Christian Mysticism and the Contemplative Dimension of Faith

Mick Turner

Few terms have been so misunderstood and maligned as the word “mysticism.” It has been taken to mean anything from astral travel to psychic divination; from communion with the dead to channeling Elvis. This trend of defining any experience that is subjective and outside the parameters of deductive reasoning as “mystical” is highly unfortunate and has robbed many sincere spiritual seekers of a source of personal experience that is both valuable and relevant to the age in which we now live. 

 The fact is that mysticism and mystical experience has been a significant part of all major spiritual traditions, both East and West, and has given rise to some of the most highly respected religious writers and teachers in history. From the perspective of the Christian Church, the mystical tradition, sometimes referred to as “contemplative,” has produced such noted personages as Francis of Assisi, John of the Cross, Theresa of Avila, Thomas a Kempis, Henry Suso, John Tauler, and Julian of Norwich, just to name a few. Within the scope of Christian history, it is safe to say that without the contemplative tradition the contemporary Church, whether Catholic or Protestant would be far less than it is today. 

With these thoughts in mind, I believe it is imperative that we come to understand the mystical tradition in all spiritual traditions and, for those who worship within the framework of the Christian Church, especially the contemplative tradition of Christianity. Although an in depth treatment of the subject is far beyond the scope of this short article, it is my hope that we may touch upon at least a few salient issues.

First, let us dispense with the fallacy of defining mysticism. Definitions are, by nature, a left brain phenomenon and mystical experience is largely a right brain reality. As mystics throughout the ages have attested, to wrap words around the mystical experience of union with the Divine is beyond the scope of explanation. It is like trying to capture the proverbial greased pig at the county fair. The legendary Chinese mystic Laozi said it so well in the opening lines of his classic “Dao de Jing,” – “The Dao that can be named is not the eternal Dao.”

Even though formal definition is elusive, we can describe with a degree of accuracy some of the common aspects of the mystical experience and, from that, deduce its relevance and its value. Although far from exhaustive, let’s explore these salient characteristics of mystical spirituality in general and Christian mysticism in particular: it is progressive; it is unitive; and it is transformational.

As mentioned earlier, all major religions have a mystical element within their history. No matter whether you are describing the Daoist sages, the Islamic Sufis, the Hindu Yogis, or the Christian mystics, a common element to all these traditions is the progressive nature of the mystical experience. In other words, the mystical experience deepens as the practitioner becomes more adept at his or her chosen path. In the classical tradition of the Christian mystics, the seeker progressively moved through three major stages: purgation, illumination, and union.

Briefly, the purgative stage involved the stripping away of the vestiges of the flesh or lower self in preparation for the higher aspects of the journey. In the stage of illumination, the aspirant began to have vivid glimpses of the unity of all creation and, as these experiences became deeper and more frequent, the seeker’s insight and understanding developed progressively. In the final stage, the aspirant’s spirit joined in a type of “holy matrimony” with the Spirit of God.

The stage of union, as time passed, became a “unitive reality,” meaning that the individual soul had been called into a more permanent union with the Divine. With this experience of union came “revelation.” The mystic began to see more clearly into the essence of reality and life; he or she began to see the divine whole rather than the individual, unrelated parts and with this awareness came the life-changing experience of “non-duality.” The seeker not only understood intellectually, but experience with the core of his or her being the fact that separation between God and man, self and other, us and them, were all illusions. As a result of this transcendent knowledge, the mystic was transformed.

Personal transformation was the most significant aspect of the mystical experience. The realization of non-duality had a healing impact on the mystic, realigning his or her being. Rather than being led by the intellect and the lower self (read “flesh”), the mystic now acted with the personal spirit, infused by the Spirit of God, in ascendancy.  All aspects of the seeker’s being were touched by the unitive experience, including not only the mind, but the emotions and the will as well. Although still human and fallible, the seeker now experienced a more peaceful life and relationships with others were markedly improved. After all, if there was no real separation between the mystic and others, how could there be any lasting conflict?

It is this last point that makes the path of mysticism so relevant and valuable today. Not only does the internal peace and increased understanding help a person to feel more comfortable and centered in life, the modern mystic is better able to cope with the rapid fire change that so characterizes our 21^st Century world. Further, the mystical character has always been noted for traits such as tolerance, patience, kindness, self-control, and all the other “Fruit of the Spirit” listed by Paul in the fifth chapter of the Book of Galatians.

