Maturing the Modern Spiritual Formation Movement - without any Holy Baloney

Richard Foster, who has led and facilitated spiritual formation over the past several decades weighs in on the maturing the modern SF movement.

I love this - he sums up spiritual formation quite nicely and reminds us that this is a long, beautiful journey of receiving renovation in our hearts as the impetus to any good service in God's kingdom. Loving God translates into loving self and others.

The original article appears here, but you can read it below as well.

Maturing the Modern Spiritual Formation Movement
By Richard Foster
 
The task of maturing the modern spiritual formation movement is complicated and will require our finest thinking and most creative energies. There are two reasons, at least, for the complication. To begin with, the continuing popularity of spiritual formation today has meant that all kinds of writing and speaking have now gone forth on the subject. Frankly -- and I hate to say it in such a blunt matter -- much that has gone out under the name of spiritual formation has come from people who simply have not thought substantively on the subject, and (dare I mention it) we have to wonder if they themselves have been spiritually formed to any substantial degree. Hence, a great deal of "Holy Baloney" is out there now, and the average person will quickly despair at distinguishing the good from the bad.

Then, secondly, people in general and Americans in particular are a fickle lot, and they tire quickly. Many are already moving on to the next fad. And let's be honest: how many of us can truly wrap our minds around the notion of a forty-year journey into the subterranean chambers of the soul? That was, as you will recall, Moses' experience of character formation in the Egyptian desert. Forty years! Are we not tempted to opt instead for a short cut or two? Impatience is a primary spiritual problem in our day.

These things, however, need not discourage us. The human need -- and longing -- for substantive formation of heart and soul and mind and body into Christlikeness is always before us. It is not going to go away. No doubt our work will now be more difficult with those who feel they have tried spiritual formation, and it failed them, when all they really tried was some little "five steps to blessedness." Remember, we are not presenting people with any "program," but with a life. We simply and powerfully introduce them into an ongoing, interactive relationship with Jesus, their ever-living Savior, Teacher, Lord, and Friend. Apprenticed to Jesus, they will be able to go forward from faith to faith and from strength to strength.

Here now are a few things to bear in mind as we continue our efforts at maturing the modern spiritual formation movement.

1) We take the long view . . . always. We think in terms of lifetimes and centuries. The soul lives forever. It is precious beyond imagining. Investing deeply in even a few people will count for all eternity. Sure, many in today's religious climate will go on to other "more interesting" topics. We bless these folk and pray for their well-being and growth in grace. But there are plenty (vast numbers, in fact) who are committed to the long haul. They really want to be like Jesus with all their heart and soul and mind and strength. These are the ones we invest in. And, believe me, investing in these precious lives will take all the energy and all the time and all the prayer and all the weeping and laughing and singing and hoping we can possibly muster.

2) We refuse to think of spiritual formation in terms of various practices . . . ever. In another era, those practices were things such as a "quiet time" and Bible study of one sort or another. Today it is Lectio Divina and "journaling." May I say as clearly as possible: Christian spiritual formation has nothing essentially to do with such practices. Many practices can be genuinely helpful in their place, but they are not "it." What is "it" is LIFE -- life with Jesus, interactive relationship with the great God of the universe, inner transformation into Christlikeness. Now, this reality can take shape with Lectio and with "journaling," and it can happen without them. It can, and it does! The tendency today, unfortunately widespread, is to think of spiritual formation exclusively in terms of practices of one kind or another. Please, dear friend, do not fall into this trap. It will only produce legalism and bondage, and it utterly defeats spiritual formation. Many of the familiar practices are useful, to be sure, and some more than others. But none is essential. We all are to walk with the living Christ and then "in humility regard others as better than yourselves" (Phil. 2:3).

