The Emerging Christian Way

Ch. 14 – Spiritual Discernment 

Nancy Reeves addresses spiritual discernment from the viewpoint of a clinical psychologist and a Christian.  As such, she brings several unique perspectives to the table.  For example, she refers to the work of C. S. Lewis, raising the question, “Are we hard-wired for God?”  She discusses the role of a healthy ego.  She also lightly touches on spiritual discernment, using the transfiguration of Jesus as a template.  In the end, Jesus is our companion and guide, gently nudging us by the work of the Holy Spirit to prayerfully listen as we lean on God’s grace day by day.

How did this final chapter speak to you and your own process of discernment?  Is your discernment “spiritual?” 

For our final discussion, several group members have requested that we gather as one large group.  This will allow for a broader discussion of today’s reading, as well as any follow up questions we might consider together. 

I look forward to the Spirit’s leading us in group conversation!

The Emerging Christian Way

Ch. 13 – Pastoral Care for the 21^st Century

1.  Donald Grayston has been around the block a time or two, citing a long and impressive resume.  As part of his introduction, he emphasizes, “Work with the people who want to work with you, instead of spending your energy persuading the people who don’t want to work with you (or are not ready to work with you) to work with you!”  How has this wisdom proven reliable to you over the years?  Can you expand this strategy to other areas of life?

2.  The topics of pastoral care and adult Christian education are probably rare conversation pieces around most coffee tables.  Grayston indicates that they have traditionally been applied separately within the church.  He believes they can come together, however, in the realm of spiritual formation…creating “the essential matrix for congregational membership and adult Christian discipleship.”  From your experience over the years, how have you seen these two disciplines applied?  How have you been the recipient of each, and what value do you place on them?

3.  Grayston advocates for a much longer new member process than the typical model of several weeks.  Review his discussion of “field placements” on page 224.  Have you seen this model work in any congregation or religious setting?  What are the challenges of successfully implementing such an extensive and long-term program in this age of instant gratification and constant mobility?

4.  On page 226, Grayston introduces the concept of 16 as the minimum age for a rite of entry into adulthood.  Building up to this would be four critical areas of examination: spiritual practice, sexuality, social justice, and pilgrimage.  He then provides an integrative approach to spiritual formation for adolescents which include the four elements as outlined on page 229.  How does this prescription compare with the Lutheran model of confirmation? 

5.  Grayston encourages congregations to offer individual and/or group spiritual direction for each of its members.  How does st. Mark provide this already?  What additional means of spiritual direction would be beneficial to you and others?

6.  Finally, what else did you gain from this reading?  Are there any issues for Pastor Mark you wish to raise concerning this material or related issues?

The Emerging Christian Way

Ch. 12 – Christian Education and the Imaginative Spirit

1.  Susan Burt is genuinely excited about her subject: “We are being motivated by a new story, an emerging vision that embraces search and meaning, not certainty.”  “As a result, our focus has shifted from the afterlife, to an emphasis on transformed lives, communities, and world in this life, through relationship with God and each other.”  She identifies the Christian community as the most effective context for Christian education.  Compared to my own conservative religious upbringing in rural Minnesota, I have seen and experienced this shift of focus.  Please share your own observations/experiences.

2.  Burt emphasizes the role and urgency of imagination in this process.  I was intrigued with Alan Jones’ quote, “The work of imagination is serious business because through it we build or destroy the world.”  And Carol Wehrheim says, “It is our imagination that propels us toward the God of all creation.”  Review Wehrheim’s five bullet points on page 204.  Briefly share one or two examples in your life where imagination was applied to these areas and led to some kind of personal transformation.

3.  Burt further develops her thesis, “The Power of the Imagination – to Build or to Destroy,” with biblical examples on page 209.  Let’s go with her questions here on page 211:

• So how might we provide spaces and opportunities to encourage such imagination, passion, and compassion?
• In what places are these gifts honored and nurtured in our Christian education practices?
• What do we need in order to foster “Christ-given imagination?”
• What changes for us personally, and in the world at large, when we imagine all people as truly valued neighbors, rather than as rivals or strangers, or “lesser than…?”

