Background
I'm really enjoying our new church that we began attending in October. The teaching and preaching are relevant and Bible based in the best way. The worship band is solid and the people are engaging and friendly.
It was our previous church, Jubilee Christian Center, that really re-sparked our faith walk (our= Juliet & Me). We had been wandering since getting to Austin, with no real church home when we walked into Jubilee the day after a house party renewing our search for God.
I was blessed to be a part of their worship band for a couple years, and I really grew to love the people there. When Juliet began to have Sundays off with me; however, we decided it was time for a change. Mostly, because of the distance to Jubilee from our current home, and partially because Juliet was working Sundays for most of our time @ Jubilee and didn't get an opportunity to connect as well with everyone, we decided to make the move.
After browsing internet sites for non-denominational churches in our area, Juliet and I stumbled onto Life Church. This wasn't the video broadcast large Life Church out of OKC, but a more local one based about 10 minutes north of us in Leander.
We were welcomed from day one and have been going as many Sundays as possible since.
I mention the background because the topic of discussion here today is directly related/borrowed from aspects of the sermon that our pastor preached this past Sunday. It was a sidebar of sorts, related to the main topic, but it was presented in a very user friendly way, and led to a great discussion after the service between Juliet, my mom and me as well.
We were in Hebrews 11, the Faith Hall of Fame, for the sermon and discussed three aspects of our walk with God. To walk with God as Enoch walked, we needed to be heading to the same place as God, walking the same path, and keeping the same pace.
The aspect I was particularly drawn to was the 'path.' That's what I would like to talk about here today.
Spiritual Paths Disclaimer
I want to clarify before getting too deep in this discussion that by "spiritual path," I don't mean multiple ways to God. I do not mean multiple religious paths like the mountain analogy that is so popular in the world today. We know that Jesus is the only path to God, and with that assertion in mind, we can begin to address the different paths/categories, that people gravitate towards. These could also be styles, or methods by which we are most comfortable walking with God.
The definition given on Sunday was, "the way we most naturally sense God's presence and experience spiritual growth." To clarify again, this is in an exclusively Christian context.
Types of Paths
I have often struggled (as Juliet can attest) with the method by which I connect best with God. I tend to get down on myself because I come to God in a way that seemed to be to be less personal than others. I will shed some light onto this as I get into the different categories/paths that a believer might fall into when seeking to walk with God. According to the Pastor, these were based on a book that was written a few years back by an author whose name currently eludes me. Each believer in Christ will have primary and secondary paths they likely fall into, and some paths into which they may never have ventured. The challenge was to figure out our primary path, and then strive to jump out into other ones from time to time, while still maintaining our primary means of walking with God. Jumping into paths in which we are weaker helps us to grow closer to God in ways we may not have considered up to that point.
1. The Intellectual Path- This path is drawing near to God primarily with our minds. This is also my primary path, and the one that had me concerned my connection with God was not correct. I was concerned because on a scholarly level, I connect with God, but emotionally I sometimes feel like I'm not making the connection. I understand the truth of God's word and study it to more effectively evangelize. Knowing this was just one of many ways to walk with God gave me great assurance that I just happen to be particularly good at connecting intellectually, but can also find many other ways to strengthen my walk.
Individuals who fall into this path, will connect best with God through reading lots of Christian books, studying the Bible, and generally interacting with God by gaining knowledge about God through whatever scholarly means are available. The verse associated with this was Luke 10:27- "Love the Lord your God...with all your mind."
2. Contemplative- This path is drawing near to God through personal adoration and heartfelt devotion. Initially, I didn't feel that I had gone this route at all, but individuals in this path sometimes just know in their hearts that they love Jesus. They may not have all the details worked out, but they know and trust in Jesus on feeling. I do actually have some of this in my walk as well. Despite my natural tendency to completely exhaust myself with Christian resources and studying, at the end of the day, I just really love and trust Jesus. The people who walk this path are those to whom the song "What a Friend We have in Jesus," would apply well. This would be my top secondary path I think.
The verse for this type is John 15:15- "I no longer call you servants, because a servant does not know his Master's business. Instead, I have called you friends because everything that I have learned from the Father I have made known to you."
