 |
| Pala di Sant Agostino |
Last week I had coffee with a mega-church pastor whose
congregation numbers well above 10,000 members.
It’s an impressive operation equipped with escalators, elevators and
espresso. Half-way through our
conversation I asked him, “how do you all make disciples”? His honesty was as refreshing as it was
terrifying. “We don’t, we've completely missed the boat”, he said. “It is the single greatest failure in our
attempts at mega-ministry.” Upwards of
15,000 people come in and out of his doors each Sunday, and to his credit, he
realizes their failure to develop disciples.
Sadly, modern American spiritual formation, or discipleship, tends to
consist of large-scale programs and gatherings, where individuals come together
for the greatest show on earth. We wow
them with lights, sound and visuals, and move them to tears with our carefully
orchestrated song service. And, week
after week, our “revolving door” spirituality fails to touch the significant
depths of the soul. Our congregants long for something more than an opening
ceremony of spirituality. They want lasting change, but where do we
start? Developing and implementing a
philosophy of discipleship does not happen through programs or education alone,
it involves an intentional, holistic view of formation that understands the complexity
of the human person. It involves seeing
the world the way God sees it, and acting in that world the way God acts. It is living in the place where “to do what
God wishes is our pleasure and desire”[1]
as we bend our will and passions into alignment with His. In short, it is our journey toward
wholeness.
Christian discipleship is the way we express a living faith
in the real world. It is the sum total
of our attitudes, beliefs, practices and actions. Christian spiritual formation
is the life-long pursuit of the imitation of Christ. What makes this so difficult is our natural
self, which seeks to fulfill our own desires and our own will. Spiritual formation is thus the process of
bringing our “unruly wills and affections” into right alignment with Christ’s. In so doing, we restore our mind, heart and
soul into right relationship with God. Learning, being and doing form the foundation
for our spiritual pursuit of God. And,
according to Lesslie Newbigin,
“One does not learn
anything except by believing something, and -- conversely -- if one doubts
everything one learns nothing. On the other hand, believing everything
uncritically is the road to disaster. The faculty of doubt is essential. But as
I have argued, rational doubt always rests on faith and not vice versa. The
relationship between the two cannot be reversed. ”[2]
 |
| Henry VII's Chape at Westminster |
Yet, spiritual formation isn’t just about what we know; it
is about what we love, what we do and how we relate to the world. Sadly, our post-Enlightened schools and
churches have seen the human person as primarily ‘thinking things’ and not
‘feeling’ and ‘loving things’. Therefore, spiritual formation and discipleship
have been more about ‘thinking the right things’ than creating a holistic
approach acknowledging the human person as lovers and feelers as well.[3] Effective spiritual formation deconstructs
the Cartesian cognitive model and replaces it with a holistic approach to
discipleship. Discipleship and spiritual formation are less about erecting an
edifice of knowledge than they are a matter of developing a Christian know-how
that intuitively understands the world in light of the Gospel. Yes, we are formed by what we think, but we
are also formed by what we love and how we act.[4] Proper spiritual formation returns us to the
pre-modern faith-based paradigm which views the human person as a thinking,
feeling, believing and loving creature shaped not just by information, but by liturgy,
practices and ritual. To be human is to
love, to desire, to know, to believe and to do.
Lasting discipleship consists of forming our humanity so that our
precognitive selves can find the proper end for which we were made. As Augustine reminds us, “You have made us for yourself, and our
hearts are restless until they rest in you".
The goal of Christian spiritual formation is the knowledge,
love and imitation of Christ. “I have
been crucified with Christ and I no longer live, but Christ lives in me”
(Galatians 2: 20). This life in Christ
is best achieved within the context of a diverse confessing community, public
worship, the Sacraments, Biblical scholarship and the spiritual disciplines of
prayer, study and service.
Community is therefore the sin qua non of a distinctly
Christian understanding of the world and our place in it. In fact, our place in it is with others,
doing life together. This foundation for
life is modeled by God himself, who has lived in community from eternity as
Father, Son and Holy Spirit. God as
Trinity is the core reality of the universe, meaning that community is the
primacy of humanity. Our life in Christ
only makes sense as a shared journey of togetherness toward the likeness of His
image.