3) We engage in spiritual formation for the sake of the Church universal . . . always. Sectarian reform movements that cement an eternal split only become ends in themselves. We work instead for the transformation of the whole Church. We love the Church, the people of God, in all her multi-faceted expressions. Traditional. Contemporary. Liturgical. Charismatic. Emergent. Catholic and Orthodox and Protestant. Big church and little church, house church and crystal cathedral. We attempt no end run around the Church. God is with his people in all their waywardness and silliness, and so are we.
4) We do not center on curriculum-based solutions . . . ever. Curricula of all sorts are important but they come way down the line in formation work. Curriculum must always be subservient to ideas and ideas must always be subservient to relationship. In The Divine Conspiracy, Dallas Willard (rightly in my estimation) has a chapter entitled, "A Curriculum for Christlikeness." However, this is the ninth chapter, and it comes only after a careful delineation of the unique qualities of the interactive relationship between Jesus and his apprentices and a careful explication of the central ideas related to this life in the kingdom of God. Far too many people rush to the curriculum program of chapter nine without establishing in their lives the foundations set forth so carefully in all that comes before. We must not leave out the curriculum work, but it never comes first and it must never be central. Nor can it ever be a "cookie-cutter" curriculum. Unique individuals people require unique, individualized curricula. Frankly, "cookie-cutter" curricula are very much like cookies -- all sweetness with precious little nutrition.

5) We draw wisdom and insight from the ancient sources . . . always. We reject the heresy of the contemporary. The people of God throughout history instruct us in the way eternal. Bible sources and post-Bible sources. We learn from Moses. We learn from Luther. We learn from Joseph of Arimathea. We learn from Catherine of Genoa. These are our teachers, our models, our inspiration.

6) We do not aim at outward action . . . ever. It is the renovation of the heart we are after. This inward work is much harder than mere outward conformity . . . and also easier. It is harder because we cannot see it, test it, control it. We cannot program the heart of another human being. We cannot program our own heart. But this is what makes it easier. God is the One who sees the heart. God is the One who tenderly programs the heart -- always allowing time and space for our will to turn and respond to divine Love. We are working in conjunction with a greater Plan, a greater Planner. We are part of God's great Renovation project for human beings. And so we can work at rest. We can labor under God's abiding grace.

7) We are keenly aware that true inward transformation will incline our hearts toward suffering humanity . . . always. Deep suffering is found everywhere, among the down and out and among the up and in. As our hearts are increasingly renovated, they will become increasingly tender toward the bruised and the broken, the helpless and the hopeless. We will then find ways to move outside our insulated bubbles of security. Trevor Hudson, a South African pastor and writer, during the darkest period in his country's history of apartheid, developed an eight-day experiential program designed to help young South Africans reflect upon the meaning of their faith and discipleship within the harsh and oppressive sociopolitical realities of their nation. Trevor calls this experience "The Pilgrimage of Pain and Hope." Oh, may we find ways to come alongside suffering human beings and together walk the pilgrimage of pain and hope!


Friends, right now spiritual formation is popular and much sought after. This time will pass, and when it does, we will continue on. Frankly, whether we are in the limelight or in obscurity is of no consequence whatever. Such matters are wood, hay, and stubble. We seek everlasting results: gold, silver, and precious stones (1 Cor. 3:12). So, dear friends, live faithfully to the end. Be constant in season and out. Proclaim the good news of the kingdom. Walk cheerfully over the earth.

Richard Foster is the founder of Renovaré. He has authored or co-authored seven books, including Celebration of Discipline and Life With God: Reading the Bible for Spiritual Transformation (with Kathryn A. Helmers). He is also the lead editor of The Life with God Bible.
The above was originally developed for internal purposes, for friends and supporters of the Renovaré movement, and was put forward as a suitable contribution for this series. Copyright 2006 Renovaré, 8 Inverness Drive East, Suite 102, Englewood, CO, 80112, USA, http://www.renovare.us. 



www.mysoulrefresh.com

Unhurried Journey Book Suggestions

Soul Custody: Choosing to care for the one and only you by Stephen W. Smith.

