Monday, May 12
Feedback on the pathways…
Based on a book by Gary Thomas called ‘Sacred Pathways’, we began a 4 week look at what are the ‘next steps’ for us at Crossings yesterday morn…This quote by Thomas probably best describes what we discussed yesterday… “All too often, those who desire to grow and be fed spiritually are given the same, generic, hopefully all-inclusive methods---usually some variation on a standardized quiet time. Why? Because it’s simple, it’s generic, and it’s easy to hold people accountable to. But is it enough?”
He writes that he believes that there are different pathways, 9 of them, that people walk to relate to God, to draw near to Him.
Here’s the list that he gives of the different ways people draw near, relate to God…
1- Naturalist: Loving God out of doors
-A naturalist recognizes the beauty and majesty of God as He is displayed in His creation. …
2- Sensate: Loving God with the senses
-Sensates want to be lost in the awe, beauty, and splendor of God. They are drawn to God through the liturgical, the sights, sounds, smells of worship
3- Traditionalist: Loving God through ritual and symbol
-Traditionalists tend to have disciplined lives of faith that include worship through rituals, structure and sacraments
4- Ascetic: Loving God in solitude and simplicity
-Ascetics want nothing more than to be left alone in prayer.
5- Activist: Loving God through confrontations
-Activists define ‘worship’ as standing against injustice and evil in the world, this is where they feel closest to God.
6- Caregiver: Loving God by loving others
-Caregivers have passion to love God by meeting the needs and healing the wounds of hurting people.
7- Enthusiast: Loving God with mystery and celebration
-Enthusiasts find God not just in concepts, but by responding with verbal and physical enthusiasm.
8- Contemplative: Loving God through adoration
-A contemplative considers a relationship with God to be a romance in which they sense loving intimacy.
9- Intellectual: Loving God with the mind
-Intellectuals feel closest to God when they first understand something new about Him.
I would love to get your feedback on the following questions…I’m extremely interested, especially as I prepare for next week, where some of you are on these paths…
Which ‘Pathway’ or ‘Pathways’ are yours…?
What basic ways do you try and ‘draw near to God’…? If this faith is about a relationship with God, Jesus, the Holy Spirit, how do you go about cultivating that…?
What are the greatest struggles?
Mark Nelson at 11:53 AM 4comments
4 Comments
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at 4:51 PM
said... Me...
Naturalist, Sensate, Enthusiast, Intellectual-
at 2:58 PM
said...
At one time or another I have probably been all of the above, sometimes a single pathway or several of them combined.
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at 2:56 PM
TW Seevers said... I like the concept of finding out how we are wired to draw close to God. The question I have is, "Can we use this information to also find our niche in giving back to those we come in contact with?" If our 'sweet spot' is where our greatest joy and the world's greatest need intersect, then how do we take our greatest joy (ie. drawing close to God through one or more sacred pathways) and use that to meet the greatest needs of our day? Can it be done?
Tim-
at 10:29 PM
KJOY said...
I finished this book a couple weeks ago. Seems like marrying Jeph was the best way to look at different pathways. When we first got married, I was such a holy nag! I thought he was doing it all wrong because he wasn't doing it "right" - "right" being the standard quiet time that I could catch him doing at the same time every day, preferably in the very early morning, no doubt praying for his beautiful wife! :) Through these five years I've been blessed to be stretched by him and babies to walk this pathway in different ways. Still, after reading the book and taking the little quizzes, no surprise to me or Jeph that I am still a fairly good mix of sensate, enthusiast, contemplative & ascetic. I find that if I get too comfortable in my top 4 that I miss out on some of the surprises God might have for me when I connect in a different way. Great book - Jeph is always suggesting one of your favorites.