Messy Spirituality

About ready to crumble under the (in many ways self-imposed) pressure of living by all the Do's and Don'ts we often mistake for Christianity, I was desperately seeking a messy (incarnational*) spirituality, though I didn't have the words for it at the time.

I read Mike Yaconelli's Messy Spirituality in college; it was part of an onslaught of Holy Spirit two-by-fours the Lord used to dislodge my legalistic blinders so I could see that I am the prodigal and the one who has been forgiven much.

Messy Spirituality is about exactly that. It’s a humble, unassuming story of and guide to rightly rejecting neat, sanitized spirituality, breaking out of the plastic shrinkwrap of systematized religion, and embracing abundant life with all it’s messes, failures, complexities, questions, joys, triumphs, tensions, and paradoxes. A messy spirituality truly embraces our constant need of God's grace, which turns us into people of Grace, people of God.

Romans 12:2 warns against allowing the world to squeeze us into a particular pattern, a box that doesn’t let the Light in and keeps us from real living. Yaconelli recognizes we aren’t only in danger of the world trying to make us into what the world wants us to be, but that all too often our various Christian subcultures try, often with good intentions, to squeeze us into one-size-fits-all patterns of spirituality. This small book says big things about what it means to simply walk with God. No formulas, no four-year plans. Just one foot in front of the other. One step at a time.

While a messy spirituality rejects the boxed-in legalism found in certain churches, it does not reject the Church. Messy spirituality is not a lone wolf spirituality. It is a life lived together. The more the messier! (Well, okay, not necessarily---I just couldn't resist.) Incarnational spirituality does not reject the Body of Christ (though it might shake the dust from a particular church off it's sandals).

Yaconelli helps us look at life as a rich and enriching sort of muddling in the middle---the narrow path between legalism and libertinism that leads toward wholeness and freedom. He does so with pastoral patience and humility, humor and earthiness, wisdom... and grace.

If you find yourself struggling with I'm not good enough at x, y, z spiritual discipline. If you find the Gospel truncated and irrelevant to your friends, neighbors, coworkers, or in your own life. If you could use a reminder, an affirmation in the midst of the seemingly constant struggle against our culture's/human nature's pharisaical spirituality.

This book is for you.


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* "Incarnational theology [affirms] Jesus Christ as the human expression of [God,] the second person of the Trinity. Incarnational theology can also refer to the belief that Christians are to function as Jesus Christ to humanity and represent the incarnated [embodied] Word of God to all people." We are His hands and feet. We are His messengers. (Source: http://carm.org/dictionary-incarnational-theology)

A Space of Grace

I'd like to say I planned this post to be as timely as it is, but I mostly live under a rock called Grad School. Ask the person I had this conversation with yesterday:

"Man, Facebook is blowing up today."

"Really? Why? What happened?"

[incredulous look] "Gay marriage."

"Oh yeah." I shrug and go back to grading papers; make a mental note to stay off Facebook for 24, no make it 48 hours just to be safe; promptly forget.

That this post is timely is pure coincidence, or not; you choose.

About a week ago, my friend Julie wrote about the grace she experienced from a rather controversial place. I asked her if I could highlight it here because I value the fresh dialogue she opened up about conservative Christians and homosexuals. This nuance is perhaps particularly important this week as so many who call themselves Christians are proving the sad stereotypes true. I hope this story of grace will challenge all of us to act and speak and better yet, listen, with grace toward one another.

A Space of Grace: The Truth about Many Ex-gay Ministries

I had breakfast this morning with the man who’s been the single most influential person in my life outside of my family. His name is Ricky Chelette, and he’s the Executive Director of Living Hope Ministries. I met Ricky when I was 16 years old, and he was just a Baptist minister who mentored kids like me in his free time. About 5 years later, he became the director of Living Hope, which is an Exodus member ministry and could be referred to as an “ex-gay” ministry” (since that misleading term is often used to refer to ministries associated with Exodus).

These ministries have been flogged by the media for the past several years, vilified as an oppressive movement of people who are devoted to making gay people straight. Some of that criticism has been necessary—there have been ministries who have been judgmental, oppressive, and downright abusive at times. Many of them deserved to be vilified. I’m concerned, however, by the way all ministries seeking to walk with people in this manner are lumped together and caricaturized for the whole world to mock. You clearly haven’t been told the whole story.

Read more.