over the next week, spend a block of time each day, say 15-30 minutes, during which you reflect on just what prayer is and what it is not. Really spend time with this, keep a small journal of your thoughts, and especially consider just who and what it is you are encountering when you go into prayer.

Don’t approach this as an exercise in intellectual snobbery or any kind of effort at theological description. Instead, let your heart lead you into your response.

Be especially open and sensitive to meeting the incredible being that created all that is, even you, in all its incredible complexity.

If you persist with this exercise over a period of several weeks, I predict your prayer time will be forever transformed. Try it and see.

Spiritual Disciplines: New Wineskins for Ancient Wellsprings

Posted On July 14, 2009

Filed under Bible, Bible Study, Biblical Worldview, Change Your Life, Christian Mission and Calling, Christian Mysticism, Christianity, Church, Church Renewal, Church and Culture, Compassion, Contemplation, Contemplative Spirituality, Cosmic Christ, Creation Centered Spirituality, Discipleship, Emerging Christianity, Global Church, God's Kingdom, Interspirituality, Issues in Transformation, Jesus, Jesus' Teaching, Kingdom of God, Meditation, Metaphysical Christianity, Mind of Christ, Paul's Teachings, Personal Discipline, Personal Growth, Personal Renewal, Positive Faith, Positive Living, Renewal of the Mind, Spiritual Disciplines, Spiritual Formation, Spiritual Practices
Tags: Bible, Christian Living, Christianity, Church Renewal, Discipleship, Faith, Jesus, Jesus' Teaching, Spiritual Disciplines, Spiritual Formation

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L Dwight Turner

Solomon wisely tells us in the Book of Proverbs:

Keep watch over your heart, for therein lie the wellsprings of life

The question that often comes as one reflects on these words of wisdom is simply this: How am I to go about keeping watch over my heart?”

Throughout the history of the faith, one of the primary ways that sincere followers of the Master have gone about keeping watch over the heart, the deepest part of ourselves, is through the practice of spiritual disciplines. Meditation, prayer, sacred study, self-examination, confession, service, worship – all of this classical spiritual traditions have a role to play in helping us become more aware of ourselves and our behavior and, as a result, have withstood the test of time as quality ways in which we can deepen our walk of faith.

As Christians, scripture tells us that we are to increasingly grow into the character of Christ – in other words – become more Christ-like. Left to our own devices, this would be an impossible demand. Tainted by sin and mostly dominated by our lower nature, who among us could generate even a sliver of hope of emulating Jesus in thought, word, and deed?

Fortunately, scripture tells us that we have an omnipotent ally in this process of spiritual formation. The Holy Spirit walks along side of us, giving us strength to offset our weakness, wisdom to overcome our ignorance, and divine love to gradually eradicate our extreme self-centeredness. It is this promise of the Holy Spirit that gives us a reason to proceed down the road of spiritual formation and further, provides us with a legitimate assurance of success.

Still, we cannot fold our arms, lean back, and wait for the Holy Spirit to magically turn us into exact replicas of Christ. Over the centuries countless numbers of Christians have tried this approach with predictable results. Scripture is clear in stating that we have a part to play in the attainment of what we here at LifeBrook call “Sacred Character.” Sacred Character is based on the character and integrity exhibited by Christ during his mission here on earth. By studying the character of Christ, we can gain valuable insight into what it means to live our own lives from the sure foundation of Sacred Character.

As Jesus walked this earth, he revealed the character of God. “He who has seen me has seen the Father,” said Christ and in this statement he revealed a profound truth. Christ was so intimate with the Father that his character and his behavior were perfect reflections of his heavenly parent. Our goal, with the help of the Holy Spirit, is to live in the same intimacy with Christ as he lived with the Father. If you want to gain a deep and abiding perspective on this kind of intimate relationship, I suggest that you prayerfully read through the 17^th Chapter of the Gospel of John.

In order to grow into this type of intimacy with Christ and increasingly manifest Sacred Character in our daily lives, we must engage in certain activities that foster spiritual development in a positive and proven direction. These activities have a long and valuable history in the Christian tradition. Here I am speaking of the classic Christian spiritual disciplines.