This is a great book by Stephen Smith (I also highly recommend his Lazarus Life book as well). Steve and his wife Gwen run The Potter's Inn spiritual formation retreat center in Colorado! I'd love to go there some day - it sounds like our two ministries are simpatico! Soul Custody really is a great guide of how to create more unhurried soul space in your life/world - especially in light of the "violence" with which our souls are often confronted. Smith covers topics like stillness, simplicity, detoxing from stress, caring for your body, community, and removing false identity, among other things. Here's a sample snippet:

"We forfeit our souls every single time we choose to drain ourselves and not replenish ourselves; run on empty rather than stopping and intentionally doing the things that will bring us life; burnout rather than live meaningful, significant, and impactful live that are enjoyable and life-giving to others. We forfeit the life God intended for us when we lower our souls to functioning as machines rather than living as soulish marvels who require more than a quart of oil or a recharging of our batteries" (p. 29).

The Contemplative Pastor: Returning to the Art of Spiritual Direction by Eugene Peterson

In short, I try to read everything Eugene has written. This is probably my favorite book of his - he challenges pastors and ministers (all of us really) to return to the true role of pastor - being "unbusy," "subversive," and "apocalyptic."  Here are a few choice quotes:

"...the word busy is the symptom not of commitment but of betrayal. It is not devotion but defection. The adjective busy set as a modifier to pastor should sound to our ears like adulterous to characterize a wife or embezzling to describe a banker. It is an outrageous scandal, a blasphemous affront" (17)

"And so pastors, instead of practicing prayer, which brings people into the presence of God, enter into the practice of Messiah: we will do the work of God for God, fix people up, tell them what to do, conspire in finding the shortcuts by which the long journey to the cross can be bypassed, since we all have such crowded schedules right now" (43). 

Yea, I know. He doesn't really pussy-foot around - I think that's why I like him! He is the King of "un-ning" (helping me unlearn, shake-off and re-center my soul and ministry on what is essential!)


The Life You've Always Wanted: Spiritual Disciplines for Ordinary People by John Ortberg

Simple, profound, easy to read John Ortberg. The title originally made me think this was a health/wealth sort of book, but it is far from that. John does a great job of engaging and inviting the reader toward some spiritual disciplines like celebration, slowing, servanthood, confession, secrecy, and developing your own "rule" of life. The chapter on Unhurriedness (being ruthless to be unhurried) is worth the price of the book. And really, as you know by now, his quote re: love and hurry being fundamentally incompatible has sparked an unhurried revolution!

"For many of us the greatest danger is not that we will renounce our faith. It is that we will become so distracted and rushed and preoccupied that we will settle for a mediocre version of it. We will just skim our lives instead of actually living them" (82).

Receiving the Day: Christian Practices for opening the gift of time by Dorothy Bass
 I read this book quite some time ago, but remember it made a big impact on me beginning to explore my relationship with time and why I was suffering from lack of peace. Receiving is a huge part of the gist of following after Christ (i.e. duh, that is the gist of grace, which is the gist of Christianity.) Bass gives a great historical overview of time, but an invitation toward learning to receive the day, versus get stuck in frenetic "making" of a day. Here's a review by Roberta Bondi - another great historian and follower of Jesus: 

"A profoundly useful book. . . . It reminds us forcibly that we are embodied creatures gifted by God with time too precious to fritter or work away. In its recommendations for healing our relationship to time it is often unsettlingly revolutionary, frequently subversive of our secular culture, and always full of Dorothy Bass's honest and generous reflections on her own life. It is a pleasure to recommend it." (Roberta Bondi, author, A Place to Pray: Reflections on the Lord's Prayer and Memories of God)

When the Soul Listens: Finding rest and direction in Contemplative Prayer by Jan Johnson
Do you want to learn how to lean in and listen? Are you hungry for a more intimate relationship with God - longing for Him to restore your heart and soul? As the back cover says, "If prayer has stopped working for you" then read this book!