3. Relational- This path is drawing near to God through other people. Followers of this path feel closest to God when speaking to fellow brothers and sisters in Christ. They may enjoy group Bible studies, and find themselves learning and growing most when surrounded by others. I would imagine more extroverted people often fall into this category, and probably are involved in multiple group Bible studies, and learn much of what they know about their Christian walk by interacting with other Christians.
The verse for this is Matthew 18:20- "For where two or three gather in my name, there I am with them."
4. Solitary- This path is drawing near to God through solitude and simplicity. I chose this for the other path in which I primarily seek God. I do most of my deepest connecting with Christ through intellectual pursuit of Christian resources and I do it mostly on a solitary basis. Part of this is because not everyone gets the same motivation as I do from the resources with which I learn most. I listen to a lot of sermon podcasts, and despite my best effort to convince, sometimes Juliet and others just don't get the same experience from them. When that occurs, it becomes a solitary endeavor. I do best praying solo as well.
The verse for this is Mark 1:35- "Very early in the morning, while it was still dark, Jesus got up, left the house and went to a solitary place, where he prayed."
5. Traditionalist- This path is drawing near to God through ritual and symbol. People who use this path crave organization and structure. This path is not necessarily a legalist path, but simple a path by which people who like tradition can walk with God. Christians within the more traditional denominations like Methodists and Lutherans seem to fit the bill for this from my perspective. It is not a bad way of connecting with God so long as one does not become legalistic about the structure. The Catholic church to some degree has taken this to an extreme. While connecting with God through church ritual and tradition, often it uses this to create non-Biblical rules and traditions (though other denominations are certainly guilty of this from time to time as well). Within proper context, enjoying the traditions and rituals of the church as a means of connecting with God can be great for Christians.
The verses for this fall within the books of Exodus and Leviticus where the priests drew near to God through ritual and ceremony.
6. Sensory- Followers of this pathway draw near to God through the senses. This might be through use of candles, or even in the taking of communion. The feel closest to God when their senses are alert to His presence. This pathway is somewhat tied into the traditionalist. I visualize this for the older, cathedral style churches that use candles and atmosphere to help with worship.
Verses for this pathway also fall within the ceremonial sections of Exodus and Leviticus. Lest the previous two pathways seem wrong, bear in mind, much of this study is on how each individual best connects with God through their walk. For every person you know who seems opposite of you, rest assured there are many Christians who would fall into the same categories. Juliet and I certainly have different primary pathways, though some of our secondary ones intersect. This does not mean either of us connects with God more or less than the other. This is important to clarify as my purpose in this writing is simply to make them known for individuals to decide on their own to which paths they best relate.
7. Worship- This is drawing near to God through celebration and mystery. My mind visualized a specific guy at Jubilee who very clearly fell into this pathway for his connection with God. This great Christian man, while advanced in age, used to dance in the aisles during the praise and worship portion of the service. He held his hands high and praised God through the rhythm of the music and the celebration of worshipping God.
We see David actually doing something similar in the Bible when he was so caught up in celebratory worship one time that he began to undress himself. Most churches today don't generally support that method, so for people in this pathway, be celebratory while keeping your clothes on...we will all thank you for that.
The verse applying to this is Psalm 122:1- "I rejoiced with those who said to me, 'let us go to the house of the Lord.'"
8. Naturalist- This pathway, to me anyway, needs a very specific caution to go with it. The principle of it is those who draw near to God through nature. This sounds simple enough, but because the religion of the day is New Age, and worshipping creation over the creator is their MO (Romans 1), it needs to be clarified that this pathway does not mean worshipping trees and birds and nature instead of God.
This pathway, rather, is connecting with God by witnessing the beauty of what He has created. Outdoors lovers will connect well on this pathway, and it doesn't even have to be a dramatic outdoor experience like a mountaintop. Those on this path will hear a bird's song or see the dew on the ground and feel close to God. To an extent, when I am willing to leave the comfort of the indoors, I do connect through sitting outside and just observing creation.
The verse for this is Psalm 19:1- "The Heavens declare the glory of God, the skies proclaim the work of His hands."