4.  Burt notes, “It is in the question, in the not-knowing, that learning occurs.  Remember also that questions do not necessarily need answers, and it is important that we create environments where questions and doubts can be openly and respectfully asked and explored.”  “It is not the answers but the questions that will lead to new discoveries, creative imagining, and transformed lives.”  Where do you encounter such environments and with whom do you share this common search?  What compels you to participate and share in this journey of imagining and learning?

5.  Burt’s mantra reminds her, daily, to let go, to suspend, and to be open to transformation: “Let go of preconceived notions and prejudices.  Expect surprises, expect miracles.”  Review her suggested applications of this on pages 215-216.  How have these, or other applications, provided freedom of imagination?

6.  “When we exercise our imaginative spirit, we move the biblical story out of literalism, factuality, certainly, and fixed answers, and into the unknown.  The story is born anew – a liberating, healing story, revealing deep truths, and an invitation to ‘discern God’s message for this time.’”  I couldn’t have said it more eloquently!  But it doesn’t stop there…she concludes: “Transformation-centered Christianity propels us into transformative acts of love, compassion, and justice.” 

In other words, personal transformation has a purpose and goal that always extend beyond us, into whatever communities we encounter.  What are those groups you are touching right now?  How are you engaged in such transformation in the various relationships and lives around you?

The Emerging Christian Way

Chapter 11 - To Sing or Not to Sing: That is the Question

1.  Bruce Harding begins with the not-so-subtle question, “So what the hell is happening in worship today?”  Not a happy camper.  His verdict: “We have become passive consumers of music and this passivity is affecting our congregational song.”  He attributes such change to recent worship trends, as well.

Without pronouncing judgment, where have you noticed or experienced the greatest changes to our worship and music over the past two decades?  What has been the goal of these changes and for whom were they made?

2.  Harding claims that the cultural battles between traditional and contemporary worship voices are irrelevant…that “the only essential instrument for congregational song is the human voice.”  I agree with his statement that, “Duty quickly turns to delight when a sense of accomplishment and ownership over congregational song prevail…in which the communal voice is at the heart and soul of worship.” 

Can you provide examples of this from your own range of worship experiences over your lifetime?

3.  On the one hand, Harding affirms that, “It is imperative that we remember there is nothing wrong with our tradition.”  On the other hand, he affirms that “to simply dwell in the past will suck the life out of a worshipping community…we must also always be ready to ‘sing a new song.’ 

“The important thing is to choose well, to look for music with depth and rich metaphor, and to lead it sensitively and with awareness of the power music has to take us to a deeper place.” 

What is your sense of balance between old & new music/worship expressions?  What is the appropriate balance between personal preference and diversity for the sake of outreach?

4.  “Increasingly, we are also inviting the song of our sisters/brothers from around the world into our sanctuaries.”  Our recent Lenten mid-week services focused on ELCA missionaries around the globe, including their diverse worship and music. 

How has such exposure to different cultures expanded your appreciation for the Spirit’s activity?  Do you have any favorite ethnic music outside of our country?

5.  What else did you gain from this week’s reading?  Where do you feel most encouraged to explore new forms of music or worship?

The Emerging Christian Way

Chapter 10 – Worship: Pilgrims in the Faith

1.  Mark MacLean addresses a deeply personal, yet very public topic of ongoing discourse within the Christian community: How are we to worship?  Our responses are as unique as our individual life experiences, viewpoints, and preferences.  Any kind of consensus on a large scale is therefore difficult, if not impossible.  (Thus, the proliferation of countless religious expressions!) 

MacLean begins with an intimate, mystical encounter with the Spirit at a church service on the island of Iona.  He effectively introduces the origin and purpose of the Hebrew word for Spirit, Ruah.  “It is essential that each worshipping community find a way to lift its faithful membership into that Spirit of God which binds our hearts…for God’s Breath – Ruah – is central to our being and vocation.”  How has this “breath” and “blowing wind” of God touched you in worship?  Where and when do you encounter it?  How has it shaped you over time?  (Please be sure that every participant has opportunity to share a response.)