"I'd been taught many methods of prayer, but most of them involved promoting my agenda. For many years as a Christian, I never sought God just for Himself...[but we resist a silent, agenda-less coming to God] because we're 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 scatteredness" (18-19).

 
Invitation to Silence and Solitude: Experiencing God's Transforming Presence by Ruth Haley Barton
 Read every book of RHB's - they are really good! But start with Silence and Solitude - a gentle, practical invitation to a deeper and more honest life and love relationship with God and self.

"Solitude and silence are the most radical of the spiritual disciplines because they most directly attack the sources of human misery and wrongdoing. To be in solitude is to choose to do nothing. For extensive periods of time. All accomplishment is given up...When we go into solitude and silence we stop making demands on God. It is enough that God is God and we are his" ~Dallas Willard in the introduction, 10-11.

"We are a very busy, word and heady faith tradition. Yet we are desperate to find ways to open ourselves to our God who is, in the end, beyond all our human constructs and human agendas. With all our emphasis on theology and Word, cognition and service - and as important as these are - we are starved for mystery, to know this God as One who is totally Other and to experience reverence in his presence. We are starved for intimacy, to see and feel and know God in the very cells of our being. We are starved for rest, to know God beyond what we can do for him. We are starved for quiet, to hear the sound of sheer silence that is the presence of God himself" (21). 

Dangerous Wonder: The Adventure of Childlike Faith by Mike Yaconelli
In a fun, playful and challenging manner, Yaconelli invites us to a more childlike faith full of wonder, risk, doubt, mystery, honesty and passion - Here are two quotes I like:

"The critical issue of Christianity today is dullness. We have lost our astonishment. The Good News is no longer good news, it is okay news. Christianity is no longer life changing, it is life enhancing. Jesus doesn't change people into wide eyed radicals anymore, He changes them into 'nice' people" (23).

"The increasing crescendo of our possessions, the ear-piercing noise of our busyness, and the soul smothering volume of our endless activity drowns out the still, small voice of God" (14).

The Rest of God: Restoring Your Soul by Restoring Sabbath by Mark Buchanan
This is a great book for any of us wondering how we might incorporate Sabbath practices and a Sabbath attitude into our way too overcrowded and burdened lives. Buchanan is an engaging writer who also adds a "Sabbath liturgy" at the end of each chapter for potential practical integration of rest into your days/weeks.

"A Sabbath heart is restful even in the midst of unrest and upheaval. It is attentive to the presence of God and others even in the welter of much coming and going, rising and falling. It is still and knows God even when mountains fall into the sea" (4). 

"In a culture where busyness is fetish and stillness is laziness, rest is sloth. But without rest we miss the rest of God: the rest He invites us to enter in more fully so that we might know Him more deeply" (3).

Freedom of Simplicity by Richard Foster
Before long in the unhurried journey, you realize that freedom, simplicity, unhurriedness and stillness go hand in hand. This book was given to me by one of my spiritual heroes: Grandma Claudia. She modeled and lived a heart and home of simplicity - incidently, one also of joy, freedom, and love.

"God never guides us into an intolerable scramble of panting feverishness" (quoting Thomas Kelly in Testament of Devotion, 5).

"The joyful paradox in all this is that while simplicity is complex it is also simple. In the final analysis, we are not the ones who have to untangle all the intricacies of our complex world. There are not many things we have to keep in mind - in fact only one: to be attentive to the voice of the true Shepherd. There are not many decisions we have to make - in fact, only one: to seek first His Kingdom and His Righteousness. There are not many tasks we have to do - in fact, only one: to obey Him in all things" (184).

Testament of Devotion by Thomas Kelly
This is a Quaker classic - one of my top 5 favorite books on living a centered, fully obedient life with Christ. 