Mysticism’s relevance and value to the contemporary Church should be obvious. The post-modern Church is fractured, fragmented, and increasingly lacking in cultural relevance. Moreover, the Body of Christ as a whole has lost track of one of its most important missions: making disciples. Enlisting converts is one thing, making disciples quite another. I think the primary reason the Church as a whole has been so woefully inadequate to this task is centered on the reality that those in teaching roles lack knowledge of the methodology of spiritual formation. A new emphasis on incorporating mystical experience into the Church would be a great contribution to rectifying this situation.

Recent trends of increasing focus on spiritual disciplines and spiritual formation are an excellent beginning and are already having positive results. However, a fresh and vital focus on the classical traditions of mystical/contemplative spirituality in Christianity will go even farther in helping Christians to learn methods that will allow believers to position themselves where they are more receptive to God’s transforming grace. The potential benefits of this are enormous.

It seems to me that one of our first small steps toward realizing this worthwhile goal is to redeem the word “mysticism.” With all due respect to those who channel Elvis, the word implies something far deeper and more valuable.

 (c) L.D. Turner 2008/All Rights Reserved

 

Word of Wisdom for Today

If you have ever had the privilige of visiting churches in oppressed regions of the world, you often will find several common themes among them. One major theme is that the church does not exist soley for itself but is committed to worshiping God and being the body of Christ to the community, no matter what the cost. They live simple live that are not bound to materialism. They integrate both evangelism and social action and don’t think of those as separate ministries. They offer help when someone is in need, such as paying a neighbor’s electric bill or providing care for each other’s children. They are not concerned about other nations knowing about Jesus Christ. They seem to meet together all the time to pray. They love to sing to God and give thanks for who He is and all that He has done. They don’t really care what time they get out of church and hardly glance at their watches during the sermon. They give more than 25 to 35 percent of their income away to the church and the poor. They care for the orphans and widows in their own communities…..Surely this is the only model for the church that Jesus would have us all follow….

Joel Vestal

(from Dangerous Faith)

Need For Continuing Prayer For China

I have been in consistent contact with friends, relatives, and fellow belivers in China. For the most part, the people I am close with live a good distance from Sichuan Province, the area of greatest impact. The people I have talked with tell stories of tremendous suffering and loss. One friend, a teacher at a university in Chongqing, a very large city in the area, spoke of collapsed buildings and multiple injuries on his campus. I humbly ask for continued prayer for these people, especially the children and families who have suffered such tragic loss. Chinese officials are now predicting death toll in excess of 50,000.

Blessings,

Mick

Words of Wisdom for Today

We have stopped confronting sin and helping the lost, exchanging them for comfortable conversations and happy moments, all in the name of not offending. From feel-good sermons to give-and-get messages, today’s pulpits look more like the set of Dr. Phil than the resting place for the weary. We focus soley on individual achievement and happiness - never mind the sick, the lost, the unchurched. We wind up hoping they find our building through the MapQuest link on the church Web site. We gather in circles and pray, “Bring them, Lord,” without ever realizing that we can just go get ‘em.

Craig Gross and J.R. Mahon

(from Starving Jesus)

Recommended Reading: Who Stole My Church?

Mick Turner

I recently finished reading Gordon MacDonald’s new book Who Stole My Church? I can say without reservation that I thoroughly enjoyed this book and was somewhat forlorn when I finished it. Every now and then I run across a book like that – one that I wish I could keep right on reading.

 

MacDonald’s book is highly relevant to what is happening in many churches throughout America these days. Reading Who Stole My Church gave me a deep appreciation of the task before our churches in general and pastors on the front line of change in particular. It can be a daunting process to steer a church through these turbulent times of transition. Most churches of over 100 members are likely to have several factions, each with its own agenda and own set of expectations. Meeting the needs of all these divergent people is, without the guidance of the Holy Spirit, an impossible proposition.

 

MacDonald has written the book in a highly readable format, one that lends itself very well to the topic. Rather than writing a standard didactic non-fiction work, the author has arranged the book in a fictional setting in which the pastor of a church is facing significant friction from a cadre of older, active members who are resistant to the changes being brought about by younger congregants with a different focus. In order to gently educate these resistant members to what is going on and why, the pastor forms a “Discovery Group” which meets on Tuesday nights to dig deeply into the matter. The group also serves as a venue where these committed church members can vent their ongoing frustrations about changes in the church. The fact that MacDonald puts the book together this way makes an otherwise difficult subject highly readable and even entertaining.

