Christian Spirituality
Master Assessment • Sermon • Submitted • Presented
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· 22 viewsThis was done for my Master Assessment. It encompasses a few things. It is a description of my walk through Christian Spirituality. It looks at what spiritual formation is and the kind of questions it asks. It takes a look at the benefits of using different spiritual disciplines in our walk with Christ. It looks at what Spiritual disciplines have worked for me in my life and my vocational context. It looks at what spiritual direction means and how that looks when we engage it. And finally it establishes what spiritual mentoring looks like in our personal/ community/ and vocational life.
Notes
Transcript
My spiritual journey has been as bumpy as my face while I was an adolesant. When I was younger I had this intimate relationship with God, so intimate I swear I could feel him sitting or standing next to me wherever I went. I knew without a shadow of a doubt that he was indeed there, and I talked to him as such. I talked to him like I would talk to anyone else.
It was almost like when
The Lord was going before them in a pillar of cloud by day to lead them on the way, and in a pillar of fire by night to give them light, that they might travel by day and by night.
Then as I got older that sensation began to fade. It would seem like I would be walking along in the Christian community while on fire for Christ only to get ice cold water dumped on me. When asked I would let people know what God had placed on my heart, only to be told by people I believed were Christians that God doesn’t speak to people like that anymore and so I was at risk of being a false “teacher or prophet.” These people told me that spiritual growth was your maturity in the here and now and it was reflected by how many people got along with you. This was the prevailing theology of my youth pastors and leaders. To make matters worse, when asked, I would tell my youth leaders of my prayer time while working with my hands or going for a walk . They would tell me I didn’t have a healthy prayer life, so I tried to mimic their prayer regimes, que my decline in being disciplined in prayer. This was confusing to a young youth as I knew of verses like
“Beware of practicing your righteousness before men to be noticed by them; otherwise you have no reward with your Father who is in heaven.
Historically you look at the church and there are fundamentals of it from the past that stretches through to the future and grabs onto us, in the here and now. Those things from the past would suggest that there is such a thing as the end of spiritual growth, it's when you check off the boxes x,y, and z.
This reminds me of when Paul said in
See to it that no one takes you captive through philosophy and empty deception, according to the tradition of men, according to the elementary principles of the world, rather than according to Christ.
While most people don't really seem to find those boxes the people who say that they have are often people who are seen to be corrupt by society and taint the image of the church to those who are looking from the outside in. Sadly this still happens today. We tend to believe that it is a one size fits all when it comes to Christianity and its practices. To be clear I think there are very Biblical key values that the world doesn’t like today which we cannot compromise. One of the, “one size fits all” practices I am talking about is Prayer and Spiritual Growth. Generally people think prayer and spiritual growth fit hand in hand and, for the most part, they do. However, because people get this idea of one size fits all they believe that others should follow suit in the same disciplines as them or else they are not good Christians. For example if you don’t kneel down while praying with your finger locked together and your eyes closed, you are not a good Christian and your spiritual growth isn’t going to happen.
This brings to mind a conversation I had a few weeks ago with a neighbour of the church. He told me he attends the local Roman Catholic Church, but he hasn’t been attending lately because he can’t kneel and pray anymore. Not being able to kneel anymore means that he cannot receive the sacraments which is very important to him, because to him this reflects heavily on his spiritual health and growth. I couldn’t help but think about what a shame that was. Here was an old man who lived by himself. He enjoyed his Catholic community because that's where he knows fellowship, but he was forced to stop attending because he can’t kneel. What would Jesus think? I imagine a table flipping event happening. Jesus calls all, not just those who can kneel I think of
“Come to Me, all who are weary and heavy-laden, and I will give you rest.
“Take My yoke upon you and learn from Me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls.
Again, just to be clear, there is nothing wrong with kneeling and praying. Some people find that particular discipline to be quite helpful in focusing on the presence of God. But for some of us if we sit with our eyes closed, our imaginations run a muck, we start picturing projects we have to do and how to complete them, we start to picture some of our glory days while playing sports, or maybe even some combat maneuvers while we were still serving. Possibly, like my friend mentioned above, some people simply cannot kneel, not because they don’t want to but because it is physically impossible. We are called to actively ponder, and be in pursuit of God, and do everything for the Glory of God.
1 Corinthians 10:31 (NASB95)
Whether, then, you eat or drink or whatever you do, do all to the glory of God.