In some quarters, sincere believers become edgy just at the mention of spiritual disciplines. Steeped in the theology of God’s unmerited and unlimited grace, these well-meaning Christians believe that pursuing the practice of the classical spiritual disciplines is somehow “salvation through works.” This kind of thinking is both incorrect and unfortunate. It is incorrect in the sense that the spiritual disciplines are not related to salvation or the final destination of one’s soul. Pursuing spiritual disciplines is more concerned with placing ourselves in a position of receptivity to the action of the Holy Spirit in our lives. It is about allowing the Holy Spirit to form us into the image of Christ. Although this spiritual formation is ultimately a work of the Spirit, we are told to do all that we can to assist in the process. As the great Quaker writer Rufus Jones once said,

“The grace of God is like the wind blowing across the Sea of Galilee; if you want to get to the other side, you have to raise your sail.”

The notion that practicing the disciplines is “works” is also highly unfortunate in that this misguided belief has prevented countless Christians from availing themselves of the very thing they need in order to foster the deeper, more effective walk of faith. I am of the belief that the great “faith/works” controversy of the 16^th Century, although beneficial in many ways, gave birth to a trend in Protestant Christianity that resulted in pews filled with believers that were both powerless and confused. This tragic trend continues even today.

As the Body of Christ moves forward in this challenging age, establishing ministries focusing on vibrant, dynamic discipleship is of paramount importance. Unless the church develops consistent ways to grow its members deeper in the faith, it runs the danger of becoming, at best, irrelevant to the contemporary culture, or at worst, dead.

To begin, I think it is critical that we come to understand just what a disciple is. From all evidence, it would seem the church at large has lost touch with a crucial element of its mission – disciple-making. Just prior to his ascension, Christ did not tell his inner circle to “go and make converts.” No, he told them to go and make disciples. It is obvious that constructing a workable definition of a disciple is a high priority. Margaret Campbell gives us a great jump-start:

A disciple of Jesus is a person who has decided to live in attentiveness to Jesus. We live in attentiveness in order to become like Jesus on the inside and, thereby, able to do what Jesus would do on the outside. As maturing disciples we progressively learn to live in attentiveness, adoration, surrender, obedience, and thankfulness to God, and all of this, without ceasing. Through the hidden work of transformation, God writes his good way on our minds and hearts and this is very good. By his grace, our hearts are divinely changed. We are progressively conformed to be like Jesus in mind and will and soul and word and deed. What we say and what we do more consistently reflect the glory and goodness of God.

If that isn’t clear enough, let’s listen to George Barna:

True discipleship is about a lifestyle, not simply about stored up Bible knowledge. Often, churches assume that if people are reading the Bible and attending a small group, then real discipleship is happening. Unfortunately, we found that’s often not the case. Discipleship is about being and reproducing zealots for Christ. Discipleship, in other words, is about passionately pursuing the lifestyle and mission of Jesus Christ.

From these two definitions it should be clear that real discipleship, the kind of Jesus-following that makes a difference in a person’s life and the life of others, involves more than wearing a “What would Jesus Do?” bracelet.

It is apparent, however, that the church lost its focus on the practice of spiritual disciplines over the years. As mentioned in Part One, I think this is one of the unfortunate side effects of the historical “faith/works” controversy. The result has been a general sense of confusion on the part of the Christian community in terms of the spiritual technology available to those who desire a deeper walk of faith.

One of the primary reason today’s church is becoming less of a force in society and even in the lives of those professing to be Christian is the fact that for many years the Body of Christ as a whole had lost the real meaning of the word “disciple.” Dallas Willard speaks directly to this tragedy:

For at least several decades the churches of the Western world have not made discipleship a condition of being a Christian. One is not required to be, or to intend to be, a disciple in order to become a Christian, and one may remain a Christian without any signs of progress toward or in discipleship. Contemporary American churches in particular do not require following Christ in his example, spirit, and teachings as a condition of membership – either of entering into or continuing in fellowship of a denomination or local church. I would be glad to learn of any exception to this claim, but it would only serve to highlight its general validity and make the general rule more glaring. So far as the visible Christian institutions of our day are concerned, discipleship is clearly optional.

This lack of emphasis on discipleship in the contemporary church has led to many unfortunate circumstances, not the least of which is that so many Christians are walking around feeling as wounded, depressed, and hopeless as those outside the faith. That this is so, however, should not be surprising. Christ did not call us to a “country club” religion. In fact, he didn’t call us to religion at all. He called us to relationship and mission. To participate in this life-giving relationship and to fulfill our mission as Christ-followers, we must indeed become just that – Christ-followers. Tragically, few realize that this involves far more than belief in a few arcane doctrines, tossing off an occasional prayer, and being a tithing member of a local congregation. And perhaps nothing is more essential in this challenging age than having an army of true Christ-followers. Willard understands this necessity:

Nothing less than life in the steps of Christ is adequate to the human soul or the needs of our world. Any other offer fails to do justice to the drama of human redemption, deprives the hearer of life’s greatest opportunity, and abandons this present life to the evil powers of this age. The correct perspective is to see following Christ not only as the necessity it is, but as the fulfillment of the highest human possibilities and as life on the highest plane.

