"Be" Before "Do"?
Warning: this blog post poses a question without answering it. This is the first in a series as I think out loud about how to answer the question.
This is one of those times when a single message seems to be coming at me from multiple directions simultaneously:
I am to speak to a group of men and boys at the “Men of Action” event this weekend. The topic assigned to me seems curiously out of sync with the action-oriented theme of the event. I am to speak on holiness, which is clearly not something you do, it’s something you are. I do think they are onto something in assigning me this topic (holiness) in this context (action), but the connection isn’t intuitively obvious. I’m grateful that the leaders of the men’s ministry have given me the opportunity to think through this connection.
Browsing Barnes and Noble recently, a title caught my eye: The Ruthless Elimination of Hurry. (And yes, that is the title, including the strikethrough on the final word.) As I began reading the book, I saw the author refer to Dallas Willard, a giant in the literature of spiritual formation whose line of reasoning has always eluded me.
I heard someone say recently that he thinks John 15 is his favorite discipleship text. John 15 is all about abiding in Jesus. And he mentioned another author I’ve never been able to get into, Andrew Murray and his book Abiding in Christ.
I keep hearing that I need to learn how to “be” before I try to “do,” but I just don’t get it. It’s as if I am not fluent in a language that is essential to the vibrant Christian life.
I’m aware of the danger of pushing the “do.”
Since I became Pastor of Discipleship, I have been thinking about how to encourage people in the direction of the holy habits (prayer, Scripture engagement, service, etc.) The last thing I want to do is create a high-demand atmosphere of legalism around the spiritual disciplines, a lose-lose environment where people either “succeed” in the disciplines and cultivate a self-righteous pride or “fail” and slide into self-loathing. As we’ve said in these pages before, neither arrogance nor despair is the goal of the spiritual habits.
In his book Deeper Dane Ortlund argues that “some Christians think we grow through purer behavior, others through sharper doctrine, and others through richer emotions.” I grew up in a Christian tradition that emphasized the first (behavior) and third (emotions) but didn’t really say much about the second (doctrine).
While Ortlund acknowledges that all three are essential in balanced Christian development, genuine spiritual growth is deeper than all of them. “Real change,” says Ortlund, “comes through this reality: the life of God in the soul of man.”
Exactly how does spiritual formation come through the reality of “the life of God in the soul of man”?
This is mystifying.
For a guy whose thinking bends toward the practical – “what does it look like when…?” – a phrase like “the life of God in the soul of man” is nearly incomprehensible.
I am coming to realize that my whole understanding of what it means to grow in Christ is focused on technique: on doing, not being. I can think and read and talk forever about what to do to grow in Christ, but ask me about what it means to abide in Christ, and I draw a blank.
How do I explain how to do abiding?
I can see that I’ve got a lot to learn.
And unlearn.
Stick with me as I think out loud in these pages about what it means to grow spiritually by learning how to “abide in Christ.” We’ll use Ortlund’s Deeper as a guide.
And in case you think this book isn’t for you, here’s how Ortlund concludes his introduction:
We’re not after behavior modification in this book. I’m not going to talk to you about setting your alarm earlier or cutting carbs. We’re not even going to reflect on tithing or church attendance or journaling or small groups or taking the sacraments or reading the Puritans. All of that can be done out of rottenness of heart. We’re talking about real change. And we’re talking about real change for real sinners.
If you confess the doctrine of original sin but at the same time feel yourself to be doing pretty well as a Christian, you can put this book back on the shelf. This book is for the frustrated. The exhausted. Those on the brink. Those on the verge of giving up any real progress in their Christian growth. If you not only subscribe to the doctrine of original sin on paper but also find yourself proving the doctrine of original sin in your daily life, this book is for you.
(Look for Deeper on our Discipleship Resource bookshelf in the coming weeks as we think together about what it means to abide in Christ.)
Persevere, Paul Pyle
Pastor of Discipleship