I thoroughly enjoyed being with you these past four days. Together we embraced the incarnation, considered what it means to be in spiritual community, wrestled with understanding the right and left hemispheres of our brains, and explored classic definitions of Christian spirituality.
I especially appreciated the lecture citing Scott M. Peck's four stages of community from A Different Drum.
- pseudo-community-- niceness reigns and people live in their projected self
- chaos-- emotional skeletons crawl outof the closet and our true self emerges
- emptiness-- time of quiet transition asks: why are we here?
- true community-- deep honest sharing
What part of The Essentials especially spoke to you?
Looking forward to hearing your thougthts.
donna
Dear Donna,
ReplyDeleteAs I think about it, at any given time our congregation is a mix of all four stages.
Some of this is because some of us are at one stage while others are at a different stage.
Some of this is because some of us are at different stages in our relationships with different individuals - with one person you might be at the stage of true community but with another you might be at the "niceness" stage.
Some of this is because you might allow yourself permission to deal with the others around you only at one particular stage.
Sometimes, it can all be pretty chaotic and hard to keep track of.
But since we believe, teach, and confess that it is the Holy Spirit who calls the church together, I can't help but also believe that He is hovering our own particular "tohu vabohu" as he continually transforms our collective chaos into His marvellous new creation that He has already called THE BRIDE OF CHRIST.
As to the part of the "Essentials" that especially spoke to me - well, I wonder if the whole thing did, in this respect: I wonder whether these "Essentials" are essential only to healing prayer communities, or whether we should consider the ways in which these "Essentials" might also be essential to the local Christian congregation and even to the church at large.
In contrast to the proliferation of books with titles like "Twelve Keys to an Effective Church" and "20 Secrets of Church Leadership" and others that borrow from secular models to encourage churches to grow, I wonder what would happen if pastors and congregations deliberately and steadily built and operated their ministries based on these "Essentials."
What might those congregations look like? What might those denominations look like? What might those Pastors' Conferences look like?
No answers from me here, just these questions to sit with and maybe even try out.
Blessings!
Thanks for the feedback and insights. I think attending to Christian spirituality, the right and left brain, community, the incarnate Christ and empathy are worth considering when looking at a wholistic nature of care for the local church. A healing ministry is just one branch of pastoral care. I am formulating a perspective for the broader mission of shepherding our flocks and and reaching out. I think my favorite definition of spiritual formation is from Mulholland's book: "Spiritual formation is the process of being conformed to Christ for the sake of others.
ReplyDeleteOthers want to weigh in on the discussion??
If anyone is wondering . . .
ReplyDeleteTohu wa bohu (תֹ֙הוּ֙ וָבֹ֔הוּ) is a Biblical Hebrew phrase found in the Book of Genesis 1:2. It is usually translated "formless and empty," or some variation of the same, and describes the condition of the earth before God said, "Let there be light." Precise translation of the phrase is difficult, as only the first word, "tohu," appears to have any independent meaning. "Tohu," is used 20 times in the Hebrew bible, and is used to mean "vain" or "waste."[1] "Bohu" appears only three times in the Hebrew bible, always together with "tohu," and always quoting the Genesis verse.[2] It therefore may have no meaning at all, being a nonsense word whose only purpose is aesthetic, to rhyme with "tohu." Rabbi Judah taught that Akiva said Tohu is a green line encompassing the world from which darkness emanates. [3]
וְהָאָ֗רֶץ הָיְתָ֥ה תֹ֙הוּ֙ וָבֹ֔הוּ וְחֹ֖שֶׁךְ עַל־פְּנֵ֣י תְהֹ֑ום וְר֣וּחַ אֱלֹהִ֔ים מְרַחֶ֖פֶת עַל־פְּנֵ֥י הַמָּֽיִם׃
Genesis 1:2, original Hebrew (Westminster Leningrad Codex)[4]
Now the earth was formless and empty, darkness was over the surface of the deep, and the Spirit of God was hovering over the waters.
I've spent a fair amount of time reflecting on these phases that Terry presented. What I am seeing for the first time is how many times, I have been part of potential communities that have moved toward the second phase of chaos, only to see it shut down. It feels "bad" so we move back into pseudo-community.
ReplyDeleteI wonder if part of what we need is to give people permission that it's OK to go there. Chaos is a part of the process and we need to allow that to rise up so that we can move through it. I haven't tried this yet, but I'm guessing I'm not the only one who would have a a-ha moment when seeing these four phases.
Later
Jeff
I think staying present in the "chaos" is also difficult. Allowing God to change us in that phase is challenging. I think that's what Peter wanted from us when he talks about being tested by fire that purifies. Who wants to get burned? When our true self emerges in the stage of chaos, we are tested in many ways and the "burn marks" hurt.
ReplyDeleteI invite others to join in the conversation. What do you think?