The notion that deep discipleship was optional was not a part of the early church. Willard continues:

…there is absolutely nothing in what Jesus himself or his early followers taught that suggest that you can decide just to enjoy forgiveness at Jesus’ expense and have nothing more to do with him.

In Paul’s remarkable prayer to the Ephesians (3:19) he petitions the Lord that “you may be filled with the fullness of God.” Have you ever really reflected on the magnitude of what the Apostle is saying in these few words? Basically, what Paul is asking God is that the believers in Ephesus become like Jesus. Any close examination of scripture reveals that the goal of our development as disciples of Christ is to become Christ-like; in essence, we are to cultivate Sacred Character.

Later on in Ephesians (4:15) Paul goes on to say, “Speaking the truth in love, we must grow up in every way into him who is the head, into Christ.” This statement by Paul should not surprise us. Two verses earlier he flatly that in achieving maturity, we are to attain “the measure of the full stature of Christ.” I don’t know about you, but when I read this statement two things immediately occur within me. First, I am strongly convicted about how far I am from manifesting this kind of maturity in my daily life but, secondly, I am filled with hope that it is at least remotely possible. Paul would have never put it this way, under the leading of the Holy Spirit, unless it was indeed true.

In addition to the church’s general lack of focus on the spiritual disciplines and their strategic necessity in the life of the believer, two other problems seem to complicate the issue and result in either lackluster commitment to practicing the disciplines or, even worse, a general paralysis on the part of Christians when they attempt to make the disciplines a vital part of their walk of faith.

First, even though many churches are now speaking directly to the importance of the spiritual disciplines, it seems that this renewed focus spawns a loud and most often irrational outcry from fundamentalist believers who feel practicing the classical spiritual disciplines is somehow either a “New Age infiltration of the church,” or worse still, “the work of Satan.” This resistance is usually based on the general lack of understanding of what advocates of the spiritual disciplines are trying to accomplish. Writers such as Richard Foster, Dallas Willard, Brian McLaren, and countless others are branded “arch-heretics,” “apostates,” and even “dupes of the enemy.” This is highly unfortunate because nothing could be further from the truth. Instead of leading people away from the truth of the gospel, these authors are, instead, making a compassionate attempt to direct people toward experiencing the very heart of the gospel.

The blather and fear-based banter of these self-appointed doctrinal “watchmen” only serves to confuse sincere Christians even more and many times prevents them from finding the true heart of the gospel message. Even worse, keeps them bound in the chains of a narrow, rigid world view which is devoid of spirituality and arid when it comes to Christian love.

A second problem stems from the fact that the classic spiritual traditions were formulated centuries ago and are often wrapped in language and tone that is quite alien from our 21^st Century world. I know from personal experience that studying the Christian mystics of the Middle Ages is a very fruitful endeavor, but can be quite a challenge due to the archaic language used in the texts. What is needed is a reformulation of the disciplines that is both understandable and engaging to the modern reader.

With this thought in mind, here at LifeBrook we have developed a method of exploring the principles that are contained in the classical spiritual traditions that is hopefully more pertinent and practical when it comes to life in the 21^st Century. In brief, we teach workshops, seminars, training programs, and e-courses based on the following breakout of the disciplines:

Discipline of Consecration

Discipline of Connection

Discipline of Cognition

Discipline of Contribution

Discipline of Community

Discipline of Comprehension

Discipline of Calling

Discipline of Cultural Engagement

Discipline of Cultivation

Consecration includes: decision, determination, diligence, commitment, perseverance, patience, etc.

Connection includes: prayer, meditation, contemplation, solitude, nature

Cognition includes: taking thoughts captive; tearing down strongholds; mindfulness; positive thinking; sacred imagination.

Contribution includes: sacred service; spiritual gifts; mission; sacrifice, and most importantly, continuing incarnation.

Community includes: our family and friends; our church; our community; our nature; our world.

Comprehension includes: sacred study of Scripture and other inspirational writings; understanding of God’s Great Story; realization of where we fit into the “Big Picture,” including the role of the church in the coming years.

