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Embracing all Streams of our Spirituality
Here’s a quick thought on something I’ve been mulling about for the last 24 hours.
There is a deep, rich and varied tradition of spirituality within the Christian church. And with all of them, you can trace them all back to within one hundred years of the start of the church. Here’s a quick snapshot (stolen from Richard Foster):
- Holiness
- Contemplative
- Evangelical
- Social Justice
- Incarnational
- Charismatic
My general observation is this: The healthiest churches I’ve seen embrace ALL of these streams and develop spiritual practices that embody each of these streams that are culturally appropriate for their context. For instance, while you may not be a swinging-from-the-chandelier-charismatic, there are practices of this tradition that can and should be integrated into the life blood of your community.
My other observation is this: When churches are struggling with connecting to the Lord, to themself/family or to those outside of the Kingdom, it’s often because they have jettisoned one of these streams.
Often times we reject the gift because of the packaging. We have misconceptions about the best version of these streams and decided to reject the whole of it. I mean, this is proper “throwing the baby out with the bathwater” kind of stuff!
I think, just maybe, God is calling us to live in the tension.
I wonder what stream God is calling us to learn at this current moment in time?
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8 Responses to Embracing all Streams of our Spirituality
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2013/04/11
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2013/04/11
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I think you just described Anglicanism. ) Have you ever read “Evangelicals on the Canterbury Trail” by Robert Webber, or “The Younger Evangelicals”? Minus the recent issues of Anglicanism stretching the boundaries of conservative doctrine, I find all of the above there.
Streams of Living Water! Great book, It would be huge for the Church if we all considered other “streams”.
Good thoughts for much of what I’ve been discussing and wrestling with along with others recently, thanks Doug.
I’ve felt the same way for many years. It seems that most traditions and individuals from those traditions emphasize one or two of these streams. At one point I even thought, “Maybe it has to be that way. Maybe churches have to ‘specialize.’” And right away, I felt like God said, “No. Just look at Jesus.” That kind of took care of that.
Phylis Tickle, several years ago, shared a teaching at a national
Youth workers gathering. Every 500 years the Spirit of God shakes the church. We are now at that time. The bride of Christ is now gleaning from the four quadrants of confessional, evangelical, Pentecostal,and social justice. Amongst young leaders I am observing an embrace of learning from other streams. Great article Doug. Thanks
I’d love to see a connection between tools and vehicles you all have crafted and the streams listed here. That would really make this thought come alive. Thanks for mentioning Foster! I will check him out.