Discerning the landscape of our journey: Activating our "spiritual GPS"

In a conversation with some friends at Cascade Hills, I was trying to explain the core of each of the three movements in spiritual formation.

When we were discussing the first movement and asking the question "where am I now?", one person said, "it's like breaking out our spiritual GPS." I thought, what a great analogy for this stage in the process! GPS tools keep track of trustworthy external reference points high above the terrain we're facing, giving us a better knowledge of exactly where we stand. What's more, the tool provides the ability to input an end goal, helping us to keep track of our progress toward that goal. Knowing where you are in relation to your destination is an invaluable part of navigating difficult terrain. Anyone who has tried to follow a map while driving in fog knows this truth all too well.

In the process of spiritual formation, it is wise for us to pause frequently and give some attention to the spiritual landscape in which we find ourselves. Of course, we immediately run into trouble with the word "spiritual". The term conjures up moods, temperaments, attitudes, mystery, and ambiguity. When I am using the term here, I mean it to refer to those aspects of our lives in which God is involved.

And of course, by that I mean just about everything. We are used to calling our prayer times and church gatherings "spiritual", but it is essential to God's restoring purposes in creation that we recover a sense of God's involvement in everything: our interactions with our spouse, cleaning out the garage, paying the guy behind the counter for our french fries, sleeping soundly after a day of frantic activity, and every other corner of our busy lives.

The first step to activating our spiritual GPS is to recognize that God is active in and around us. As we acknowledge and invite His presence into more areas of our life, we find new strength to approach struggles, new directions open that were previously invisible or closed to us, we discover a shift in attitude toward self-giving in our relationships, and we experience new passion and joy in the activities for which God made us.

Looking at our Spiritual Landscape

With this new sense of God's presence in all we are and do, giving attention to the spiritual landscape around us in our lives is a larger task than it sometimes first appears. Let's explore some ways we can begin this task.

"Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength and with all your mind..." (Luke 10:27a)

We might begin by looking at the center: our relationship with God and our history with Him. Are we exploring a relationship with God for the first time, asking questions and wondering? Have we decided to enter into covenant with God, becoming a part of His people and participating in His mission in the world? Do we have a long history with Him or are we new to the life of following Christ? Is there a breach in the relationship, something we've done or something we feel God has done that has made the relationship difficult? Is our experience of God in our lives characterized by obligation or impulse, dryness or passion, mystery or clarity?

"...and love your neighbor as yourself." (Luke 10:27b)

Next we might explore our significant relationships that shape our lives. Are we married? Are we raising children or being raised under parental authority? Who are our friends and family, and what relationship do we have with them? Who are our neighbors, co-workers, or classmates, brothers and sisters in our faith community? What responsibilities and connections do we have that involve them?

"Whatever your hand finds to do, do it with all your might." (Ecclesiastes 9:10)

We might also explore our vocation, the daily activities and sphere of influence, those things to which we feel responsible or even a sense of calling. Do we find ourselves with an occupation that requires the use of our skills and energy? Do we find ourselves with the task of caring for and raising children? Are we gaining an education that will serve one or more of these purposes? Have we reached the point of retirement or a second career?

"We have different gifts, according to the grace given us." (Romans 12:6)

What are the passions and ambitions which drive us? Do we long for creative expression, for a sense of accomplishment in a specific pursuit? Do we experience a sense of giftedness accompanied by a desire to use that gift in a way that impacts the people or neighborhoods around us? What other intangible factors regularly exert their influence on us?

"Praise be to the Lord, to God our Savior, who daily bears our burdens." (Psalm 68:19)

There are many more: what is our health situation? Our financial situation? Are there major struggles that otherwise make a significant impact in our daily lives? Actions of our own or of others for which we are suffering consequences? Other major events in our lives or in the lives of people around us that make themselves known in our hearts and minds?

Gaining the Perspective of Altitude

No list we make can pretend to be exhaustive. Let the previous list serve the function of reminding us or bringing to the forefront of our thinking the major features of our spiritual landscape.

Now is the time to start sketching out a map. Can you list two or three major features of your spiritual landscape from each category (relationship with God, human relationships, vocation, gifts and passions, human factors) that help you map out the landscape of your daily life? The list might be four or five items long, or much longer, depending on how long you want to spend on this process of discernment and what level of detail you want to achieve. Give it the time which seems appropriate to you now and don't feel you have to capture such a shifting, changing thing in one perfect list; you will return to this movement in the process again and again.

For right now, let your list grow for a time and then let it sit. Return to it after a few minutes and see if you can identify a handful of items that seem to consume a large share of your resources. Can you identify a few major concerns that you find occupying your thoughts? What would Jesus say if you asked him to help you discern the major dimensions of your life? Jot them down in a list and then engage in a time of prayer over them. Consider the following components to this time of prayer:

• An acknowledgment of God's presence with us and in the midst of each of these concerns
• A prayer for clarity as we look at our spiritual landscape; have we missed something which Jesus would remind us of if he were kneeling with us in prayer?
• An offering of willingness to listen for God's guidance and wisdom as we approach each of these areas of our lives

At this point, we might prayerfully return to the list of categories again to see if any new ones pop out at us or if God has rearranged any of our priorities. This would be an excellent time to involve faithful friends in this process, asking them to help us see what's happening in our life and the major features of our spiritual landscape.