Calling includes: discovery of where we, as individuals, fit into God’s unfolding story in terms of our calling, our mission, and our vision of how to live out our God-ordained destiny.

Cultural Engagement includes: making ourselves ready to incarnate God’s plan within the context of post-modern, post-Christian culture in general and our own unique cultural setting in particular.

Cultivation includes: ongoing growth in Christ-character by internalizing a Christian value system and acting in accordance with it; and the development of a Christian worldview, along with the capacity to have our actions consistently flow from said worldview.

We fully recognize that this methodology does not represent the final word as far as contemporary expression of the spiritual disciplines is concerned. We have found, however, that looking at the spiritual technology of the Christian tradition in this way helps students and seekers understand the disciplines more clearly.

It is my profound hope that an increasing number of churches will come to understand the importance of equipping congregants with practical, time-tested methods for deepening the Christian walk of faith. In addition, we here at LifeBrook have helped establish non-denominational, faith-based small groups in several states that are studying and applying the spiritual disciplines as outlined above. These groups, called LifeBrook Fellowships, are providing an ongoing venue in which interested persons may come together and share the Christian journey in a positive, well-organized, and fruitful way.

If you would like information on how to start a LifeBrook Fellowship in your area, please feel free to contact me at:

lifebrook@gmail.com

In Defense of Bishop Spong

L. Dwight Turner

Few names can conjure up negative responses as that of retired Episcopalian Bishop John Shelby Spong. One of the leading advocates of contemporary liberal Christianity, Spong’s ideas have sent more than his share of conservatives and fundamentalists into fits of apoplexy.

Although I find myself disagreeing with some of Spong’s more radical ideas about the faith in general and about Jesus in particular, I find that my reaction to the writings of the good bishop to be less vitriolic. In fact, I find much of what Spong has to say to be both enlightening and highly pertinent. Further, I find Spong to be a man who thoroughly believes what he says and who has a genuine affection for the faith.

It is for these reasons that I encourage those readers who have an open mind to read the works of John Shelby Spong and to give this man a fair shake when it comes to his theology as well as his prescriptions for the church. Personally, I think Spong has much to offer the Body of Christ, if we will just put aside some of the things we have “heard” about him and discover for ourselves what he has to say.

For example, in the passage below Spong discusses how his concept of prayer has changed as he has adopted what he calls a “post-theistic” concept of God. On a personal level, he specifically discusses how his daily two-hour prayer sessions have been transformed into a far wider venue:

As I moved beyond theism to a post-theistic understanding of God, I discovered that my commitment to starting my day with this focused two-hour time slot did not change, but my understanding of what I was doing did – and dramatically. It made perhaps a 180-degree turn. The primary shift came in what I thought the prayer part of my day was. It ceased to be identified with these first two hours each morning and shifted to embrace the balance of the day. My actions, my engagement with people, the facing of concrete issues – all these became for me the real time of prayer. My prayer came to be identified with my living, my loving, my being, my meaning, my confronting, my struggles for justice, my desire to be an agent of the world’s transformation. That is where I met and communed with God. God was no longer found for me in the quiet places of retreat; now God was in the hurly-burly of a busy and sometimes troubling life. God was found not in the stable rocks but in the rushing rapids.

(from A New Christianity for a New World)

I find nothing in these words offensive or heretical. It seems the only folks that find the bulk of Spong’s work to be heresy are those believers, heretics themselves, who hold to the notion that the Bible is the Word of God and worthy of worship. I find bibliolatry to be a particularly vile form of apostasy, and a major cause of division and spiritual paralysis in the church. It is certainly far more deadly than what Spong is talking about.

(to be continued)

Characteristics of a Transformation-Centered Church

L. Dwight Turner

Church leaders must quickly come to the realization that our society has, to a large extent, become post-Christian. Prior to the 1960’s the Church was perhaps the most stabilizing and important institution in America. Christianity constituted, for all practical purposes, our moral compass. This is no longer the case. I won’t belabor this point here, but suffice to say that this state of affairs necessitates a certain reassessment of how the Church goes about its business, especially how it presents the Gospel. We must be creative, finding new and culturally relevant ways to present Jesus to our culture. The old ways just won’t work.

Jesus sets our example. He used parables and examples that his audience could relate to. He spoke of farmers, vineyards, oxen, and a host of images that his peasant listeners could relate to. Now, we must do the same. Creativity and cultural relevance in our gospel presentation is essential.

Perhaps even more striking is the imperative need for the church to become a “disciple-making” entity, geared toward equipping its members to walk with the Master in ever deepening ways.

