Dallas Notes: The Navigators' Discipleship Library

The Navigators' Discipleship Library (no date given)


Spiritual Formation

the Bible is the best information the human race has on the most important topics
not written like systematic theology. much more intelligible.
if we simply follow sensible principles of linguistic and historic interpretation and then read it like it means what it says, then we are in a position to confirm the truth of it and it will prove itself to us
we have come to a time where everything that is said on the basis of authority is rejected so you can have freedom
our culture sets aside the wisdom of centuries and expects people to come up with their own wisdom
our two unquestioned values are freedom (do what you want) and happiness
then you can justify any action
invent own wisdom on basis of those two values
recipe for individual misery and social chaos

the Bible is for the church and not for scholars. it's not as obscure as many scholars make it out to be.

three ways of thinking about spiritual formation
1. training in a a set of practices within a tradition
not just Xian
can be very rigorous and good in the way it disciplines people. can have quite a good effect.
[eg: Paul (Dallas says elsewhere that Saul knew a lot about discipline before he became a Xian)
Martin Luther, or Wesley]
would he have been the person he was if he had not received the training he had?
the following generation seem to be much less effective
eg: Fundamentalist and Liberal divide
the people on the Liberal side often had much more substantial faith than the people who came after them
the people on the Fundamentalist side often had much more substantial scholarship than those who came after them
the way we are formed by discipline and a set of practices is important to what we are able to do when we break through to freedom
Rauschenbusch was a man of discipline, devotion and prayer
Warfield was a man of scholarly depth and learning
[So, a really important question to ask of our teaching is how will it affect the next generation? what are the parts we can't take for granted?
Robbi taught me this lesson about the Bible. I was coming from a place of faith and trust. but how would kids hear it?]
2. the shaping of the spiritual side of the human being
we must regard this sense as central. the spiritual is being formed.
spirit can take form of rebelliousness and individualism
spirit is our capacity to choose, freedom
in this respect we most resemble God. personal, creative freedom
spirit is meant to live in harmony with God. we all have a kingdom
challenge is to harmonize that kingdom with God and extend its effects as far as they can
AA was a gift from God, but 12-step programs have departed too far from that
working with 'higher powers' when you don't know their name is not healthy
Xians are regarded as cultural bullies, esp. from past, so we don't have to be as gentle or 'accepting' with them as other spiritualities
3. shaping of human life as a whole by the spiritual personality and KoG
instead or any spiritual disciplines, if you have God, disciplines are shaped by Him and especially His love and the love we are learning
ceases to be a solely human enterprise and becomes one of cooperation b/t humans and God
as Protestants, we're in effete stages of teaching of grace. used to liberate, but now it's a kind of bondage: you dare not do anything. we're saved by grace and paralyzed by it. doing anything would be an attack on God and His prerogatives.
grace is not opposed to effort, it's opposed to earning. grace empowers people for greater effort than ever before.
the instructions in Col 3, for example, are intensely active
'Word as only sacrament' view
spiritual transformation comes primarily from engagement with the spiritual world. in fact, a lot can come out of the wrong information with engagement
some bad things can come of it, and it's better to be right, but God can use it.
God is merciful: if you seek Him, you will find Him. He will find you.
it's better to do something than to sit still and do nothing worrying about doing the wrong thing
to be spirit is to be an active, creative being
there are a lot more important things than having it easy in life

Q&A
once every 2 months, run service like 12-step program. 'I'm Dallas and I'm a recovering sinner.' What if struggling people had friends on call?
if you manage to stay sober, you still have to decide what to do with your life
12-step programs work so well b/c people know they're going to die if they don't get help
[if sinners approached faith that way, we'd make more progress. not only will we die in sin but we are dead in sin right now. the only way to come alive is to seek (and keep on seeking) Jesus.)]
we need information and inspiration, but we need to engage.
the rule is act: stretch forth your hand, go wash, take up your bed and walk.
yes, it is true that ability and knowledge can lead to self-righteousness, but it has gone to seed on us.
we set aside all the teachings on our part. the Spirit must initiate. work out your salvation with fear and trembling. that's the active side. it's in human nature to be active.
the answer to that problem is not to do nothing.
we have to understand some about Buddhism and Islam b/c they're big today. what are strengths and weaknesses.
cults fail when it comes to legalism. they don't transform the inner person and heart.
proper order of subordination is God, spirit, soul, body
in idolatry, soul serves body, spirit serves soul and we're doing our best to get God to serve the whole mess
the body is not supposed to give direction but to take it
make your body an instrument of righteousness
'the spirit is willing, but the flesh is weak', but it's not supposed to be or stay that way
every discipline has a bodily component
Joseph Campbell is hawking a version of the nature of soul in the guise of a scholar of mythology
you are not really distinct from anyone else
New Age thinking is the oldest-age thinking there is, that is, like the Hindu Vedas
Jungian psychology is inherently gnostic and gnosticism gets rid of distinction b/t good and evil, then individuality
same path as Hindu and Buddhist enlightenment
by contrast, Judeo-Christian-Islamic thinking says God is personal and so are we and right and wrong exist.
part of our problem is we haven't had deep Xian spirituality for people to relate to
I'm looking forward to the first brain transplant b/c people are going to be surprised. we are not our brains. psychology is lost b/c it is trying to treat a spiritual reality as a physical phenomenon
The real witness to the spiritual, personal KoG will be when the people of X obey Him. And then there won't be any arguments.
[I don't disagree, but how has this worked in the past when people obeyed? Persecution instead of argument?]
Western Civilization is thought to be a product of Xianity that has proven to be a moral failure
that's why the academy's criticisms against Western Civ and Xianity have a tone of moral superiority
we haven't been great witnesses
that's why Xian teachers and leaders are the most important people in the world. we're the only ones with the resources.
the most radical elements in Western history are opposing Xian elements
3 parts to capitalism: motivation (self-interest), legality (private property), theory of production. they are separate issues.
[there are plenty of things in Western culture that we don't have to defend or own. we the Xians disagree.]
if my people, the ones who are called by my name (not everyone), will seek me...
we try to get people to come, but Jesus was so popular, He tried to get away from people. so if we preach what He preached in the way He preached it, we might have more of the same problem.
we have to go back to being the people of God in an area (like a parish). we're wasting too much money and resources on duplication. and we won't come together this way doctrinally. obedience to X is the true ecumenism.
[so how would we do that? de-emphasize denomination, doctrine (beyond orthodoxy), and buildings organize around mission. can probably have different style worship services. would be hard to find current 'franchises' (professionals and institutions) that will play ball. they have too much invested in the old system.]
we don't cooperate with evil
parish model
the church has to come back into it's own as the people of God in a location who don't need a building so people will know who they are b/c they go there