 

The book is subtitled, “What to do When the Church You Love Tries To Enter the 21^st Century.” MacDonald well understands that the future of the church lies with the younger generation, not with the older folks, no matter how loyal and committed they might be. This view is not to downplay or trivialize the needs of the older members in a church, but instead, to break through the church’s denial system and help us all see that unless the needs of the younger people come to the forefront, the church will go the way of the dinosaur. MacDonald states:

 

Any church that has not turned its face toward the younger generation will simply cease to exist. We’re not talking decades – we’re talking just a few years.

 

The author drives this point home throughout the book, usually through the voice of the pastor during the Tuesday night meetings, but also at coffee shops, the mall, and in other settings, including conversations with his wife. MacDonald also gives voice to those in resistance to these changes and does so in a way that shows he has deep insights into the nature and legitimacy of their concerns. In one chapter of the book, one of the male members of the Discovery Group is angered because he misperceives a point the pastor was making about evangelism and missions, two subjects this particular congregant is passionate about. The two meet for breakfast and, after giving this man an opportunity to express his feelings about evangelism and missions, MacDonald, through the pastor, states that times and methods are changing. Relationships and actions are more important than programs and words:

 

The difference is this. We’re in a new era where people want less of your carefully scripted evangelism sales presentation and more personal demonstration of your genuineness, your authenticity. They want to see evidence that what you believe had legs – that it does something.

 

MacDonald goes on to stress the vital importance of developing deeper relationships with people in our post-Christian culture in order to reach them. Stressing that more is now needed than the “Four Spiritual Steps,” the author states that we have to go deeper with people and allow them to see us for who we are and let our actions, not our words, demonstrate what faith in Jesus really means.

 

If you are concerned about the direction your church is taking, or if you want to gain insight into the dynamics of institutional change in a religious setting, then I would strongly suggest you read MacDonald’s book. I believe the author makes a solid contribution to helping both sides of the generational divide in today’s church gain understanding into what makes the other side tick. In the end, the book helps foster insight rather than animosity – compassion rather than conflict.

 

© L.D. Turner 2008/All Rights Reserved

Back To Jerusalem: A Mission of Passion

Mick Turner

The news of late has carried a number of stories about the Olympic Torch and its precarious journey around the world. Protesters in many countries have gathered to make their voice heard about the atrocities committed by the Chinese government in its suppression of Tibet and its support for the bloodshed in Darfur.

 

Perhaps lost in this vocal and even violent protest over the plight of the Tibetans is the difficulties often encountered by Christians in China.  Although the Communist Party has gradually taken a more tolerant position toward the Chinese Church, there are still incidents of persecution, imprisonment, torture, rape, and even murder. These atrocities are often aimed at members of China’s illegal underground church and, while many make it in to the western press, many others go unnoticed.

 

This article, however, is not so much about the persecution of Christians in China as it is about the heroic efforts of Chinese Christians to spread the gospel beyond the borders of the Middle Kingdom. The fact that these brothers and sisters in Christ plan and execute these missionary efforts is especially remarkable, considering the political environment in which they have to operate.

 

I lived and worked in China for over five years, serving as a “tent-maker” missionary. During this time, I became acquainted with many Chinese Christians, both members of underground house churches and the official Three Self Patriotic Movement, the government sanctioned church in China. It was through my friendships with these remarkable Christians that I first learned of the “Back to Jerusalem” project. Since returning to the States I have learned that very few western Christians are aware of Back to Jerusalem, so I want to share a bit of information about the movement in hopes that these brief words might motivate readers to pray for these courageous missionaries who, quite often, place themselves in the mouth of the lion.

 

Briefly stated, the goal of the Back to Jerusalem project is for Chinese Christians to evangelize all the nations between China and Jerusalem. The proponents of the movement understand that Christianity spread westward from Jerusalem and eventually to Britain and America. The faith then traveled from these two countries to China. The Chinese Church now feels it has both a call and a mandate from God to take the gospel message all the way back to its origin. In a geographical sense, the good news will have spread around the world.

 

The vision for Back to Jerusalem actually was birthed back in the 1920’s, but due to the ever-shifting nature of Chinese politics during the first half of the 20^th Century, the movement fell off the radar for a number of years, only to resurface with great passion as the century drew to a close. Often hamstrung by a lack of funds, the proponents of the project never gave up. Against all odds, the initial missionary team was formed and trained.

 

In March, 2000, a team of 36 Chinese missionaries left the country for the mission field. A number of them never returned, but the project continued to move forward. Relatively unknown in the West, the Back to Jerusalem movement continued to arouse passion in the Chinese Church. Many of the initial missionaries had been subject to torture, deprivation, and ill-treatment in their home country, so they were well-prepared for what they might face in other lands that were hostile to Christianity, especially Muslim nations.

 

The Islamic countries are a high priority for the Back to Jerusalem missionaries. As I talked to people involved in the project and reflected on what I learned, I arrived at one salient awareness: Perhaps the Chinese are much better equipped to evangelize Muslim nations than we westerners, particularly Americans, are. The fact is, Americans have a bad reputation in the Islamic World. Whether this image is justified or not is not the issue here. The reality is, a Muslim is more likely to listen to a Chinese Christian than an American one.

 

Space does not permit a detailed analysis of the movement here. I would like, however, to encourage Christians here in the States to pray for these missionaries, their families, and for the success of Back to Jerusalem. Believe me, these folks need all the help they can get, spiritual and material. If you would like more information on the Back to Jerusalem project, visit the website:

 

http://www.backtojerusalem.com

 

Also, Paul Hattaway, along with three prominent house church pastors, has written a book entitled, Back To Jerusalem, which contains useful information.

 

In closing, I find it ironic that, with all the protest about the Olympic Flame and whether or not it will complete its journey around the world, the Chinese are carrying another flame, this one of the spirit, which is also attempting to complete a circumnavigation of the globe.

 

May God be with these courageous people.

 

© L.D. Turner 2008/All Rights Reserved

Words of Wisdom for Today

We’re in a new era where people want less of your carefully scripted evangelism sales presentation and more personal demonstration of your genuineness, your authenticity. They want to see evidence that what you believe has legs - that it does something. They’re not impressed with suits and ties, with empty ceremony repeated over and over, and with people who talk big but don’t deliver on their promises. Rather, they’re drawn to untrained voices in music, torn jeans, passionate emotions, and real stories. Fail there, and you lose them. Show your heart and you win them.

Gordon MacDonald

(from Who Stole My Church?)

Pray for China’s Earthquake Victims

I humbly ask that you pray for victims of the tragic and massive earthquake that hit central China a few days back. The death toll is already over 12,000 and rising by the hour. Many victims were children. As some of you know, I worked in China for over five years and my wife is also Chinese. We have friends who were impacted by this, though none lived in the area of the epicenter. My wife’s family lives about 700 miles away and they felt the quake in their area as well but there was little damage.

Also, keep in mind that there are many Christian brothers and sisters in Sichuan Province who may be suffering loss, grief, and pain at this time. Please keep them in your prayers  if you are led to do so.

Thanks,

Mick

 

On The Cusp Of Change: The Church And The Internet

Mick Turner

If you can imagine for a moment what life would be like without the Internet as we know it today. For some of us older folks, that isn’t so hard to do. In fact, if you came of age before the early to mid ‘90’s, it should not be too much of a reach to imagine what life was like without so much instant information at your disposal.

 

I have been thinking about the Internet and the church for sometime now, along with how other current realities may affect the Body of Christ as we march forward in this new century. Technology, like it or not, has a great potential to help churches both meet the needs of its members in this fast-paced day and age, and further, has even greater potential in reaching those who are still outside the faith. The question before us is: To what extent is the church currently using this valuable tool and what are the future directions this use may take?

 

Christian researcher George Barna has recently completed a study dealing with churches and their use (or lack of use) of technology in general and the Internet in particular. The findings of this study are both interesting and enlightening. With proper reflection, these results are also quite educational.

 

Let’s start with something basic, like web sites.

 

In 2000, 34 percent of Protestant Churches had web sites. By 2005, according to Barna’s findings, this number had jumped drastically to 57 percent. Since that time, the number of churches with a web presence has grown slowly and is currently around 62 percent. While this is a significant percentage, it does raise some interesting questions.