2.  MacLean quickly moves into the challenges we face as worshiping communities.  He stresses that we have “lost our sense of corporate worship as the central if not utterly essential moment in the life of Christian community.”  “Our challenge is to provide a space for this new generation of faith to find a spiritual home, and to be willing to hear their voice when they arrive.  It is through our corporate worship that this window is first cracked open so it can be flung wide for Ruah to blow through them, and us.”

What might “space for this new generation of faith” look like as we address this challenge together?  How might we become better equipped to re-think this issue and explore fresh opportunities for inclusion and growth?

3.  As MacLean moves deeper into our present debates of style and substance, he cites the broad backgrounds of the Liturgical Renewal Movement and Contemporary or Evangelical Worship, providing general formats of worship from each (pp. 176-181).  Take a moment to review these again.  Briefly describe your own experience or awareness of them.  What do you see as the strengths and limitations of each?

4.  MacLean urges us to move beyond the split.  “The irony for both communities is that these styles are dated, outmoded, and neither adequately lifts the culture of the gospel in the midst of the dominant culture.”  “The future of worship lies in deep authenticity and artistic forms.”  These five themes include:

1. Revelation
2. A new emphasis on the Bible
3. Historical consciousness
4. Influence of the Reformation
5. Ecumenical character

Briefly review each (pp. 183-184).  Individually and collectively, how do these five forms serve to shape our church today?

5.  MacLean concludes with the realization that this will always be an ongoing debate...a “shared pilgrimage in faith.”  As “pilgrims,” we share in this journey…reveling “in the rich stories of the other pilgrims around them, who are moving on their own distinct paths toward the same destination.”  How does the term, “pilgrim,” aid us in defining our vocation and our destination?

6.  “Authentic, innovative worship moves beyond the concerns of bulletins and spreadsheets, instrumentation and multimedia, personality and taste, age and tradition, and points to the mystical realm of the Spirit.”  “Authentic worship names our unique heritage amidst our diverse reality, and openly shares the richness of the full human condition as a spiritual gift.”  Let this wisdom simply be our closing prayer today… “Lord, let it be so.  Amen.”

The Emerging Christian Way

Chapter 9 – Social Justice and a Spirituality of Transformation

1.  Bill Phipps is a minister, and it shows.  This essay reads like a lengthy, but eloquent sermon…carefully crafted with compelling examples and a sense of urgent necessity.  Bill is a straight shooter who doesn’t cloak his thoughts and feelings with vague descriptions.  His opening sentences are profoundly direct, “What could I possibly say?  I was blank.”

Have you ever witnessed an atrocity of the kind Phipps gives in the beginning?  Do you agree with his quote from Margaret Atwood: “The facts of this world seen clearly are seen through tears; why tell me then there is something wrong with my eyes?”

2.  From here, Phipps provides additional stories of attempts to renew and transform social attitudes and behavior.  These include the “Women in Black”; the “People and the Planet”; the “Bow Riverkeepers”; the “Celebration of Water”; and the place of homosexual people in the life of Christian congregations.  “In each of these stories,” he concludes, “a universal spirituality with a particular expression lifts up a spirituality of transformation, which leads to action.”

Which, if any, of these examples capture your own interest and/or passion for social change?  Can you provide examples or experiences of your own that have greatly changed your point of view?  What are the current challenges & barriers for developing further attitudinal and behavioral changes in our society?

3.  Phipps stresses that “social transformation through action takes priority over correct belief.”  After citing several biblical references, he says, “In other words, true spiritual transformation is more likely to occur when we ‘act into belief’ rather than then when we try to ‘believe into action.’”  “Actions…are more important than what we say.”

