SPIRITUAL FORMATION: A HELPFUL CORRECTIVE?

Cultivate Practices in Communities

It always gives me a jolt, when pastors, after ministering in a church for 5,10, 15 years, are suddenly confronted by some terrible flaw in their ministry, and are completely surprised by it. It could be that the pastor is revealed as a bully or an abusive leader. It could be that his or her preaching is really bad. Maybe the pastor never visited a sick person in the hospital, assuming it was not their gift or their role. People get upset. 5 to 10 people finally choose a moment to confront the pastor about this problem in their leadership. They are sideswiped. A conflict breaks out. The elders want to hire another pastor, and the pastor leaves destroyed, often leaving a trail of destruction behind.

That pastor, it turns out, was committed to spiritual formation. (S)he had great walks with the Lord. Took a spiritual retreat twice a year, prayed the hours, took Sabbaths, read Scripture prayerfully. But somehow he or she missed what was going on all around him/her. He/she was under the illusion everything was going great. But it wasn’t. And now his/her entire sense of self is wiped out.

An extreme case? Maybe. But I’ve seen this pastor-congregation episode happen far too often to be an outlier. And to me, it is a metaphor for what happens when spiritual formation is isolated to one’s individual self. Where were the social spaces of being among persons, friends, comrades in mission, where truth in love, hard words could be said and heard? Where were the places of conflict where we learn to listen and see each other more clearly. Where were the places of growth and discipleship among a live body of Christ where the pastor and friends can learn and grow in places of weakness? Where were these spaces around a table, eating together, sharing life, where trust, invitation, permission grows to say the things we all need to hear about ourselves, but can’t see on our own, in our prayer closets, or on our silent retreats.

I get why this doesn’t happen for pastors. Pastors (and Christians in general) have reasons not to be vulnerable with other church persons. This is one of the drivers within evangelicalism behind spiritual formation devolving into individual practices, which then devolve into the three problems I described in this previous post. But there are some correctives that are historic, Biblical and practical. And it starts with cultivating the spiritual disciplines in social spaces. So here goes, I propose the following.

Faithful Presence

I view my own book, Faithful Presence from 2016, as a theological primer in Christian spiritual formation. It focuses on the Christian disciplines that shape our lives into the Kingdom. And yet each discipline joins people together into a social space in order to submit to Jesus’ Lordship, discern his presence, and allow Him to work for healing, sanctification and renewal, both individually and socially. I refer to these disciplines (in the book) as social sacraments because they start first in social spaces and only then become part of our personal piety. These disciplines include 1.) Be present to His presence at the table as we eat, 2.)reconciliation, 3.)proclaiming the gospel, 4.)being with the least of these, 5.)the (fivefold) gifts, 6.)being with children, and 7.)Kingdom prayer.

Practiced as social disciplines these practices, by their very nature, resist devolving into individualism, elitism, or Pelagianism (the three devolutions I warned about in the previous post). For sure, in the history of the church, at times, all of these practices have been individualized, or offered by the church as programs. It could be argued this is what the Roman church did with the historic sacraments of the Roman church (to which these disciplines align). But at their very core, these disciplines are social disciplines (not individualist), meant to be practiced in everyday life (not through special ‘elitist’ programs), and exercised in dependence upon the very presence of the resurrected Christ (not self effort).

Here's three quick thoughts on how to cultivate a spiritual formation that avoids the three devolutions detailed in the previous post: individualism, elitism, or Pelagianism.

From Individual to Social

The first step in leading spiritual formation in a church should be to cultivate social spaces where we do these practices together. Each discipline almost forces us to cultivate these places where we can submit to Jesus in the midst of a social space together. From these social spaces we can do these practices, learned and perfected together, in the private places of our lives.

And example of this dynamic is the discipline of reconciliation. This discipline naturally requires us to go to the one who has sinned against us. It is in essence a social discipline. If, we are not heard by the person, or need safety, we bring another person or two with us. “When two or three agree…” Jesus’s presence is revealed. The discipline in essence forms a social space in its very practice. Again, how much more social can a discipline be?