9. Activist- This pathway is drawing near to God through brining about social change. To separate this from the final pathway, lets call this a Macro level of social change. These individuals connect with God by actively pursuing big causes and trying to do something about it. They are not content to just sit by, but rather want to get out there and be the difference. To an extent these individuals may be zealous in their pursuits. Nehemiah from the OT was a good example who saw something that needed to happen, and did what it took to get it done (rebuilding after exile). I see a modern day example in Sam Childers, the Machine Gun Preacher. Though somewhat unorthodox in his method, he uses whatever is in his power to help those in need in Africa, even to the point of working on a military level to engage threats to the safety of those who cannot defend themselves. When he visited Jubilee to speak prior to the Hollywood version of his life coming out, I was actually quite impressed with the type of change he was trying to bring about despite the risks to his life.
The verse for this is John 2:17- "His disciples remembered that it is written,' zeal for your house will consume me.'"
The context of this verse was Jesus turning over the tables of the money changers in the temple.
10. Serving- The final listed pathway is Drawing near to God through caring for and serving others. This is activist on a more micro, personal level. I think we could all strive to be close to this pathway. Juliet is one person I know who actually has this as her primary. She walks closest to God through helping with Missions and serving others. I met her on a mission trip and her job then was translating for the teams that came to build houses in Mexico for those in need. What intellectual is to me, serving is to Juliet. I could certainly work on this pathway more in my own life.
This is probably an essential one for everyone to strive to have as a primary. Some churches take it too far focusing on missions and works over salvation issues and Christ, but the idea of serving is all throughout the Gospel, and helping others is certainly never a bad thing. A balance of knowing why we believe (faith) and letting the works/fruits of that faith be shown (serving/good works), is the proper context for the Christian. Too many works leads to a false Gospel, and faith without any sign of fruit/good work is a dead faith (James 2:14-26). The balance is difficult to achieve, but certainly what Christ called us to do.
The verse for this is Matthew 25:40- "...whatever you did for the least of these brothers you did for me."
Analysis:
I found after looking into the different paths that my primary paths are Intellectual and Solitary, and my secondary paths would be Contemplative and Naturalist. As a leader of worship in the past, I think Worship pathway is also important to my walk.
The primary thing for all of us to remember as we study these types of paths for walking with God is that every person needs to spend time being shaped by God's word and God's people (Lightsey 2-3-2013 sermon notes). The combination of the two is essential for Christian growth.
Additional Thoughts:
Faith in Christ initially is a life decision. Whether done as a simple prayer, or through a dramatic, life changing experience, the heart is the focus. A sincere person who believes in Christ as God and the only way to fellowship with God, is the faith requirement. Trusting on the sacrifice of Christ on the cross to cover our sins is important to this as well. Acknowledgement that all have sinned and fallen short of God's glory is a helpful place to start. For the Christians reading this, these aspects will seem obvious. What I liked about Pastor Lightsey's message this past Sunday is that these pathways are related more to our sanctification. Sanctification is the day to day walking with God, in Christ, as believers striving to live by God's truth and authority. It is ongoing. We will all still fall short at times. I find these pathways to be helpful in clarifying that not every Christian person will connect with God the same at all times in their day to day walk.
A struggle I always had was the lack of a deep emotional connection manifested in raising of hands or dramatic worship expressions. I feel closest and strongest in my walk when I am studying God's word, reading Christian theological books, and generally coming to know God through intellectual pursuit. Maybe someone else out there relates by taking a hike outdoors, or through the traditions of the church. Whatever the pursuit, if our destination (place) is the same, and we are keeping up with God's time not dragging behind or running ahead (pace) then the path in which we walk closest to God in our own personal walk, can be varied from Christian to Christian.
We do not compromise on the foundations of the faith, but we acknowledge that not everyone walks the exact same path of sanctification. Much of it is determined by our past and how we came to the faith. Think through the pathways mentioned today. The challenge from me, similar to the pastor's challenge, is to learn well the pathway in which you connect best, stand firm in that, and then strive to branch out into other paths to pursue God in other avenues. The changing up of routine surely will have significant impact on our sanctifying growth as Christians, and help us to be even more firmly rooted in Christ.
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