 

Recently, I attended a small group meeting of local pastors and church leaders, during which several topics were discussed related to church growth and future trends. The use of the Internet was among the topics on the agenda and I found that here in the Bible Belt, although an increasing number of churches had web sites, most of these sites primarily functioned as venues for delivering information to members. A significant number of these sites, located mostly in North Alabama and South Central Tennessee, had as their primary content information gleaned from the church bulleting passed out at the door of the church the previous Sunday. There was little material included that dealt with evangelism, discipleship, or even the most rudimentary Bible teaching. Instead, worship times were printed and various and sundry announcements relevant to congregational activities were prominent.

 

A majority of those pastors and church leaders (elders, deacons, and the like) admitted they had never considered using the church web site for any other purpose than to provide up to date information for their members and to let outsiders know when the church gathered for worship. In discussing the matter, most acknowledged they would be open to expanding the content of their respective web sites, but just about every person in attendance agreed that they would never want to do this at the expense of informing their members of what was going on. To a man (and two women pastors), this group saw the primary function of Internet presence for the church as dispensing information that members could easily obtain by other means. A few agreed that evangelism might be a worthy use of web space, but no one felt discipleship could be done through electronic means.

 

I found this most disturbing as one of the primary missions we have here at LifeBrook Ministries is providing discipleship materials on the Internet. When I raised this issue and discussed it, I met with a cordial response but might just as well have been speaking a foreign language.

 

I should say that this particular group consisted mostly of rather conservative pastors and leaders, mostly Southern Baptist, Church of Christ, and Assembly of God. When I launched the same discussion in another setting with Methodist, Presbyterian, Nazarene, and Independent Charismatic leaders, the response was much different. In fact, many of these leaders were already working toward adding things to their sites like Pod casting and Blogs.

 

All of this spurred me to look into the research on the matter and that’s how I stumbled upon the recent findings by Barna. Let me share just a few of these findings with you:

 

One out of every four Protestant Churches (26%) now has a presence on social networking sites like MySpace.

 

Pod casting is now being implemented by one out of every six churches, roughly 16%.

 

13% of Protestant Churches now have blogs.

 

These numbers represent a major underutilization of perhaps the most efficient tool for reaching large numbers of people available to churches today. Further, it indicates reluctance on the part of many church leaders to invest in new, creative ways to do evangelism, discipleship, and other functions normally carried out by congregations. What are the reasons for this?

 

First, there is resistance for resistance’s sake. Some folks, church leaders included, a hesitant to embrace change out of fear or lack of information. In other cases, smaller congregations appear to feel that they simply cannot afford these sorts of technological innovations due to small and shrinking budgets. Even larger churches sometimes avoid services like blogs and pod casts because they fear the expense would be too great. The problem with this line of thinking is that it isn’t grounded in reality. There numerous avenues whereby pod casts, blogs, and other up-to-date services are available at little or no cost. For some churches, lack of a knowledgeable person to design and maintain the site is yet another factor creating resistance.

 

Whatever reasons a church may offer for not utilizing this important resource, I believe it would be to their benefit to move past their resistance and get on board. The potential benefits are just too great to be left behind scratching their chins and wondering what happened.

 

Barna sums things up quite well I think:

 

The Internet has become one of the pivotal communications and community-building tools of our lifetime. Churches are well-advised to have an intelligent and foresighted Internet strategy in order to facilitate meaningful ministry.

 

Without a doubt the importance of the Internet and its impact on ministry both inside and outside the traditional church setting is going to continue to expand. The question each church must ask of itself is, “Will we keep up with these positive changes and exert a growing influence on our culture, or will we wait patiently on the sidelines while other spiritual groups, philosophies, and secular movements leave us in the dust?”

 

It is really up to you to decide.

(c) L.D. Turner 2008/All Rights Reserved

Wisdom For Today

Perhaps the greatest heresy of twentieth-century American religion was to make faith into a purely personal matter and a private affair, which went nicely with the rise of the consumer society. With the advent of television preachers, faith was turned into an occasion for conspicuous consumption and effective fund-raising. Faith became merely another commodity: “I have it, and you don’t.” Or worse, “Here’s how you can get it. Our operators are standing by.”…..But in the Bible, faith is not something you possess but rather something you practice. You have to put it into action or it doesn’t mean anything. Faith changes things. It’s the energy of transformation, both for individuals and for a society.

Jim Wallis

(from Faith Works)