The rest of his essay serves to further illustrate this driving premise.  Where do we, as Lutherans, tend to favor responses that “stay in the head,” versus getting to “the actions that will transform lives?”  Where has “actual engagement” in ministry opportunities served to initiate such transformation for you?  Please consider sharing some specific examples.

4.  Citing Archbishop Oscar Romero as one of his spiritual heroes, Phipps includes Romero’s poem, “Prophets of a Future Not Our Own.”  Look at this poem again (p. 165).  What does it mean to you?  What might it mean to the United States?  What might it mean to the entire world right now?

5.  Following this, Phipps concludes, “I believe our modest efforts for justice and peace are better if they are interfaith, if we fully respect and honor other paths of faith.  No one has the corner on truth.  We live in a multicultural world; if we are to be effective, our work for social change needs to reflect this reality.”

Do you agree with and accept this final premise?  Given our local context…how are we working together, multiculturally, here in the Rockford area and in northern Illinois?  What more can we do, together, to promote social change and transformation?

The Emerging Christian Way

Discussion Questions:  Chapter 7 – Paying Homage 

Chapter 8 – Radical Inclusion

1.  In this refreshingly concise and clear essay, Bruce Sanguin offers a thesis supported by tolerance and open-mindedness toward the larger faith community of the world.  He begins with a not-so-tolerant lampooning of the Southern Baptists for their hell-bent agenda and tactics of peddling conversion at all costs to Muslims.  Sanguin’s message: this is bad…very bad.  Have you encountered such efforts with other Southern Baptists or with Evangelical Christians bearing a fundamentalist agenda?  What attitudes/theology inform such exclusion and claiming of truth?

2.  From here, Sanguin introduces a different model, as presented in Matthew’s depiction of the Magi…noting that “the basis of the unity of all peoples of faith is biospiritual.  We have all come from the same place and are made of the same stuff.  We are stardust, reconfigured in human form, inspired by the Creator.”  The Magi travel to Israel for a single purpose…to pay homage to the Christ child. No Southern Baptist agenda here. This, Sanguin suggests, is our healthy alternative…the way of the Magi. 

Let’s discuss his follow-up questions: What would ecumenical relations with other faiths look like if they were homage-based?  What would it mean for Christians to make the long journey across strange cultural and religious landscapes bearing only gifts of respect for all that is sacred in other traditions?

3.  Finally, Sanguin contends that “the deeper we go into our own faith system, the closer we get to God…[and thus] the more we are informed by values of diversity, inclusivity, and respect for the inherent dignity of other people and faiths.”  Only by adopting the wisdom of the Magi will we, too, be equipped to “return home by another road,” transformed by our experience.  So where in your life have you returned home by “another road?”

4.  Anne Squire writes with a similar passion/goal, embracing the language of inclusion in understanding “the kingdom of God.”  I chuckled at her opening quote from Don Cupitt, “What Jesus preached was ‘the kingdom’; what he got was the church!”  What does this statement imply about the historical and current affairs of the church?

5.  Squire says that “radical inclusion demands that membership in the community in question be open to all.”  Let’s address her initial question: What did Jesus mean when he talked of the kingdom of God?

6.  Squire then quotes John Dominic Crossan, who says, “Jesus robs humankind of all protective privileges, entitlements, and ethnicities that segregate people into categories.”  Thus, she writes, “The kingdom of God, as defined by Jesus, is a realm of radical inclusion, a society of radical equality.”  Therefore, “no one has the right to speak for God in the choice of who is in and who is out.”  Sounds eloquent and simple…yet the world struggles to adopt such attitudes of mutual tolerance.  As we look around us, what are the greatest barriers/hurdles toward this path of grace?

7.  Squire notes many of the individuals and groups most directly affected by current restrictions and exclusions (pages 147-151).  The key to addressing these, she suggests, is “education about the early days of Christianity…[as well as] the new formulations of theology, which allow the church to re-create itself.”  She invites us to think and live in “the kingdom way”…motivated and informed by Jesus’ own vision of God’s kingdom. 

What does thinking and living in “the kingdom way” mean for you?  How does it promote inclusivity in your life journey?