On One Size Fits all Christianity

Thomas (2000) states, “Over and over again we give Christians the same spiritual prescription: ‘You want to grow as a Christian?  All you have to do is develop a thirty- or sixty-minute quiet time and come to church every Sunday morning’” (p. 14).  When I was younger I was prescribed this one size fits all devotional plan.  This uniformed spiritual plan led to a lot of frustration and guilt.  I am probably ADD and my brain is always going.  When I try to pray, especially when I try to reflect and listen to God my mind ends up going in ninety different directions.  I especially got down on myself when I compare myself to my mentor, Pastor Tim Smith.   Pastor Tim is the poster child for the “typical” life of devotion.  He even spends one day a month in complete solitude.  In recent years I have learned to stop fighting the way I am wired and develop a devotional life that works for me the way God wired me. I have learned that if I listen to praise and worship music while I am waiting for a word from God the songs often direct my prayer and bring words from God to me.  It is for this reason that I find myself resonating with senate pathway.  According to Thomas (2000) intellectuals “may feel closest to God when they first understand something new about him” (p. 29).  Many of memorable “God moments” involve reading material by Barth, Bonhoeffer, Foster, Wesley and Willard.  I align strongly with the intellectual pathway. 

Thomas, G. (2000). Sacred Pathway (2^nd edition).  Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan.