Brian McLaren’s book is a plea for a return to spiritual practices. For him, they are ‘about life, about training ourselves to become the kinds of people who have eyes and actually see, who have ears and actually hear, and so experience … not just survival but Life.’
He identifies seven ancient practices:
a. Pilgrimage
b. Fasting
c. Sacred meal
d. Common prayer (fixed hour praying)
e. Giving
f. Sabbath.
g. Liturgical year.
These practices are to help us to live a new way of life, described by Jesus as a new kingdom, the kingdom in which loving one another is at its heart. These practices are practising the way of Jesus, practices which strengthen our faith as a way of life. He talks in terms of ‘open source spirituality’, meaning that we allow ourselves to me mentored and use the things that actually help us, and then, in turn, we mentor others. We open ourselves to practices from other traditions from Baptist to Orthodox. He is also very deliberate about the use of the word ‘practice’ – that we need practice, and that we need to be part of a community of practice that teach us more of these practices. Are our Christian communities such places?
He discusses three differing and complementary practices. The contemplative can include such things as: solitude, Sabbath and silence; spiritual reading and study; spiritual direction or spiritual friendship; practicing God’s presence; fixed-hour prayer; prayer journaling; contemplative prayer; service, secrecy and generosity; simplicity and slowness; fasting and self-denial; feasting and celebration; holy days and seasons; submission; gratitude; meditation and memorisation. Secondly, the communal practices can include all of our communal worship practices but also things like hospitality. Thirdly the missional practices might include forgiveness, listening and serving, giving to the poor, speaking and working for justice and proclaiming the good news in word and deed, and many others. He stresses that these are options, not a list of requirements, but that all three are necessary for a balanced spiritual life, that each feeds and nurtures the other.
For McLaren, the church is not good at nurturing these things, feeling that too much stress has been put on orthodoxy, forgetting orthopraxy and indeed orthopathy. And so God overflows our present structures and works with those willing to learn. These practises, after all, are for those who feel a need for change, growth, development and learning. Practices are for disciples.
He then turns to a classic three fold outline of the dimensions, or emphases of spiritual practice:
The Via Purgativa or Katharsis. First is the dimension of self-examination in which we discover the prevalence and power and intensity of the evil that already lies within us like viruses in software.
The Via Illuminativa or Fotosis. Then comes the dimensions of enlightenment, receiving the light of God’s truth and character and vigour and love into our lives.
The Via Unitivia or Theosis. Then we come to unification of our being with God, so that we are taken into God and God fills us.
Although these are often discussed in terms of stages, it is not that one completes one and moves on to the next. Rather they are aspects of a cyclical growth – at times we need to have Katharsis and other times we experience Theosis.
For McLaren, the point of these is not to make us more spiritual, rather to make us more alive, it is about building up those reserves when they are not needed, so that they are available when needed.
This was a challenging book which caused me to start to explore some of the areas he discusses. Each chapter ends with some spiritual exercises in which the reader is invited to reflect on some of the ideas in the chapter and their own spiritual experience, which is really helpful. Its weakness, however, is that by its very nature, it does not go into the actual practices in great depth. Having said that this book does function as an introduction to a whole series called ‘The Ancient Practice Series’, which, I presume, does go into much greater detail. I am particularly interested in the idea of pilgrimage!
