Worship is . . .
Over the next few weeks I'll be posting to this Blog. I will present a short amount of material and then respond by asking questions and/or give some of my own thoughts on it. To start, I'm just going to ask some questions . . .
In his book, The Divine Embrace: Recovering the Passionate Spiritual Life, Robert Webber describes a key componet of the process of Spiritual Formation as . . .
There is something about this statement that makes me want to say, 'Amen' and 'wait a minute' all at the same time. While I certainly agree that within community spiritual maturity happens,
In today's society where we see relationships being torn apart (marriages, friendships) particularly in the church, how can we expect to experience 'accountable relationships' when the track record is so discouraging?
In his book, The Divine Embrace: Recovering the Passionate Spiritual Life, Robert Webber describes a key componet of the process of Spiritual Formation as . . .
‘a process that takes place within accountable relationships over a period of time for the purpose of bringing believers to spiritual maturity in Christ.’ . . . It is a ‘process . . . over a period of time’ within ‘accountable relationships . . . for the purpose of . . . spiritual maturity in Christ.’
There is something about this statement that makes me want to say, 'Amen' and 'wait a minute' all at the same time. While I certainly agree that within community spiritual maturity happens,
- What about one's individual relationship with Christ and 'Quite Time'?
- Does that not count for in the process of being formed spiritually?
- Then again, how much 'acountability' can actually happen in accountable relationships that lead to spiritual formation/maturity?
In today's society where we see relationships being torn apart (marriages, friendships) particularly in the church, how can we expect to experience 'accountable relationships' when the track record is so discouraging?
posted by Phil English at 7:34 PM
2 Comments:
Nothing happens in a vacuum, and that includes spiritual growth. Of course spending time one-on-one with God has validity and can play an integral part in one's personal growth. But God has called us to community and I believe that's where a large part of our spiritual formation/growth occurs. Speaking as someone who is in an accountable relationship, with someone who knows everything, and I mean, EVERYTHING, there is to know about me and all of my sordid little secrets, I can testify that this has played a significant role in my spiritual growth. A key factor is that this person knows everything there is to know and still accepts me as friend and sister. In other words, I experience Christ's love, forgiveness and acceptance here, in the realm of my humanness -- and that helps to pull the walls down between me and God.
I do believe that one's individual relationship with Jesus is absolutely pertinent, however if our change does not become visible in our relationships with other people, and if we are unwilling to be accountable to people we have chosen to be accountable to, we enable "blind spots" in our lives, that will grow.
I believe that only if we are willing to "loose our life" or in this context "loose face" in front of a friend or a mentor....we will gain the unthinkable.
If we would rather be comfortable and therefore untouchable than be in relationships and grow, that becomes our biggest stumbling stone.
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