Spiritual Practice
The second prong or emphasis of Grace Downtown's goal to be an inwardly growing, outwardly serving church is Spiritual Practice.
The more intellectual or academic a church tradition is the more tempted it will be to minimize spiritual practice. Maybe by believing spiritual growth is mostly about correct theology or equating obedience with apprehension. The reformed presbyterian faith has this tendency. And, when it adds the suspicion that spiritual disciplines are "works in disguise", spiritual practice is easily dismissed. But, that belief is not only detrimental to our growth, it's also poor biblical anthropology (what it means to be human).
Jesus tells us the first and greatest commandment is to "love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength." This means that faith which is bobble-headed (all mind), Valentine (all heart), or Arm & Hammer (all strength) is malformed spirituality. Most of us tend toward one. Some who love to read and talk theology may believe the problem with the church is 'feeling' Christians. Others who value worship and prayer, may see the problem as full minds and dead faith. And, others believe both are all talk and we need to get busy serving God! But, proper spiritual formation results in an integration of all three.
At the center of the Christian call toward God and neighbor is love. As the Apostle Paul wrote, the only thing that counts is "faith working through love" (Galatians 5.6). So, then a good and necessary practice for Christians is to ask: what do I love? James K. A. Smith puts it this way,
Jesus is a teacher who doesn’t just inform our intellect but forms our very loves. He isn’t content to simply deposit new ideas into your mind; he is after nothing less than your wants, your loves, your longings. His ‘teaching’ doesn’t just touch the calm, cool, collected space of reflection and contemplation; he is a teacher who invades the heated, passionate regions of the heart. He is the Word who ‘penetrates even to dividing soul and spirit’; he ‘judges the thoughts and attitudes of the heart’ (Heb. 4:12). (You Are What You Love: The Spiritual Power of Habit, p. 2)
Smith then goes on to say the best way to discover what you love is to look at what you do--your habits and practices. Our actions bubble up from the heart. Our desires can often be hidden in the most everyday, taken-for-granted habits. For example, it may be the primary goal which drives your weekly schedule is the desire not to be interrupted and to always have an 'out' for potential 'asks'--to retain control over your time. Or, it may be the primary goal that drives your career is the desire to be better than everybody else. But, as we come to know Christ and his sacrificial love for us, we find ourselves desiring to serve the very people we formerly wanted to avoid or best.
How does this occur? When, in faith, our spiritual practice is shaped by Holy Scripture, Prayer, and Sacraments they become waterfalls and wells, rich food and drink, sunshine and shade, mountain top and quiet waters. Sacred spaces where we meet and commune with the Lord; knowing and being known; wooed by his grace and conformed to his likeness. It's in these moments we experience his Presence and are changed into his Glory. These practices must include both private and corporate times with weekly worship at the center. We must show up where Jesus has promised to show up! When we do this the practice becomes communion and fellowship. And, the great desire of God is fulfilled: "My dwelling place shall be with them, and I will be their God, and they shall be my people." (Ezekiel 37.27)
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For the previous entries in this series, check out our blog.