The Protestant Church as a whole has been woefully inadequate in providing its constituents with workable plans and methodologies for positive change in their lives. It seems that, once a person is converted, efforts to discipline that person is aimed at the most superficial denominator possible. In our current social milieu, although there are many who are quite comfortable to punch their ticket to the Pearly Gates but balk at deeper discipleship, there are countless others clamoring for a real taste of the Living Waters of which Christ spoke.

It is incumbent upon the Church to rediscover its rich tradition of spiritual formation and make that a centerpiece and a calling card. In short, we must present to the world a living, vibrant Christianity that is transformative, a faith that gives substance to people’s hope for positive change.Marcus Borg envisions a Christian faith that is transformation centered rather than belief centered. Its focus is on practical ways of “living the Way” as opposed to belief. In my own view, the belief centered paradigm has been much of the problem with the church for centuries and I couldn’t agree more with what Borg has to say regarding the need for a more practical, transformation-centered approach.

Borg’s vision of a transformation centered church is outlined in the following notes, taken from his essay “An Emerging Christian Way.”

Borg sees this new paradigm as impacting the church in six major areas:

Adult re-education

Christian practices

Compassion and a passion for justice

Political consciousness

Living deeply into the Bible and the Christian Tradition

Commitment and intentionality

Adult Re-education

First, it would be a community of adult re-education. This is a major need in our time, simply because so many of us learned a vision of Christianity that stopped making persuasive and compelling sense to us. The re-education needs to be about the “big” topics: God, the Bible, Jesus, faith, prayer, and so forth. This can be done through adult education classes, of course. But it can also be done through reading groups in which participants commit themselves to read and discuss relevant books together. Such groups do not require expert theological leadership, but simply somebody who knows how to facilitate a group well.

Christian Practices

Second, the transformation-centered church would be a community that teaches Christian practices. In many cases, this would constitute a reintroduction of the spiritual disciplines and practices that have been a vital, change-producing aspect of the church throughout its history. It is practice that takes us beyond sterile belief and into the realm of experience. Borg says it clearly:

Practice is the means whereby Christianity moves from being about beliefs to being a way of transformation. Practice changes us. The single most important personal practice is prayer in both of its classic forms: verbal prayer and the prayer of internal silence……The single most important corporate practice is worship. Though worship is of God, it is for us. Its purpose is to nourish us by drawing us out of ourselves, opening us up, forming and informing us.

Compassion and a passion for justice

According to Borg, compassion and a passion for justice are the central ethical themes of the Bible. He then makes the point that justice is the social form of compassion and that compassion is the “soul of justice.” Borg goes on to say that a transformation-centered church:

Moves toward inclusion

Practices charity

Advocates justice and peace

I would also add that as followers of Jesus, we have our mandate and our marching orders when it comes to compassion and the pursuit of justice. All we have to do is look at how the Master went about his business.

Jesus Christ was not a man of compassion; he was a man of radical compassion. From his voluntary mission to this broken world, to his mysterious ascension back into the heavenly realm, there was no theme he stressed more in both word and deed. From his opening salvo quoting Isaiah about bringing release to the captives and good news to the poor, to his dying plea of, “Father, forgive them for they know not what they do,” Jesus exemplified a compassion far beyond what the world had seen before. Indeed, it was and is a radical compassion.

Jesus’ stories about the Prodigal, the Good Samaritan, and his treatment of the woman caught in adultery all point to the need for a compassion that transcends the normal boundaries defined by contemporary culture, then and now. Indeed, it was and is a radical compassion.

Political Consciousness

I am the first person to admit that since the fusion of the Evangelical Christians and the Republican Party, I am now gun shy when it comes to mixing politics and religion. I have discussed this at length in other venues, so I won’t elaborate on it here. Suffice to say the I am of the educated opinion that this joining at the hip of conservative religion and conservative politics has done more damage to the Christian faith than just about anything I can think of.

Still, Borg is correct in stating that the transformation-centered church should take political consciousness-raising quite seriously. The form I would envision this taking is re-introducing people to the themes of biblical compassion and justice, as well as helping people understand how economic and political systems impact people, especially the poor and otherwise marginalized.

Living deeply into the Bible and the Christian tradition

Although tradition is not held in high regard in postmodern culture, Borg makes the point that it is important that the transformation-centered church does not make the mistake of jettisoning its rich history. Granted, there are things in Christianity’s past that are best forgotten. However, there are many other deep and meaningful aspects of the church’s tradition that can help feed a seeker’s spiritual hunger.

