Wednesday, August 29, 2007 at 2:02am
What Jesus and my chiropractor have in common
Column: New Houses from Old Bricks
Before I went to seminary, the word "formation" evoked images of airplanes flying in patterns, not spiritual disciplines. But once I started becoming a pastor, it seemed that suddenly everyone around me was talking about "faith formation" — developing the habits and spiritual disciplines that "form" Christians, such as prayer, worship, Bible study, service and fellowship with other Christians.
Now I think of "faith formation" as the shaping of Christians over a lifetime. For an individual, it means taking on the shape of the person God created you to be. For a community, "faith formation" means helping people grow into disciples of Jesus, lovers of God, and discerners of the Spirit's work in the world.
None of us, however, starts as a smooth lump of clay, ready to be perfectly formed. Most of us, by the time we are aware of ourselves, have been de-formed spiritually, psychologically or emotionally. We might be deformed by trauma or simply by struggles with our family of origin. We might be deformed by the sins and shortcomings — self-centeredness, hubris, fear, addictions — that plague human life. Whether we are deformed by outside events or inside disorder, all of us come to faith formation rather bent out of shape.
Over time, most of us get rather good at being bent and twisted in particular ways. Our habits are what we practice, and we get good at them. I can see this now in the bends and twists of my back, in scoliosis which tends to get worse over time. This makes sense — my body essentially "practices" being crooked, and my joints and muscles get even better at that shape over time. I practice deformation.
I do the same thing when I practice being self-centered or afraid. I picture a metaphorical crookedness in Romans, where Paul says, "Do not be conformed to the pattern of this world" (Romans 12:2). He says, if you practice what the world practices — that self-centeredness, hubris, anxiety, addictions — then you will take on its shape. You will get good at the same bends and twists.
Paul's solution sounds simple: "Be transformed by the renewing of your mind." Traditionally, Christians have had many ways of talking about transformation. Some emphasize the dramatic transformation of conversion and being "born again." Others emphasize a more gradual re-formation over time.
The common denominator in all those traditions is Jesus and the work of the Holy Spirit. Frankly, I think we need both those models. Without the re-formation over time and the practicing of new faithful habits, a dramatic conversion isn't likely to "stick." However, without conversion to inspire those new habits and give a glimpse of their possibility, a gradual approach may not be strong enough to yank us out of the old grooves. It may not give a strong enough alternative to the "pattern of the world."
I've seen this most recently with my chiropractor's approach to correcting the bends and twists in my back. The re-formation is certainly gradual, in the twice-daily exercises in which my back "practices" being straighter and the muscles strengthen in new ways. But there is also the dramatic change of regular adjustments, which give me a glimpse of a new shape. But the adjustments don't stick without the exercises. The exercises don't provide enough change on their own. It seems I need both the dramatic transformations and the gradual reformation.
In both faith formation and physical shape-changing, practice does not make perfect. Rather, practice makes ... well, practiced — slightly straighter, moving ever closer to the shape God wants us to be. Compared to a quick fix, this can be disheartening. But compared to becoming more bent and twisted over time, lifelong formation sounds like a pretty good deal.
(Next week: How we "bend against the curve" in our spiritual lives.)
— — —
Rev. Rebecca Schlatter is an ordained minister in the Lutheran Church (ELCA) in Reno, Nevada. You can contact her at {email newhousesfromoldbricks@hotmail.com}newhousesfromoldbricks@hotmail.com{/email}. © Copyright 2007 by Rebecca Schlatter.
Now I think of "faith formation" as the shaping of Christians over a lifetime. For an individual, it means taking on the shape of the person God created you to be. For a community, "faith formation" means helping people grow into disciples of Jesus, lovers of God, and discerners of the Spirit's work in the world.
None of us, however, starts as a smooth lump of clay, ready to be perfectly formed. Most of us, by the time we are aware of ourselves, have been de-formed spiritually, psychologically or emotionally. We might be deformed by trauma or simply by struggles with our family of origin. We might be deformed by the sins and shortcomings — self-centeredness, hubris, fear, addictions — that plague human life. Whether we are deformed by outside events or inside disorder, all of us come to faith formation rather bent out of shape.
Over time, most of us get rather good at being bent and twisted in particular ways. Our habits are what we practice, and we get good at them. I can see this now in the bends and twists of my back, in scoliosis which tends to get worse over time. This makes sense — my body essentially "practices" being crooked, and my joints and muscles get even better at that shape over time. I practice deformation.
I do the same thing when I practice being self-centered or afraid. I picture a metaphorical crookedness in Romans, where Paul says, "Do not be conformed to the pattern of this world" (Romans 12:2). He says, if you practice what the world practices — that self-centeredness, hubris, anxiety, addictions — then you will take on its shape. You will get good at the same bends and twists.
Paul's solution sounds simple: "Be transformed by the renewing of your mind." Traditionally, Christians have had many ways of talking about transformation. Some emphasize the dramatic transformation of conversion and being "born again." Others emphasize a more gradual re-formation over time.
The common denominator in all those traditions is Jesus and the work of the Holy Spirit. Frankly, I think we need both those models. Without the re-formation over time and the practicing of new faithful habits, a dramatic conversion isn't likely to "stick." However, without conversion to inspire those new habits and give a glimpse of their possibility, a gradual approach may not be strong enough to yank us out of the old grooves. It may not give a strong enough alternative to the "pattern of the world."
I've seen this most recently with my chiropractor's approach to correcting the bends and twists in my back. The re-formation is certainly gradual, in the twice-daily exercises in which my back "practices" being straighter and the muscles strengthen in new ways. But there is also the dramatic change of regular adjustments, which give me a glimpse of a new shape. But the adjustments don't stick without the exercises. The exercises don't provide enough change on their own. It seems I need both the dramatic transformations and the gradual reformation.
In both faith formation and physical shape-changing, practice does not make perfect. Rather, practice makes ... well, practiced — slightly straighter, moving ever closer to the shape God wants us to be. Compared to a quick fix, this can be disheartening. But compared to becoming more bent and twisted over time, lifelong formation sounds like a pretty good deal.
(Next week: How we "bend against the curve" in our spiritual lives.)
— — —
Rev. Rebecca Schlatter is an ordained minister in the Lutheran Church (ELCA) in Reno, Nevada. You can contact her at {email newhousesfromoldbricks@hotmail.com}newhousesfromoldbricks@hotmail.com{/email}. © Copyright 2007 by Rebecca Schlatter.