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Editorial:
Nurturing spirituality From
the[acting] director: New Shoes Wholeness,
Holiness & Wholegrain Spirituality Comment:
Racehorses and Turtles A
Spirituality of Communion: The Benedictine Monks, Rostrevor Interview
with John Dickinson & Paul Symonds: The Shape of Spirituality Prayer
24-7 In
quest of living theology: A conversation piece on theological education
and Christian formation A
Spirituality of Welcome Bible
Study: Christian Spirituality Review:
How (Not) to Speak of God Review:
Spirituality and Transformation Difficult
Conversations |
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AS A CHILD, I just could not get it! Why did my younger brother get away with so much? Why did it seem that I was judged by different standards? Why did they treat us differently? Now, as a parent, the whole thing looks a lot clearer! We have three young children and I already know what it feels like to be asked the very same questions I asked my parents. I do treat them differently because they are not the same! Their personalities are different, they respond to different stimuli, they look at life differently, they have different strengths and weaknesses and to assume that they should be treated the same way in every situation would be the ultimate foolishness! Parents need the freedom to respond to each of their children in different ways according to what is best for them. I am not sure there is a single accepted definition of “Christian spirituality”! But if its heart is about how we relate to God, how we experience him and how that experience of God shapes our lives, then surely we need to allow the same kind of freedom to a Heavenly Father when it comes to relating to his children? It seems obvious! But even “grown-up” children do not always cope too well with difference, with diversity. We can too easily find ourselves sucked into a childish “one size fits all” reasoning, arrogantly assuming that our way is better than others; or maybe even the only way. Consequently, we can doubt the experience and sincerity of others, view them as “second-class” Christians, if Christian at all, and decide we have nothing to learn from them. I remember bumping into a bishop friend and a few of his colleagues at an airport; they were heading off for a two-day silent retreat. I can hardly imagine anything worse. Two days without hearing another human voice; and without anyone hearing mine! But this was something that had proved beneficial for their spiritual journey before and they were looking forward to it expectantly. I am just not wired that way; and I do not need to feel inferior to them. But maybe I do need to learn the discipline and blessing of silence. Some of us are moved spiritually by learning, by intellectual stimulus; others by immersing themselves in service; still others in expressive worship and celebration. So which one is best, which is right? None! And all! And the wider church community is enriched by each expression. Maybe part of our problem is the tendency to confuse an exclusive message of Christ, as the only way to God, with exclusivity about the Christian life and experience as well. Perhaps we just feel threatened by those who are not like us. We need not be! We need not envy others’ experience, nor judge it. But we can learn from each other. I love John Ortberg’s comment: God “is the One who made us, and he made us to be wildly, wonderfully, absurdly different from each other. Thinkers and feelers, backslappers and wannabee hermits, race horses and turtles – ‘the Lord God made them all.’” STEPHEN CAVE is General Secretary for Evangelical Alliance in Northern Ireland. |
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