Liturgy or public worship is a second qualifier within the
formative process. The centrality of
worship is integral to the task of spiritual formation. And, at the heart of worship are the
Sacraments, those tradition laden acts passed down for centuries by the church,
interpreted in various ways by sundry congregants. Sacramental worship, for all ages, roots us
in the habits of the disciple, which when done over and again, constitute an
almost second nature. “Our habits
incline us to act in certain ways without having to kick into a mode of reflection”.[5] For many of us, our spiritual journey started
at the baptismal font, recalibrating our lives as we died to sin and took on
the new self through the indwelling of the Holy Spirit. However, in terms of spiritual formation, baptism
has a dual role. Beyond a public
declaration of faith performed once and forever there after considered
accomplished, baptism also “provides an
orientation to ourselves, our world and our God that must be appropriated day
after day”.[6] The baptismal rite confers upon us certain
spiritual gifts that allow us to become more and more like Christ while
confirming our place in the Christian community by helping to remind us that
our true identify is found in the suffering savior. Baptism then acts to sustain our spiritual
formation, becoming “the daily garment
which the disciple is to wear all the time…every day suppressing the old person
and growing up in the new”.[7] Finally, baptism directs our attention to our
responsibility to one another in community as we confirm over and again our
shared role in the shaping and equipping of the saints.
Eucharist, or Holy Communion, is a second sacramental act
that sculpts us into the image of Christ.
If baptism begins our journey, Eucharist provides the nourishment for
the road ahead. The bread and wine
confirm Christ’s new covenant within us while continually requiring the
remembrance of his death and resurrection.
More importantly, at this alter we encounter the risen Lord. The layers of profound depth and meaning
birthed in this little solitary act are hard to describe. In breaking the bread and drinking the wine,
we actively express our belief in Christ’s historical redemptive act on the
cross, while allowing us to taste his sorrow and bear witness to His risen
reality. Jesus’ real presence here enables us to recognize Him in the face of
the hungry, in the hands of the broken and the feet of the needy. Our action of welcoming Him here, empower us
to love Him more out there.
Common and private prayers are yet another formative
action. At home, at church and within
our small groups, we join the human chorus of praise directed toward our
God. Our common prayers remind us over
and again that this thing called spirituality isn’t just about me and God. It is as much about me and my wife, my
neighbor, my kids and my enemies as it is about my relation to the
Almighty. We must divest ourselves of
the notion that just because our prayer lives are personal, they must also be
private. “Community prayer is meant to bind us to one another and to broaden our
vision of the needs of the world and to give us models to steer by and friends
to uphold us and encourage us and enable us to go on”.[8] Prayer, when used as a communal practice, is
integral for spiritual formation. The
Lord’s Prayer alone is a prayer of and for community. ‘Our’ father; give ‘Us’ ‘Our’ daily bread;
forgive ‘Us’ as ‘We’ forgive
‘Others’. Common prayer,
especially in a small group setting, is a powerful tool for spiritual
transformation.
One final aspect of ‘doing’, which shapes us spiritually, is
service. Our example is Christ the Lord,
who came not to be served, but to serve.
All the books, all the sermons and all the prayers combined cannot
change our stubborn hearts like one humble act of service. It is here, serving the least of these when
our hands and feet become His. Our
service in His coming kingdom is not only the public proclamation that a new
order is dawning; it is the bodily reminder that to be fully human, we must give
our lives for others’ sake.
Beyond these traditions, practices and pursuits, I’m quite
certain there isn’t a formula for making disciples. If there was, the church would have figured
it out by now. Due to our proclivity
toward sin and self-reliance, it’s an arduous, life-long journey to put the old
self to death and take on the fullness of Christ. Thankfully, Jesus left a helper, the Holy
Spirit to guide our thoughts, hearts, actions and desires as we seek to become
more and more like the Nazarene.
 |
| Just a cool picture of a boat |
[1]
DeSilva, David. Sacramental Life: Spiritual Formation Through the Book of
Common Prayer.
[2]
Newbigin,Lesslie. The Gospel in a Pluralistic Society.
[3]
Smith, James K.A. Desiring the Kingdom.
[4]
Ibid.
[5]
Ibid.
[6]
Desilva, Sacramental Life.
[7]
Luther, Martin. The Large Catechism.
[8]
Chittister, Joan. Wisdom Distilled From the Daily: Living the Rule of St.
Benedict Today.
No comments:
Post a Comment