The Jesus Way
Eugene Peterson writes, “Jesus is the alternative to the dominant ways of the world, not a supplement to them. We cannot use impersonal means to do or say a personal thing - and the gospel is personal or it is nothing.” I have great reverence for Peterson. There is so much to like about him that truly cleanses my soul; it feels like a betrayal to disagree with him. But to remove the dirty reality of human action from the Jesus way is too idealistic and, frankly, a product of the psychologized society. In other words, there are plenty of impersonal exploitive ways in which ambitious modern Christians use Jesus for personal gain that lead to the salvation of thousands. Is the alternative to stop doing that for sake of a more pristine method. Of course, I would hope for a more Peterson-like method, or even Jesus-like mode, but I can’t and won’t limit it to that.
The same thing could be said about Dallas Willard’s famous statement, “Seek not to speak, seek to have something to say.” There is always Dallas’ attractive goal of never having anything to prove or commit oneself never to attempt to make anything happen. Even that silence and solitude are the furnace that stokes the fire of inner transformation. Who can disagree with such lofty goals, but is the contemplative personality the only one that can truly find rest for their souls and fruit that is without blemish?
In my work Conversion & Discipleship, I mention the tension between mystical spirituality and evangelical spirituality. [1] The mystical tradition focuses on getting closer to God, in fact the goal is a mystical merger between God and the person. This is the emphasis of the Spiritual Formation movement, its books, its writers, and its institutes. The claim seems to be something more pure and closer to Jesus than the other streams of thought that encourage sanctification or formation into Christlikeness. But I must say, even though I have greatly benefited from this emphasis, I see it as very upper middle class, for the well-educated; it is narrow and elitist in nature. It has a limited range and, if anything, will create a neo-evangelical or post-evangelical nobility that will always have a market and appeal. In the end however, it becomes the little train that couldn’t. It has no real engine, because that engine is discipleship. By discipleship I don’t mean getting closer to Jesus or reaching greater heights of sanctification. I mean discipleship in the sense of “Go, make many new disciples who, by nature, make even more that multiply and who produce a movement that takes the Gospel of the Kingdom to every nation, and then the end will come” (Mt. 28:18-20 & Mt. 24:14).
In the Evangelical tradition, spirituality doesn’t attempt to become one with God or get closer to Jesus. When it does, it gets stuck in the cul-de sac of selfishness and a preoccupation of asking, “What about me? How am I doing? What does God think of me today? How is our church doing? How is our movement doing?” Am I suggesting these are not valid questions? No, they have some validity some of the time, but they must not become central to our thinking any more than they already are by genetic disposition. Asking them more than once a quarter is a waste of time and evidence that you are trapped in your insular cul-de-sac. Even the fact that you think I am an unfeeling bastard for writing these words and your back is up right now proves my contention that the psychologized person is the dominant creation of our present society.
The best way is to balance this out on a daily scale that is common sense. Christian mystics tend to avoid petitionary prayers in favor of simple prayers that accept abandonment to the will of God. Something closer to eastern mysticism that is fatalistic. The evangelical tradition of prayer is described by a non-evangelical Karl Barth, “Prayer is wrestling with God, not mediating upon God. It is an attempt to change God’s will, not simply a passive resignation to God’s will.” Most people will not pray if they don’t believe that God will change his mind once in a while. I don’t think Moses would have, I think his life demonstrates it.
The Jesus way is to deny ourselves and to follow him to the cross. So, “the cultivation of consumer spirituality is the antithesis of a sacrificial, deny yourself congregation. A consumer church is an antichrist Church.” [2] Now, there is some Peterson that you can sink your teeth into. Bite down hard and even growl a bit. I think the advice is to get your mind off yourself and start living for others. It is amazing how fast you will grow into Christ likeness. That is the Jesus way. Now, with that in mind, let’s look at the broad strokes of Jesus’ way of working with a multiplicity of people at various levels of commitments. More next time.
