WHAT IS CHRISTIAN SPIRITUALITY?

There are times when a book is published that it so grounding and foundational in its area of focus that one must purchase a copy and read it. The book by Evan Howard, The Brazos Introduction to Christian Spirituality, it just such a volume. In the past I have used it for my own reference and deeper understanding of the Christian life.

Howard says that there are actually three levels of meaning to be attached to the meaning of the term “Christian spirituality.”

1. The practice or actual lived relationship with God, individually and communally. [experiential]
2. Formulation of teaching about that lived reality. [theological]
3. Academic field of study regarding the history of Christian thought and experience[academic] [pages 16-17].

Since our congregational motto is “Spiritual growth through loving and serving” it behooves us to understand what we are talking about. For our church and its immediate application, we are referring to the very first level of meaning regarding Christian spirituality. At the level of actual practice this means…

“…Life in the Spirit as brothers and sisters of Jesus Christ and daughters and sons of the Father.”

This life is described as “fellowship,” “one another,” “the body,” etc. This common life in Christ is the context in which our spirits are nourished, our burdens are lifted, and our journey is shared. God would have it no other way. We really do need each other in our quest to grow spiritually. In fact, we grow with one another toward God and away from self. There is no other way!

One final thought today: thinking of Christian spirituality in terms of a lived relationship with the divine is comprehensively included in the word “covenant.” God is in covenant relationship with us, we with God, and we with one another. Covenant commitments are to be taken seriously and never adulterated. Faithfulness, fidelity and staying true to covenant is the backbone of a healthy Christian spirituality!

In Christian love, Curtis

THE CHRISTIAN MIND-SET & PERSPECTIVE (2)

Thinking like Jesus is not easy. Having his attitude and mindset is hard day after day. Especially if people around you don’t care. Caring when others don’t is a real challenge. But it is in contexts like this that we shine the brightest for God. But we really do need each other in the church to help us learn how to think and be like Jesus at all times.

Probably the best portion of Paul’s writings to help us with this is Philippians 2:1-11. In the first paragraph he addresses interpersonal problems plaguing their fellowship: selfish ambition, vain conceit and self-centeredness. All of these are rooted in personal pride. How does the body of Christ overcome these?

By being like-minded (focusing on the same thing)

By being one in spirit and purpose (thinking the same thing about Jesus)

By having the same love

By having the mindset of Jesus Christ

If we are to focus on thinking the same thing about Jesus, and having the same love for each other because of that, what then did Jesus think? Again, Paul provides the model.

Jesus took on the attitude of humility and emptied himself.

Jesus did not grasp onto his position of being equal with God.

Jesus took on the form of humanity with all of its challenges and suffering.

Jesus humbled himself and became obedient even to the point of death.


Once we realize the power of the mindset of Jesus, we are then willing to give up self, relinquish personal pride, dethrone personal ambition, emptying ourselves so that we can be filled with the Spirit and the mind of Christ. This is a total transformation of the mind and heart that defines the Christian perspective on life. I know it is hard, but living otherwise is harder!

In Christian love, Curtis

THE CHRISTIAN MIND-SET & PERSPECTIVE

Being a Christian means that my view of the world is seen through a unique set of lens. Instead of a mechanistic, fatalistic or humanistic perspective, this world takes on a different hue because my mind has been transformed by the power of God’s Spirit and the power of my risen Lord.

Interestingly, in his letter to the church at Philippi, the apostle Paul uses a distinct word which can be translated as “mindset” or “focus” or “how one thinks about something.” Ten (10) times Paul uses it in this short letter to his Christian brothers and sisters.

Perhaps this is not by accident, since Paul himself is in prison. We have seen this before in Paul’s life. Remember in the book of Acts where he and Silas were in prison and they sang songs? Instead of playing the “poor-pitiful-me” card, Paul and Silas praised God that they had been counted worthy to suffer for the name of Jesus. This unique mindset let to the conversion of the Philippian jailor.

Perhaps no one in the early church is more qualified to tell us how to see the world through Christian lens, or approach things from a Christian mindset than Paul. His own resume of suffering for the cause of Christ is lengthy. It certainly lends credibility to his comments on how Christians are to think in circumstances less than ideal.

Listen to Paul’s first reference in Philippians:

“It is right for me to feel (think about, have this mindset) about all of you, since I have you in my heart”(l:7).

What frames Paul’s view of his readers? What contributes to the wonderful way in which he sees them?

1. He is confident that God who began a good work in them will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus.
2. He has them in his heart; he loves them deeply and continues to lay his life on the line for them.
3. All of them shared in God’s grace with him.

Think of how powerful these aspects of the Christian mindset can be in our life! Confident of God’s work in others! Loving others from our heart deeply! Sharing in the outpouring of God’s in each other’s lives! I cannot think of a better way to view life. I cannot think of a better mindset to have! Can you?
In Christian love, Curtis

RE-DEFINING SUCCESS FOR THE CHURCH

The last big point that I want to reflect on made by Randy Harris at ElderLink is this: we must redefine success in order to reach our world with the good news of Jesus. The church has been enamored with business models of success and measuring that success. But it is strange that things we count as important rarely, if ever, surface in the New Testament with regards to the life and vitality of the church.

If a core value of the kingdom is (as Randy suggested) reconciliation, then perhaps we need to re-think the success and progress of the church. Let me be candid here and provide an example.

Every church I have worked with over the last 36 years of pastoral ministry usually gives a financial and success report in January that is based on yearly contribution, attendance figures, etc. What if we changed that and let “reconciliation” be what we reported on? Here is what the report for the year would be like…

This past year 25 people were reconciled to God, and put on their Lord Jesus in baptism.
This past year 8 couples were reconciled to each other.
This past year 4 individuals in the church who had issues with one another were reconciled with each other.
This past year 12 people came down front during the worship assembly and asked for forgiveness and to be reconciled to God.

What if this is how we viewed the church and her mission? What if reconciliation defined our mission, not dollars and attendance? What if relationships with one another, with outsiders, and with God were our main concern?

Not only do we need to re-define success, we need to remove the word “success” from our Christian vocabulary! It needs to be replaced with words such as “faithfulness,” “fruitfulness,” “reconciliation,” etc. Whether we like to admit it or not, our culture has defined church for us. We have allowed the marketplace to dictate to us how think Christian-ly.

Is the heart of the Christian experience about reconciliation? If it is, we need to clean up our vocabulary, our act, our pride and humble ourselves beneath the mighty hand of God. “Be reconciled to God…and to one another!”

In Christian love, Curtis