Your starting point makes a difference; so does your destination. You might want to get there quickly or take time for touring. You might want to avoid mountains, avoid deserts, or avoid all big cities. You might prefer Interstates, once-famous U.S. highways like Route 66, or state roads. You might want to drive five hours a day, or ten, or around the clock. And so on.
Each person will make the drive differently. Some will declare their way the best way. But we know there is no single right way. And we know that a person who does it one way this time might well do it another way next time.
The challenge in Spiritual Development is to keep affirming that we are on a journey, and there is no single right way to take it.
• Some focus on engaging authorities like Scripture, church tradition, and beloved teachers.
• Some want to develop personal discernment in practices such as prayer, meditation, and silence.
• Some want to embrace disciplines of action, such as giving and mission work.
• Some want to pursue self-cleansing through confession and fasting.
Because we are fragile humans, we often declare our current way the best way and insist that everyone follow along. The better way is to seek balance. Your roles as a church leader, therefore, are threefold:
First is to affirm that the journey is worth taking.
Second is to teach the basics about the various ways of taking the journey. Your goal isn’t to pronounce a single method of, say, Bible study, but to affirm the seriousness and wonder of it.
Third is to establish norms like tolerance, I-messages, listening, and mutual respect. The Christian enterprise needs to rise above triumphalism and intolerance. It doesn’t threaten me if you take the journey differently. My way still matters, and I might learn something from yours.
The next time I drive from New York to San Francisco, I might try your route.
Tom Ehrich is a writer, church consultant, and Episcopal priest based in New York. He is the publisher of On a Journey, and the founder of the Church Wellness Project www.churchwellness.com.
