A Modestly Profound Question
I was having coffee with a good friend, which everyone knows is the best place for conversation, when he blurted out the question: “How do I go deeper with Christ?” Now, please understand that my friend is no newcomer to faith. He has been a Jesus follower for much of his life, is sharp and grounded theologically, has experienced God’s powerful work in his life many times and has a vibrant daily faith. As you can hopefully tell, then, this was not the time to say “Here, read this C.S. Lewis book and call me in the morning.” No, my friend is already deep in…so what would it look like for him to go deeper–how would that happen?
I’ve been pondering this for a week, because it’s not only my friend who deserves a good answer, but it’s me. And if it’s helpful, maybe you too. For the most part, I’ve tried to resist coming up with a list of specific things to DO. I have no 10 Simple Steps to Deeper Faith, nor do I wish to load items onto already overcrowded checklists. Rather, I’d like to give some larger-picture ideas on what developing deeper faith in Christ might look like in real life. Once you’ve embraced (or rejected) these, finding good resources on specific spiritual disciplines to practice (like prayer, fasting, journaling, confession) is relatively easy–Richard Foster, Ignatius of Loyola, John Mark Comer, Dallas Willard, Teresa of Avila…choose your tutor. So, in no particular order, here are things I want my friend to think about to go deeper with Christ:
a) Spend time with someone you suspect you can learn the faith from. I’m not talking here about officially establishing and labeling a mentor/mentoree relationship. Perhaps that will be part of your specific plans later. No, I’m talking about looking around your life for people whose walk with Christ you admire. Figure out a way to spend consistent time with just one of them. Much of our learning about life in the Spirit will happen by osmosis, which may drive those of us hooked on efficiency crazy, but it’s true. Osmosis means “the process of gradual or unconscious assimilation of ideas or knowledge.” It means you need to be around someone enough to let who they are and where they have come with Christ rub off on you. My personal guess is that it will not be someone who is well-known or powerful or influential in Christian circles. You don’t have to look for high profile people you don’t know. Most likely, it will be someone already in your life, so that when I ask you “whose faith in Christ do you admire for its depth?” that person comes to mind.
b) Settle in for the long haul. Depth is a cumulative thing. If you spend time with someone and the ground doesn’t shake nor the skies light up, not to worry. You are in it for the long haul. Any one time, two times perhaps you won’t feel like you are learning or growing or being challenged. Don’t leave, don’t run away, don’t quit meeting. You are in it for the long haul, and real formation happens via accumulation. It also occurs when you may not feel it. We live in a world that is addicted to instantaneous results and runs on how we feel from moment to moment. Resist both.
c) Expose yourself to beauty. Get outdoors to experience the wonder and intricacy of creation, listen to music, read good literature or absorb poetry, watch the miracle of children or grandchildren, notice the stunning diversity among people, haunt art museums or galleries, watch a good show or a movie with depth. Since we are made in God’s image, and because God is creative beyond all bounds, when we immerse ourselves in beauty which leaves us just a little breathless, something happens. Our hearts soften and open. We experience God through our senses rather than only our mind. We are touched by the majesty of the One who made everything from mollusks to galaxies, glaciers to ocean tides, spotted fawns to photosynthesis to sunsets and in the understatement of all eternity, said merely, “It is good.” It is beautiful, and beauty draws us to the Artist.
d) Worship. I know, it’s just such a pastor thing to say, but it’s true. We were made for worship. It re-sets our world. Eugene Peterson once said, “Worship is the strategy by which we interrupt our preoccupation with ourselves and attend to the presence of God.” After all these years and worshiping in settings around the world and across denominations I can honestly say that the worship style, my personal preferences and sometimes even the quality of worship…is less important than fully giving myself to doing it. Can we worship on our own, in nature, on a mountain, in a quiet time? Sure. But that’s not sufficient in the long run. We need each other, we need each other’s prayers, gifts, voices, and presence. We walk with each other towards the Lord when we worship together. Most of the time, it’s not a solo endeavor. As James K.A. Smith identified, “The church–the body of Christ–is the place where God invites us to renew our loves, orient our desires, and retrain our appetites.”
e) Do Justice. For the sake of brevity, be involved in God’s work of setting things right. Since none of us can do everything, pick something. We stumble over so many things wrong in the world, so many things happening every day that are opposed to the things of God. Pick something that works towards setting things right–racism, destruction of the environment, gun violence, poverty gap, treatment of immigrants. The list is endless. Pick something, but remember that the motivation is not just to support a good cause, but to participate in God’s longing for justice…which oddly enough, usually boils down to simply loving our neighbors.
f) Learn to be quiet. This can definitely apply to interpersonal relationships, where most of us need to learn to ask questions and then listen instead of speak, but I’m thinking more about solitude. Practice quiet. Do it enough that you can be comfortable not producing, not being efficient, not talking, not listening to a podcast. Silence. Silence that at first makes you squirm and look for things to accomplish or someone to text. Quiet that is long enough that you might become aware of what you are thinking about, what weighs on your heart. Silence enough to hear not just your own breathing, but God’s voice.
g) Listen for God’s voice in Scripture. Read it, chew on it, think about it, meditate on it, memorize it, study it, be shaped by it. There is simply no replacement for coming to Scripture regularly and often with a heart open to hearing from God.
I realized as I wrote these thoughts that they fall pretty much into the same categories that N.T. Wright labeled universal human longings in his book Simply Christian: justice, spirituality (awareness of transcendence), meaningful relationships, and beauty. These are things Wright thinks all human beings yearn for, whether they realize it or not. What a joy that all of these things are met in Christ, and we can spend a lifetime with Him and each other…going deeper.
Peace of Christ,
Dan Baumgartner
*artwork: Toilers of the Sea Albert Pinkham Ryder 1879
Dan Baumgartner is the senior pastor at The Cove in Santa Rosa CA and formerly served as Secretary on The Fellowship Community Board.