[Following the Lord fully] is something wholly different from mild, conventional religion, which, with respectable skirts held back by dainty fingers, anxiously tries to fish the world out of the mudhole of its own selfishness" (27).

"Instead of being the active, hurrying church worker and the anxious, careful planner of shrewd moves toward the good life, we become pliant creatures, less brittle, less obstinately rational...The sooner we stop thinking we are the energetic operators of religion and discover that God is at work as the Aggressor, the Invader, the Initiator, so much sooner do we discover that our task is to call men [and women] to be still and know, listen, hearken in quiet invitation to the subtle promptings of the Divine...well intentioned people are so preoccupied with the clatter of effort to do something for God that they don't hear Him asking that He might do something through them" (70-71).

 

The Artist's Way by Julia Cameron
Not necessarily a "Christian" book - but a book that guides you on an inner spiritual formation journey! Whether you consider yourself an artist or not, working through this book will help you come to discover more of who you were intimately and intricately created to be as well as how to unleash your creativity (in cooking, event planning, artistry, music, writing, crafts, flower arranging etc.) with the world in need of such beauty! Most of this is done by thought provoking, practical exercises designed to help you learn how to listen - to pay attention to what God has put in you that is you!

"The quality of life is in proportion, always, to the capacity for delight. The capacity for delight is the gift of paying attention...the reward for paying attention is always healing" (63)

In Praise of Slowness: How a worldwide movement is challenging the cult of speed by Carl Honore
I actually just picked this up from the library but already in the first few chapters know I need to have this on my shelf. Honore is doing an amazing job overviewing how we've come to regard time in such a hasty, frenetic manner - he speaks of us suffering from "time-sickness" and "time poverty."

"Time-sickness can also be a symptom of a deeper, existential malaise. In the final stages before burnout, people often speed up to avoid confronting their unhappiness...speed helps us block out the horror and barrenness of the modern world: 'Our period is obsessed with the desire to forget, and it is to fulfill that desire that it gives over to the demon of speed..." (33).

 "Some argue that round-the-clock culture can make people feel less hurried by giving them the freedom to work and run errands whenever they want to. That is wishful thinking. Once the boundaries are swept away, competition, greed and fear encourage us to apply the time-is-money principle to every single moment of the day and night" (35).

Pilgrim at Tinker Creek by Annie Dillard
Perhaps a bit like a more modern day "Walden" adventure - Dillard invites us to open our eyes to the world around us. She speaks that "lovers" can see...but in order to see (and hence be a good lover) it takes intentionality to slow, wait, be patient and observe.

"There are lots of things to see, unwrapped gifts and free surprises. The world is fairly studded and strewn with pennies cast broadside from a generous hand...It is dire poverty indeed when a man is so malnourished and fatigued that he won't stoop to pick up a penny. But if you cultivate a healthy poverty and simplicity, the world is in fact planted in pennies, you have with your poverty bought a lifetime of days. it is that simple. What you see is what you get" (22 - in Three by Annie Dillard)

Walden by Henry David Thoreau

I went to the woods because I wished to live deliberately, to front only the essential facts of life, and see if I could not learn what it had to teach, and not when I came to die, discover that I had not really lived...I wanted to live deep and suck out all the marrow of life, to live sturdily and Spartan-like as to put to rout all that was not life..." (82).

What more needs to be said? Linger with Thoreau in this classic if you sense that you want to live life more deliberately.



How to live in Flip Flops by Sandy Gingras
Found this delightfully profound book in my friend Jannine's shop out at the coast. It really is a fun treatise on unhurriedness!

"A life in flip-flops is a cheery life (it's hard to take ourselves seriously when our shoes are making funny noises). It's a slow life (difficult to run in such flappy shoes). It's easy (slide in-slide out) and sunny (wear SPF on every toe). It's a life as casual and silly and colorful and sweet as the designs upon our feet...When we open up our feet to the sun, our lives seem to open up also..." (1-2).