In the process, we see new things about ourselves in the eyes of another. We confess sin. We forgive. We submit to the presence of Jesus, his sacrificial provision of forgiveness. It is always mutual. And from here we experience the power, the healing, the transformation that such practices make space for. “What is bound on earth is bound in heaven.” From here we can learn to confess our sin, receive forgiveness, and healing from God in our private relationship with God. But this all starts in the social space of the discipline, and it is a discipline, of going to the one who has sinned against us.

All the other disciplines operate the same way in my opinion. Eating together regularly with people around a table in His presence, shapes us to know his presence in the individual spaces of our lives. Hearing the gospel, being with the least of these, being with children, the gifts, and praying all start socially, but have implications for how we live with God personally as well. And all these disciplines, practiced at first in social spaces with other Christians, shape us to be in social spaces of the world in similar ways, where God is working to heal and transform lives, systems, and cultures.

The church then must cultivate these social spaces. House table fellowships that are more than mere social times. In my view, this is the first step to any ‘program’ of spiritual formation for a local church.

From Affluent to Everyday

The spiritual disciplines should be a part of everyday life. There will be occasions for some Christians where a special retreat, or a spiritual director can aid in this process. But in my view, spiritual formation should not be dependent upon such specialized programs and services.

The seven disciplines in Faithful Presence are practices that shape everyday life. If we look at their history, in the centuries following Constantine, they did become sequestered into the auspices of the priest to be practiced in the cathedral (I write about this in Faithful Presence). They took on institutional form via the practices of the eucharist, penance, the homily, unction, confirmation of the young, the ordination of clergy, and liturgical prayer. But these were also meant to be practiced in every day life, “whenever we eat,” whenever we have conflict or sin against someone, whenever we or others need hope, whenever we or others suffer, whenever we are with children, whenever need leadership and direction, whenever we must open space for God to work in our lives and the circumstances around us.

These things, eating, conflict, suffering, etc. are part of everyday life. And so the spiritual disciplines shape us into Christ within the rhythms of everyday life to invite the presence and power, the transforming conviction and healing, of Jesus presence into our lives.

Understanding, teaching, and cultivating spiritual formation as everyday life makes it accessible to all people, not only those who can afford it.

From Self-Effort to Submission to His Presence

At the heart of every spiritual discipline is the way doing it orients the self to submit to, trust, know and depend upon the living presence of God in Jesus in the midst. Knowing the presence of God, His way of manifesting His presence among a people, must be central to each discipline. In so doing, the discipline itself shapes us away from dependence upon self effort, and even worse, the abuse of power. It shapes us to submit ourselves to His presence and live daily in His presence.

The special presence of Jesus, made manifest in the material doing of the discipline, is central. It is why we call these practices ‘social sacraments.’ Jesus promises to be present in a special manifest way whenever we gather and submit to the practice of reconciliation (“I am in the midst” Matt 18:20). When we eat together His presence is recognized (Luke 24:31). When the gospel is proclaimed, His authority becomes present (Luke 10:16). When we are among the poor and broken, Jesus is there (Matt 25:40). In all of the disciplines, Jesus promises to be present in a special way, to manifest his presence, if we will but submit to His presence, and trust Him.

This social dynamic of Christ’s presence amidst the practices has played out in many different ways over the centuries. Luther, for instance, accused the Roman Catholic bishops of trying to control the sacrament. And he said without faith, or trust, the sacrament was ineffectual in the life of the believer (“Defense and Explanation of All the Articles” (1521)). The bottom line is that at the core of the disciplines is the giving up of worldly control, worldly power, and the making space for God’s presence in Christ to be with us, empowering us, transforming us, healing us.

It Starts With the Church

I find these correctives helpful for the work of spiritual formation. But is this possible? Teaching and cultivating spiritual formation in this way undercuts the individualism and specialization of services that evangelical forms of church are so addicted to. It will take a slow but richly rewarding cultivation that can shape communities that embody deep witness to the gospel. Can this happen? Comments?

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