Spiritual Discipline

There's not a list of spiritual disciplines in Scripture, but there are certain practices that Scripture identifies as good and profitable for spiritual formation (forming our spirits and character to the image of Christ). These practices have been being performed by Christian men and women throughout history. Some of them include, but are not limited to...

• meditation (journaling, scripture memorization)
  
• prayer
• fasting
• study (scripture, nature)
  
• simplicity (frugal living)
  
• silence & solitude
• submission
• service
• confession
• worship
• guidance
• celebration

Lately I've been interested in the subject of discipleship and spiritual discipline. Perhaps one factor contributing to that interest is my reading of Richard Foster's Celebration of Discipline about 5 years ago, and then again last year when I discovered it on my friend's bookshelf. I also found Dallas Willard's Spirit of the Disciplines, on her shelf, which I enjoyed so much that I searched for another of Willard's books to read over Christmas: The Great Omission. These books certainly impressed upon me the importance of the spiritual disciplines. I recommend all three, and each could probably be found in the "Christian Living" section of your local (or mega-chain) book store.

When I go into a book store, I normally steer clear of the Christian Living section and make my way to the theology section - I want the meat - the intellectually challenging stuff that has to be chewed on for awhile. I do the same when reading Scripture - skip over the pretty straight forward list of dos and don'ts to the passages that tell me about God and all the divine things we'll never be able to wrap our heads around. In a different way, these books also impress upon me the importance of the spiritual disciplines, because they show me that theology can not be truly tasted and digested apart from them.

I'd grown up in a church that emphasized Christian Living - what Christians do (or more often don't do). Theology was not the focus... the trinity was an egg in my mind - shell, white stuff, and yolk:) In college I took classes in church history and historical thought, and was baffled by all there was to learn about the faith I'd grown up in (and thought that I had all figured out, but really knew very little about). I'd had my fill of green eggs and ham and was ready to be an academic!! I'm showing my naivety and ignorance here, b/c somehow I managed to separate the two in my mind - knowledge of Christ (theology) vs. obedience to Christ (Christian living). I don't feel like a total turkey though b/c I see many around me doing the same - focusing on faith or works - orthodoxy or orthopraxy - but not both. I dreamed of going to seminary - to figure out the faith. I wanted to learn about God objectively from a classroom, not a church - I didn't want to learn about spiritual formation and all those emotionally-charged-God-moving-in-my-life-and-speaking-to-me sorts of churchy things. Fortunately, God was moving in my life, and brought me to Gordon-Conwell Theological Seminary. My first bit of reading was from Dietrich Bonhoeffer's Life Together, and I was surprised that this intellectually astute theologian was writing about Christian Living - reading your Bible, praying, singing hymns, etc. - I thought those were subjects for popular Christian writers or pastors, not great German theologians. My classes at Gordon-Conwell often began with the singing of a hymn and the professor praying - and I saw one or two of those professors brought to tears by his lecture material. My Christology professor said that theology could not be a purely academic pursuit, and that it was impossible to know God apart from worship - that God was not a subject to be studied intellectually, but a person to be experienced relationally. Looking back this seems so obvious, but I had my head in the clouds. By the way I took an entire class on the trinity, and still have no clue!

I can't tell you how refreshing it was to begin knowing God with not just my head, but also my heart, and my hands! I learned of Christ M-F in the classroom, in my readings, and discussions, but also in my mornings spent alone reading and memorizing Scripture, singing and praying, in my small group that prayed together weekly, and at church in the pastor's sermons, in the songs we sang, and in the prayers offered aloud by the charismatic lady who sat behind me - she was not a theologian, but I think she knew a lot more of God than I did.

I still gravitate to the theology section of the book store, but with the realization now that those theologians are not just academics who study scripture, but disciples who live and breathe it. I'm still skeptical of whispery/sweet/passionate prayers w/ music in the background, but with the realization now that not all emotion is staged, but true knowledge of God does often evoke emotion. I now realize that knowledge of Christ cannot be had without obedience to Christ and vice versa.

I have my degree (an M.A. in theology), so now its time to start a practice and go to work everyday. They say that's where the real learning takes place anyway.

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"Character is formed through action, and it is transformed through action, including carefully planned and grace-sustained disciplines." -Dallas Willard