Spiritual growth cannot be confined to the cells within the imagination of a select few because that is the way it has always been done, and therefore that is the way it needs to be done. We see such an example being called out by Jesus in
“Whenever you fast, do not put on a gloomy face as the hypocrites do, for they neglect their appearance so that they will be noticed by men when they are fasting. Truly I say to you, they have their reward in full.
“But you, when you fast, anoint your head and wash your face
so that your fasting will not be noticed by men, but by your Father who is in secret; and your Father who sees what is done in secret will reward you.
Such an attitude of being a “staunch example to others in our clearly Godily and sacrficial life” throws up hurdles that prevent some people from growing spiritually, leaving them behind in the dark due to some, man-made, notion that to grow spiritually and to converse with God you need calluses on your knees. Further, spiritual growth is not something that just simply stops, or in my opinion can be achieved while in this life, it is something we need to continuously work on. Spiritual formation should inform us that as we walk with the Holy Spirit we are in constant maturation. It encourages us to step back from controlling everything around us while submitting our daily lives to Christ. Spiritual Formation encourages us to examine our Teleos, that is, “where is the Holy Spirit leading me, and how does it further the kingdom of God?”
“But seek first His kingdom and His righteousness, and all these things will be added to you.
Our Primary focus shouldn’t distract us from God’s purpose and plans for us. Sometimes we get so caught up with our plans we forget to sit in God’s presence and simply let Him be in charge, if we continue to the next verse in the previous passage I quoted it says
“So do not worry about tomorrow; for tomorrow will care for itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own.
After I was laid off from working at Norbord, due to the mass Mill closures in BC, I took part in Dr. Allan Effa’s course “Spiritual Formation”. This course taught me some very key things that I needed to learn. It taught me about the tools you can use while walking through different seasons of your life. It encouraged me to recognise that just because I converse with God one way and traditionally Christians are expected to pray on their knees, that the way I converse with God is not wrong. It challenged me to explore other spiritual disciplines. When I would get up early to check on my flock of chickens I would practice a breath prayer while checking the well being of my flock, and then checking the fence. I would take time to have a centering prayer where I would practice “being still” and allowing God the time to be the voice in the situation. I tried practicing getting on my knees and praying, however I’m still not a fan of that one. I learned that sometimes walking with God physically is okay. I learned that working with my hands in the presence of God is equally as important. I learned that worshipping God with my voice and instrument should be encouraged. I learned that sitting before God in silence with nothing to say is transforming. And I realised we are even called to train ourselves in spiritual disciplines in
But have nothing to do with worldly fables fit only for old women. On the other hand, discipline yourself for the purpose of godliness;
for bodily discipline is only of little profit, but godliness is profitable for all things, since it holds promise for the present life and also for the life to come.
Regularly I still find myself praying, while walking, playing my instruments and singing, and while using my hands. I also pray consistently with my eyes closed and hands folded, though this to me is not an effective way of prayer, as it is a battle to control my imaginative mind. I pray that God will guide me in the things I do and say so that my actions and words will bring all the glory to the kingdom of God. I readily pray with congregants who need prayer over the phone, when I do this I often pace back and forth. I encourage corporate prayer with the youth group as the final thing we officially do with each other after every youth night, because I believe we are called to carry each other's burdens and intercede for each other, so I believe that the practice of praying should be encouraged in youth group as well.
Spiritual formation doesn’t require a single, one size fits all, method. I know of some people who converse with God best through letters and journals. I recently learned that one of the kindest ladies in our church will sit up late into the night praying if she can’t sleep, and she’ll pray until the Holy Spirit brings her rest. The spiritual formation, and spiritual direction tools that we use might not look the same, but they all bring us to the same general place. They bring us to this place where we are encouraged to ask ourselves “where am I now, where is the Holy Spirit leading me, and how does it further the Kingdom of God.” I believe if we aren’t considering the furtherance of the Kingdom of God in our everyday activities, prayers, and thoughts, are we doing what we are called to be doing?
Therefore, putting aside all malice and all deceit and hypocrisy and envy and all slander,
like newborn babies, long for the pure milk of the word, so that by it you may grow in respect to salvation,
if you have tasted the kindness of the Lord.
And coming to Him as to a living stone which has been rejected by men, but is choice and precious in the sight of God,
you also, as living stones, are being built up as a spiritual house for a holy priesthood, to offer up spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ.
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