Borg also makes the point that most of us were raised in the Judeo-Christian cultural milieu and, even if we did not come of age in deeply Christian homes, we grew up with the images and language of the faith all around us. To a large extent, even though the Christian faith has become increasingly marginalized in western culture, these imagistic and linguistic factors continue to echo throughout our society.

On a personal note, I can also share something I noticed during the five years I lived in Mainland China. Although great efforts had been made to reconstruct and repair much of the damage caused by the Cultural Revolution, numerous temples and other religious shrines in China were gone forever. One of Mao’s strongest exhortations to his young followers during those turbulent years centered on the evils of the past and tradition. The Red Guards and others were encouraged to vandalize and destroy much of China’s rich cultural heritage. What I noticed was that any culture that has been robbed of its tradition is a culture that has lost something vital and irreplaceable.

Commitment and Intentionality

Here Borg defines the intentionality as the desire to have a transforming relationship with God as revealed in Jesus and the commitment is to the concomitant path of transformation.

Much of the superficiality and lack of spiritual power evident in the Body of Christ over the past four centuries can be traced to the misguided priority given to the necessity of “right belief.” Intellectual adherence to a prescribed set of doctrinal positions has become the defining characteristic of Protestant Christianity. The results are predictable. We ended up with a church universal that has, for the large part, been ineffective in changing people’s lives for the better. The reason is simple: beliefs alone do not change people, especially when belief itself is defined as adherence to doctrine. Doctrine never saved anyone and it surely never transformed anyone. Borg discusses the emerging church’s take of the word “believe:”

The emerging paradigm recovers the pre-modern Christian understanding of believing. For it, the question “Do you believe in God as known in Jesus?” has two primary meanings. “Do you trust in God as known in Jesus?” And, “Are you loyal to God as known in Jesus?” It is trust and loyalty that transform us. Beliefs may precede them or follow them or remain quite unconnected to them. But beliefs do not save us, do not transform us. Trust and loyalty do.

Personally, I find Borg’s take on all this both refreshing and inspirational. It is rare for either of these elements of the Christian tradition to be discussed from the pulpit in the modern church, particularly in evangelical circles. Perhaps it is time for these transformative themes to once again take precedent over the anemic practice of belief in correct doctrine. Perhaps then we might begin to see a vital church in which people’s lives are actually transformed according to the vision and the principles taught by Jesus.

When you think about it, trust and loyalty point to two critical elements that are at the heart of the Christian tradition. I’m talking about faithfulness and fidelity. In essence, these two concepts speak to the same issue, having faith in God and being faithful to God. In order for us to progress on the Christian path, we must be loyal to it, even when the going gets rough or doubt sets in. In this faithfulness, this fidelity of the spirit, we are able to dig much deeper in search of living waters. Rather than flitting about from path to path, tradition to tradition, teaching to teaching – we stay put out of trust and loyalty. We then are able to dig one hole fifty feet deep, rather than fifty one-foot holes.

Churches are notorious for resisting change, especially those churches that have been around awhile and have aging congregations. Yet change is essential if the church is to survive. Moreover, if it is to thrive, then in many cases radical change is called for. This process of change within a congregation is never easy and sometimes causes rifts and splits that are never healed. However, when a church is able to adopt an open mind and an attitude of flexibility, the possibilities of a bright and exciting future are great. Gordon MacDonald has written an excellent book dealing with these issues. The book, entitled Who Stole My Church, is written in a personal, narrative style and is highly recommended.

Diana Butler Bass, in her fine book Christianity for the Rest of Us, also discusses this subject of the church and change. Bass makes the following cogent observation:

Some Christians today fear cultural change, opting instead to make pronouncements about a God who is “the same yesterday, today, and forever” and insist that they alone know the way to and the mind of God. Christianity, they say, is not about change. Christianity is old time religion. They build churches to protect people from change, often in anonymous, suburban, gated spiritual communities, where they recreate a vision of some cherished Christian past. They venture out into the world to try and force the rest of us back into the perfect world of their fathers.

Bass goes on to say that such a view of the Christian faith flies counter to that revealed by Jesus in the New Testament:

…Jesus insists that every person he meets do something and change. The whole message of the Christian scripture is based in the idea of metatonia, the change of heart that happens when we meet God face-to-face. Even a cursory knowledge of history reveals that Christianity is a religion about change.