Spiritual Disciplines 1

Liberal theology died and went to live in Washington where it lives in the form of social ethics.
the formulators of liberalism were, in most cases, committed to Jesus and living disciplined lives. but that part did not carry over.

Spiritual Disciplines 2

1 tim 4 7-8

we lose so many of our teenagers b/c we don't teach them how to live out their faith. they start to confront greater challenges, not least coping with sexuality, and we don't have good tools for them. so they are disillusioned. they conclude that faith is not real b/c it doesn't enable us to live out what we are commanded to do, if it's even given us a good vision of what God calls us to be and do.
further, having good adult models would help immeasurably

so, give teens the vision of God and the Kingdom
then teach them a little about the resources we have to live it
they will have to respond (and seek) to some degree.
[when I did sr immunizations, that was ok, on the academic side, but it wasn't enough. that can still be part of it.]

to avoid doing what is wrong, stay out of temptation (if you can)

you can't do anything new and major (run a marathon, play Moonlight Sonata) by trying. we don't just try and it happens immediately. we have to train.

goals for going through the day:
1. be aware of others, not just self. what is good for them?
can't do by willpower. has to be inner stillness.
the first act of love is attention
I'm an example like Bozo the Clown is an example :-)
2. truthfulness
can't do these things on my own. have to get up and renew with the Lord
Lord, I'm just a child. I can't do this without you.

we need times when we go away and be quiet until we calm down. the voices stop and the crazy thoughts stop.
there are things we have to do. Grace is not opposed to effort... God will not preach a sermon for you, for example.

solitude
enjoy beauty of nature
break hold people have on you
goal: become independent of others and dependent on God
you can't serve and love others unless you're independent of them. dependency spoils service and love.
with children, we want them to become independent (but still love us)

silence completes solitude

we begin to experience wholeness and integrity and then joy

length matters. intensity matters. you have to have a lot of water at once to get a shower. you have to hear all the notes of the symphony at the right time, not just one at a time.
don't do anything. don't get stuff done.
you can sing or pray, but not like work.
enjoy ducks -- there's no good reason for them
did you know there's a commandment to do no work once a week?
the fruit of your ministry is going to be your faithfulness in trusting God
you know the fruit of God's Spirit in ministry with you b/c the fruit is greater than your efforts could possibly produce.
the testimony of the presence of the Spirit is the incommensurability of the results to the effort.

don't be a hero. not proving anything. if you were wonderful, you wouldn't need disciplines. they are not good in themselves.
fasting trains us to be strong, happy and content when deprived of what we want.
teaches us God can nourish our bodies directly by His word
'I have food to eat you know not of.'

as you learn any discipline, you will experience difficulty
you have to practice until you can think about something besides just the discipline and the practice thereof
common practice: routinely fast two half-days a week
once a month or every couple of months: whole day
occasionally up to three days
it's practice. it's not righteousness.

William James, Talk to Teachers
Keep the faculty of effort alive in you by a little gratuitous exercise every day. That is be systematically heroic in little, unnecessary points. Do every day or two something for no other reason than its difficulty. So that when the hour of dire need draws nigh it may find you not unnerved and untrained to stand the test.

Intentional fasting is different. It's for a purpose other than practice. practice will get you ready so you can do this kind of fasting when necessary.

Joshua 1.8
God intends His people to have success. But this is not the prosperity 'gospel'. In general, you should count on success coming as you live in the Word of God.


Q&A
we need more sleep. you can sleep in the practice of solitude.
start your day in the evening. you won't be ready in the morning. go to bed earlier. get a good night's sleep.
physical exercise is fundamental. we need it routinely.
for Dallas: woodworking, yard work, roofing
Luther and Francis abused their bodies and later regretted it.
grace does not exempt us from discipline, neither our need for training nor natural consequences of sin

we have the idea I'm going to make the cut b/c of the Magical Moment of Mental Assent
when you disobey God intentionally you step out of the circle of His protection and nothing is guaranteed
do people just want to go to heaven when they die or could eternal life now be attractive to them? teach them obedience to X is what it means to trust X and to begin to live in the eternal Kingdom.