ReImagine

So many of us want to live in the Way of Jesus—pursuing a life that is deeply soulful, connected to our real needs and good news to our world.  Yet so often our methods of spiritual formation are individualistic, information driven or disconnected from every day life in our society. We are simply not experiencing the kind of transformation that is the historically expected result of the Christ phenomenon. Perhaps what we need is a Jesus Dojo—a path for growth that is more like a karate studio than a college lecture hall.

In recent years increasing numbers of us have mentally “checked out” or physically left the churches or groups we’ve been apart of because we feel that they are not helping us believe, belong or live better. While it may be tempting or convenient to blame church leaders or structures for this, I believe that our dissatisfaction is a  symptom of the larger challenges we face as a society. Advances in technology, the explosion of information and increasing mobility have created a sense of disequilibrium and social fragmentation. As a result, a new consciousness is emerging, a connective ecological view, that is opening us up to new to ways of understanding the story of scripture, helping us renew our faith practices and making us more aware of needs in our world.  The church, along with every other social institution, is grappling with how to thrive in a rapidly changing, always connected mobile/ global culture.

Changes in our society and resulting consciousness are raising new questions about what it means to be faithful to the way of Jesus, and how to understand the unfolding story of the Judeo-Christian scriptures. Many of us are rediscovering the holistic and integrative nature of the message and work of Jesus– the message and reality that the kingdom of God is present and progressing. We bring new questions to ancient traditions and texts. Instead of primarily asking, “How do I get to heaven when I die?” more and more of us wonder “What does it mean to live conscious of God and God’s purposes in the hear and now? “

A shifting consciousness also raises new apologetical challenges. In a holistically oriented environment skeptical people are less convinced by the rationality of Christian belief and more curious to see if Christ-oriented faith actually makes a positive difference in the quality and character of a person’s life. Does a person who claims to have a relationship with Jesus: Exhibit more peace and less stress? Experience less fear and anxiety? Enjoy more fulfilling relationships? Handle crisis with more grace?  Exercise more compassion? Manifest more joy and conscious living?  Observers are left to wonder about the disparity between the way of Jesus and the way of “Christians.” The evidence leaves many Jesus seekers embarrassed and wishing to disassociate themselves from a sad but largely true public impression.

Twenty years ago the most ardent “Jesus Seekers” of my generation wanted to become pastors, teaching missionaries or evangelistic campus workers. We were asking, “How can I help people believe in Jesus?” Today when I travel to college campuses, more often I hear students asking, “How can I be  like Jesus and change the world?”  And the list of “Jesus seeking” vocations has shifted. I hear the most ardent young people saying: “I want to work with AIDs orphans in Africa, I want to start an intentional community, I want to be a legal defense lawyer, I want to be a teacher or social work an inner city neighborhood. I want to make films, paint pictures and write stories. I want to end human trafficking. I want to plant a garden and live more simply. I want to learn to pray. I want to start an ethically responsible company.”  The boundaries for what it means to “seek the kingdom of God on earth as it is in heaven” have radically expanded.

This revolution in spiritual consciousness is not isolated to younger people. People of all ages and cultural backgrounds are sensing a pull towards a way of faith that is more holistic, integrative and socially engaged. This is reflective of a yearning for orthopraxy– the desire to believe well and also to live well. It is a quest to embody a way of life that reflects the goodness and beauty of the kingdom of God. While many younger people are “native” to this emerging consciousness, older folks can often feel like discombobulated refugees in foreign land that is now their only home. It is not uncommon to feel “stuck” between nostalgia for the past and the promise of the future. I believe that what is needed in this transitional time is a Jesus Dojo, a creative space where we feel permission to ask questions and take risks to discover a way of life together.