The exact scope and shape this change will ultimately take is impossible to predict. The vision of the transformation-centered church as described by Marcus Borg is but one possible picture, albeit a vital and impressive one. As already stated, it is hard to predict exactly what form the church will morph into, except to say that it is doubtful that their will be any unified version. Chances are, as we move through these transitional but formative times, we will see a plethora of new wineskins, some good and some not so good.

Spiritual Disciplines: The Value of Receptivity

L. Dwight Turner

If we ever hope to grow into the fullness of Christ as Paul promised we could, we not only have to imitate Christ. Although the “What Would Jesus Do?” teaching was both admirable and beneficial, it did not go to the core of the issue. If we want to manifest the character, the mind, and the heart of Jesus, we have to live as he lived. This means, among other things, that we have to practice the spiritual disciplines of our faith.

I am always fascinated by those folks who are threatened by the spiritual disciplines and especially those writers and teachers who warn us against practicing the disciplines. These folks go so far as to infer that the practice of spiritual disciplines is at best unscriptural and at worst, from the bowels of hell.

Nothing could be farther from the truth.

I don’t know what scriptures these teachers are reading from, but it surely isn’t the Bible and certainly not the four Gospels. Time after time we read accounts of Jesus going off in solitude to pray and engage in fasting. His consistent use of scriptural references tells us clearly that he engaged in the practice of sacred study. And in one of the most telling passages, Jesus went off alone and prayed all night long. The most telling aspect of this passage is the fact that Jesus did this before choosing the twelve apostles.

I can think of no other way to put it: to state that Jesus did not practice spiritual disciplines is sheer lunacy.

The classical spiritual disciplines of the Christian faith have been practiced for centuries, starting with Christ himself and carrying forward throughout the Church’s history. These disciplines do not “save us” in the sense of justifying us before a Holy God or granting us brownie points for spiritual behavior. As Paul clearly tells us, it is God’s grace that saves us and, logically extended, it is God’s grace and the power of the Holy Spirit that ultimately sanctifies us and helps us lead more holy lives. Does that mean there is nothing left for us to do? Hardly! Paul tells us to “work out our salvation with trembling” and James states in a most straightforward manner that “faith without works is dead.” There is plenty left for us to do and that is where the spiritual disciplines come in.

My experience has been that practicing the spiritual disciplines has helped me to accomplish several important milestones in my walk of faith. First, as their name implies, the spiritual disciplines have helped me to become a more disciplined person. By practicing the spiritual disciplines, especially prayer, contemplation, meditation, solitude, and Bible study, I have become a more steadfast follower of Christ. Second, practicing the disciplines have helped me reduce and even eliminate some of the major strongholds of resistance I have to leading a spiritual life. Let’s face facts: following the teachings of Christ is not something you or I come to naturally. Due to our inherent nature of “flesh,” we are not so inclined to set aside times for communion with God through studying scripture or engaging in practices like prayer, meditation, and solitude. To the contrary, for many of us it seems almost second nature to avoid getting to close to God. Instead, we tend to either ignore him or do whatever we can to minimize our moments of divine contact.

Thirdly, and I find this to be the most beneficial aspect of the practice of the disciplines, by engaging in these sacred practices I am brought to a place of receptivity to God’s presence and action in my life. Yes, it is God’s grace toward me and the work of the Holy Spirit that brings about desired change in my life. However, if my hands are not empty, I cannot receive this gift of grace and Spirit. By this I mean that I must be in a space of receptivity in order to receive. It is precisely the practice of the spiritual disciplines that brings this about.

I am reminded of the biblical characters Zacchaeus and Bartimaeus, two individuals who seemed to understand that Jesus was no ordinary person and went to great lengths to place themselves in a position to receive whatever it was that he might have to offer. Scripture tells us that Zacchaeus would never have been drafted by an NBA team as a potential center. A very short man, Zacchaeus had to shimmy up a tree right in Jesus’ path in order to even get a glimpse of the great rabbi. The tax collector ended up getting more than he bargained for. Jesus saw Zacchaeus perched up on the limb of the tree and called him by name. Not only that, he summoned the short little man down from his perch and to Zacchaeus’ astonishment, said, “Guess who’s coming to dinner?”

If Zacchaeus had not placed himself in a position of receptivity, chances are the story would have unfolded in a much different manner.

Bartimaeus also had a divine encounter with Jesus by making himself available. As Luke 18: 35-43 unfolds, we learn that Bartimaeus is a blind beggar sitting on a roadside near Jericho. While sitting there begging, he hears a distant commotion that steadily grows louder and louder. When he asked those standing around him, a sizable crowd by now, what was going on they informed his that Jesus of Nazareth and his disciples were approaching.

