Spiritual Postures: Introduction
Introduction to the Series:
Most of my life has been spent competing for something. As an athlete I always wanted to work harder than the guy next to me. When it came to sports…I was committed to being more disciplined and focused but that didn’t always translate into the rest of my life. It wasn’t until seminary when I began to take a disciplined approach to learning and focusing on cultivating my spiritual life.
With that said I want to introduce a new series of blogs on spiritual formation. After nearly a two month sabbatical from writing to focus on different aspects of spiritual formation, I will release a new post each month for the next year covering the following postures.
Prayer (this is the best place to start!)
Fasting (Don’t worry this post is after Thanksgiving and Christmas!)
Meditation
Study
Simplicity
Solitude
Submission
Service
Confession
Worship
Fellowship
Celebration
By focusing on one topic each month I (we) can immerse myself (ourselves) in exploring the depth of each means of grace through theory and praxis.
My hope for this series is to orient my life to God in Christ by the Spirit. I hope you will join me.
Spiritual Disciplines
My major in seminary was spiritual formation. This does not make me an expert. All this means is that I have read and explored numerous Christian tradition’s view of spiritual disciplines. Without plunging the depths of that in this introduction I want to briefly address why this is the last time you will read spiritual disciplines in this series.
When I say “spiritual disciplines,” I am pretty confident that I know exactly what you are thinking. Your first thought was probably “morning quiet time,” or maybe “prayer”; fewer of you thought of fasting or solitude; and probably none of you thought of celebration or submission.
Words say something every time we say them. “Spiritual discipline” is a grand attempt at saying something of opposite meaning. An 18-year-old me hears spiritual disciplines and thinks “try harder,” “be better,” or worse…”win.” The goal of spiritual formation is not a better you or a more committed you but a holier you. A you that looks more like Jesus.
But we live in a world of self-made people that cling to the idea of sharpening ourselves to the image of Christ. In this egotistical self-centered gospel we subtly but tragically deny Christ. We have bought into God as a life raft and all we have to do is reach for Him and we can be saved. Yet at the end of the day we were at the bottom of the sea far from the surface.
Means of Grace
Instead, the Christian gospel declares that Christ has accomplished for you and I what we could never accomplish on our own. He has won the fight that we didn’t even know we were in. He defeated the enemy that we unkowningly held close.
Spiritual disciplines allow no room for the grace of Christ. Instead, what we need are means of grace. We need posturings that lead us to God and leave us there. The topics that will be addressed are not disciplines to make you better but are instead means of grace that by the power of the Holy Spirit can make you holy.
Have you ever said to yourself…”this is the year that I am committing to God.”? “I am going to be more generous,” “I want to pray more,” or “I’m going to read the bible more.”
We all want these things. We want lives filled with prayer. We want authentic fellowship where we are completely known by others. We want an intimacy with God that might await a more disciplined self.
And yet in our very efforts, we become exhausted and quickly give up on our spiritual exercise that didn’t really leave any room for the Spirit of God. We lose interest. We lose hope. We surrender to the idol of self.
What we need is a movement of the Holy Spirit. We need to be crushed by grace. We need to let go of discipline and embrace holiness. We need a better story. We need a more beautiful song.
That is exactly what is promised in God through Christ by the power of the Spirit.
Will you join me?