Thoughts on "Invitation to a Journey"

I was once in charge of an emerging church plant for, of all denominations, The Salvation Army. I used to have the most interesting conversations with other people in my distinctive tribe. Postmodernism was a term that was often applied to the fledgling little community, but the funny thing was that no two people ever seemed to have a similar definition of the term. One time, my wife and I had a good laugh at a when we saw the following seminar title:

POSTMODERNISM -- IT'S MORE THAN CANDLES

The workshop speaker made a valid point. Postmodernism, a way of viewing and thinking about a variety of topics, had become reduced to a way of describing a style of worship for people too young for seeker-sensitive and too old for youth group.

Light the candles, use some celtic-type fonts in Power Point, and say words like community and authentic a lot -- you're postmodern! It's a cosmetic change for the same old business-as-usual that goes on in every other church across the country.

I am afraid that I have done the same thing with the term Spiritual Formation. I am forever grateful to M. Robert Mulholland for pointing this out to me in his book Invitation to a Journey: a Road Map for Spiritual Formation.

Mulholland offered the most concise definition of spiritual formation that I've yet encountered in my reading on the topic: "The process of being conformed to the image of Christ for the sake of others." The implications of his definition have forever changed my concept of Spiritual Formation. I am having to change much of my practices of the disciplines, or at least look at them from a different perspective. I will break down the definition as Mulholland has done in his book and share my thoughts and reflections on each section.


A PROCESS
In most of the Wesleyan/Methodist/Holiness circles I've kicked around in sanctification is often portrayed as a one-time event where everything that follows is smooth sailing. I can't think of one person I know personally who can testify to an experience like this, but it preaches well, especially in a revival setting!

Just like older kids who begin to catch on to the Santa racket but keep quiet just in case, I think there are a lot of people like me in the church who think about faith as a journey but are kind of afraid that it's some sort of cop out or unspiritual. Mulholland's description of formation as a process was personally liberating.

I'm not entirely convinced of his explanation that attributes our ignorance of the process to our culture of instant gratification. I think an equally important idea that wasn't explored is people's simple desire for closure. If I can just settle the god-thing by going up to the altar or getting dunked or laying my hands on a TV set means that it's settled and I can get on with my life. But a process or journey means that I'm always going to have the issue in front of me. Another idea that wasn't explored was why communities of faith repeatedly hold up a one time all inclusive experience as the ideal when they know better!

When I was a kid, I always wondered what it would feel like to be grown up. I'm 38 now and I still don't feel grown up. I don't agonize over it. I just get on with the daily business of being grown up, such as going to work, raising my children, and getting into debt for my graduate degree. Likewise, I need to let go of the myth that I'm someday going to become Super Christian and just get on with my daily relationship with God.

BEING CONFORMED
In other words, it's not what I do, but what God does. I found myself in easy agreement with the ideas in this section, but I think it's much harder to actually trust God on this one!

IMAGE OF CHRIST
It occurred to me during the reading of this section that I had set my ambitions for the spiritual life much, much too low. I had been satisfied with being a good person with a somewhat vague spirituality. Now I understand that I need to be conformed to the image of Christ. That delights and scares me at the same time!

"The process of being conformed to the image of Christ takes place primarily at the points of our unlikeness to Christ's image. (p. 37)" I'm embarrassed to admit that this rather obvious idea had never really occurred to me before. It made me think about the last time my practices of the disciplines has caused me conflict rather than a blissful feeling. I would say I became more yielded in some areas that I've been struggling in as a result.

SAKE OF OTHERS
I bought into the "...for others" part pretty slowly. At first I thought it was a nice enough sentiment to put into the definition, a Christian counterpart to having the word excellence in company mission statements. Mulholland made a convincing argument that "...for others" is a summation of the whole law. But even deeper than that, "for others" is actually the character of Christ "...who gave himself totally, completely, absolutely, unconditionally for others.(p 41)"

I'm the poster child for Spiritual Formation in the circles I travel in. I own the Celtic cross, the Chant CDs, and the Russian icons. But this book showed me how I had utterly missed the point in so many ways. I believe that my preferences towards solitude and introspection has fueled much of my interest in Spiritual Formation up to this point in my life. In a way, I think there is even an element of escape from others in many of the practices I've adopted.

I need to be involved in Spiritual Formation because I need balance and wholeness. I need to be involved because the body needs me and I need the body. I need to be involved because I need Christ.