Blind but not deaf, Bartimaeus had no doubt heard of the miracle working itinerant rabbi and immediately wanted to make sure he could somehow get to the great teacher before he passed by.

“Jesus, Son of David, have mercy upon me,” came the cry from Bartimaeus’ heart.

Those gathered around as well as those leading the procession, most likely some of the big wigs from Jericho, told Bartimaeus to pipe down and keep quiet.

Undeterred, the blind beggar shouted even louder.

“Jesus, Son of David, have mercy upon me.”

Indignant, those around the social outcast told him even more strongly to shut up or else. Not wanting to offend the rabbi, chances are they might have even roughed the beggar up a little.

Jesus, however, stopped and to everyone’s astonishment I’m sure, asked Bartimaeus what he wanted. Bartimaeus by this time had removed his cloak and headed toward Jesus, who promptly healed him on the spot.

As far as I am concerned, the removal of the coat is a significant aspect of the encounter between the blind beggar and the Son of God. Bartimaeus, indeed, made himself available – receptive – in a position to receive the gift of healing from Christ. The removal of his coat implies a taking off of impediments that may block the flow of blessings from the Lord. It is the consistent practice of the classical spiritual traditions that assists in melting away those things that stand in the way of our more intimate contact with the Lord.

Countless numbers of sincere Christians desire just that: a more intimate contact with God. Recognizing that something deeper must be available in the Christian journey, these seekers are a bit different from those spiritual aspirants one might find in some of the more occult or New Age groups. Although those seeking the Light through these various paths are many times sincere enough, they are not sure exactly what it is they are trying to find. Conversely, many of the Christ-followers I encounter either at LifeBrook or at various churches are quite clear about their spiritual goal: they want to establish a deeper, abiding relationship with the Divine Source – God.

Granted, there are many other Christians who are not so much interested in discipleship in general and the deeper, more abiding realties that can only be found through practicing a disciplined life. These believers figure they have had their ticket to heaven punched and that is all that really matters to them. Quite satisfied to maintain the appearance of spirituality, these folks warm the pews with their backsides while their spiritual hearts grow increasingly cold. As the light placed in them by God at their conversion fades to a predictable dimness, they are unable to articulate even the most rudimentary knowledge of the contents of their faith. They can, however, bring one heck of a casserole to the Wednesday night potluck.

In addition to these two types of believers, those who want something deeper and more transformative and those who are content to maintain a cosmetic Christianity, there is a third type we need to briefly examine. In this case, these Christians perhaps want something of more genuine substance in their walk with Christ, but they have rarely expended much spiritual energy in pursuit of authentic spiritual formation. They may have had a number of surface experiences, but have never gone far beyond that. Content to splash about the wading pool of Christian discipleship, these folks usually won’t even put on a snorkel. Noted expert on the spiritual disciplines Donald S. Whitney paints a vivid portrait of the spiritual lives of these believers:

So many professing Christians are so spiritually undisciplined that they seem to have little fruit and power in their lives. I’ve seen men and women who discipline themselves for the purpose of excelling in their profession discipline themselves very little “for the purpose of godliness.” I’ve seen Christians who are faithful to the church of God, who frequently demonstrate genuine enthusiasm for the things of God, and who dearly love the Word of God, trivialize their effectiveness of the Kingdom of God through lack of discipline. Spiritually they are a mile wide and an inch deep. They are no deep, time-worn channels of communing discipline between them and God. They have dabbled in everything but disciplined themselves in nothing.

I hold the firm conviction that the Holy Spirit works through the spiritual disciplines in ways that are profound and transformative. The Spirit uses these classical spiritual exercises as a sort of matrix through which he can do his deeper and more intimate work. Therefore, it behooves us as true disciples to make it a point to not only become acquainted with these disciplines of grace, but to make them an integral part of our daily walk of faith.

WellSprings and WineSkins

Do You Hear What I Hear?

Pseudo-Repentance: The Pandemic of Superficiality

Recognizing the Universal Christ

Personal Authenticity and Spiritual Worldview

Full Service Christianity: A Prophetic Call

On Vines, Branches, and the Inner Light

Spiritual Disciplines: New Wineskins for Ancient Wellsprings

In Defense of Bishop Spong

Characteristics of a Transformation-Centered Church

Spiritual Disciplines: The Value of Receptivity

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