The Outcome of Discerning Our Spiritual Landscape

The best outcome of this movement in the process of spiritual formation is a sense of clarity in what most concerns us, how our responsibilities line up and compete with each other in our lives, and the need we have to walk with God as we navigate these features of our spiritual landscape. Having a written, tangible list of these things (1) can help us as we listen carefully for God's calling in our lives (2) and as we seek to put into practice the things which God is calling us to do (3).

May God lead us graciously in the discernment of our lives, giving us confidence that no matter what we discover, He loves us, is with us, and will never forsake us. May God grant us passion to pursue his helping hand, an willingness to attend to His leading, and an eagerness to act on what we know!

An ongoing process for spiritual formation: Where am I? To where is God calling me? What is my part in this process?

As we think and dream about following Christ together in a faith community, we begin to discern a series of recurring movements in our spiritual formation.

We begin somewhere in the process (not necessarily one place or the other). Perhaps we face a crisis or opportunity in our lives and enter into a time of prayer, asking for God's guidance and help through this time. Or perhaps in the daily practice of Bible reading or in the midst of conversation with a trusted friend, we hear the call of God toward some new place in our faith. Or perhaps we've decided to try something new in our faith walk: a new way of serving our co-workers, a new practice of prayer, or a new way of interacting with and blessing our spouse.

No matter where we begin, we find these three related and interconnected movements:

• Asking "where am I now?", looking around ourselves to discern our "spiritual landscape", being observant about our orientation to God and His purposes, the relationships shape us, the things which demand our time and energy, our gifts and talents, and the struggles which we face.
  
• Asking "to where is God calling me?", hearing the call of God into new territory and trusting Him to lead us into a future of His purposes for our blessing.
  
• Asking "what's my part in this process?", looking for concrete ways we can participate with God right where we find ourselves in the midst of our daily lives.
  

Surrounding and filling each of these movements is the activity of God, calling us into conversation with Him, revealing Himself to us, empowering and guiding us. The Spirit is at work in our discerning process, opening our eyes to the reality of where we stand now. The Spirit is at work in calling us to a renewed vision of the future, what God intends for our own wholeness and restoration in every aspect of our lives. And the Spirit is at work in us as we put into practice those things we learn from Jesus.

And as we move through these phases, we find that the whole process is itself dynamic, not caught in an endless loop but rather moving in the direction of Christ. As we attend to each movement in the process, we find that our general movement is toward Christ. We may certainly fall, be caught for a time in foolishness or even outright sin. But is not our hope that though we struggle, Christ bears our burdens and delivers us? Do we not look forward to a foretaste of new life now, though our fullness awaits Christ's return?

Christian Spiritual Formation: Beginning a journey together toward the image of Christ

"Therefore, I urge you, brothers, in view of God's mercy, to offer your bodies as living sacrifices, holy and pleasing to God—this is your spiritual act of worship. Do not conform any longer to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind." (Romans 12:1-2)

At Cascade Hills, we are preparing to enter into a nine-month cycle of spiritual formation together in the context of small groups (which we call Home Communities). This will be the first year that we'll use Home Communities for the purpose of intentional spiritual formation.

In the past, we've focused on creating loving community and on teaching, both of which bore fruit. We now find ourselves in a position to put the things we know into practice in the context of loving community. This will be a journey of discovery for all of us.

Let us begin with an attempt at clarity.

• Christian spiritual formation is the ongoing process of being conformed to the image of Christ.
• The goal of spiritual formation is restored wholeness: a healed fellowship between God, humanity, and creation.
• Spiritual formation is primarily the work of the Holy Spirit, but involves the participation of the individual person.
  
• Spiritual formation is nurtured and supported in the context of covenant community.

Spiritual formation is an ongoing process, one that is undertaken over a lifetime of following Jesus. It passes through different stages as we mature, though we will often revisit similar terrain. Eugene Peterson once called this process "a long obedience in the same direction," a thoroughly countercultural prospect in the age of fast food and faster information. We ought to expect results, but not perhaps in the timing or the form which we would like.

The goal of spiritual formation is to be conformed to the image of Christ. Christ is the image of God and at the same time the picture of human wholeness: what we would look like restored, reconciled, renewed, whole. As we are conformed into the image of Jesus, we find ourself being healed. Part of this healing includes a return to a radical other-centered way of life, one in which we pour ourselves out for the sake of others. To be conformed to Christ is to cease to be the center of our world, allowing God to send us as bearers of love and grace to all within reach. As we attain to maturity in Christ, we increasingly experience restored fellowship with God, one another, and with creation itself. We become part of God's restorative presence in the world (just as is Christ), a sent people that point beyond ourselves to God.

We are not the primary actors in spiritual formation. This process occurs as the mysterious and powerful work of the Holy Spirit. The image of Christ is not something that can be attained by rigorous self-control, a multi-step program, or frenzied activity. We are conformed by the breath of God which dwells within us, the gracious life-giving gift received upon the occasion of our baptism and reception into the covenant community of God's people. And yet this transformation does not occur without our knowledge or permission, but rather as a divine-human cooperation: a yielding of human will to the subtle direction and power of the Spirit.

And lastly, spiritual formation is nurtured and supported by the presence of others on a similar journey. As we undertake this lifelong process of being conformed to the image of Christ, we find that others we encounter along the way become part of the shaping process. We learn to love, to forgive, to share, to work, to give. We find that the more that we resemble Christ, the more we seek out community and the more community forms around us as fruit of the Holy Spirit. Together we learn the truth about ourselves and celebrate the joy of fellowship with God, others, and creation.

Next, we'll look at the nature of Cascade Hills Home Communities and look for ways of participating together with others and with God in the process of spiritual formation.