Theological Lectureship 2012

Fostering mature faith is focus of seminary lectureship

How Christians are formed for abundant life was the central question for this year’s Theological Lectureship at Associated Mennonite Biblical Seminary, presented by Marlene Kropf and Daniel Schipani, two AMBS professors.

Kropf opened the first of four sessions by citing research that demonstrates hunger for spiritual depth in the current culture. For example, a study sponsored by Willow Creek Community Church in suburban Chicago, Ill., sampled more than a quarter of a million people. Results showed that pre-Christians (people exploring the Christian faith) and people new to faith are helped to grow by their congregations, but more mature Christians are disappointed in their churches’ guidance.

“Both spiritual and human development seem to be arrested in American culture,” Kropf observed. “At the same time this spiritual hunger and desire persists.”

The pair consulted contacts in other parts of the world and reported some similar issues from Indonesia, Ethiopia, Paraguay and The Netherlands. They heard questions about addressing poverty in light of the gospel of prosperity, forming Christians in a context of many faith traditions, and strengthening Christians in contexts where expressions of faith are not valued or are treated with hostility.

In what Schipani called “God’s multi-national corporation,” Christians at their most faithful are incarnations of the new humanity and life abundant. But questions persist for how to help Christians have a maturing life of faith.

Kropf and Schipani then examined two aspects of practical theology that can provide answers: spiritual guidance and spiritual care. Using the theme of “Join the dance: Forming Christians for life abundant,” the two professors explored the interplay of humans and the Holy Spirit in working together to foster life in Christ and a relationship with the triune God.

Kropf developed the composite case study of “James,” a man in his 50s who finds it difficult to connect with God. “Deep within us is the image of God,” she explained. “Awareness of God doesn’t come by traveling straight to the center,” but it comes first through the ordinary ways our senses perceive the world, and then through an inner awareness of our desire and longing for God.

When James begins to pay attention to the primary sources of revelation, then his experience of secondary revelation—Scripture and the church’s tradition—will also come to life. This missing capacity is probably what is most responsible for James’s inability to sense God’s presence, Kropf suggested. Then, as he opens his awareness to God through his ordinary consciousness, he will begin to experience God in new ways.

To help develop the attentiveness needed, Kropf said, “Group spiritual direction may be the simplest, most effective way possible for the church to engage people in ongoing growth, uniquely tailored to their personal needs and stage of life.” Group spiritual direction fosters careful listening to God, to each one present and to the group, she explained, and that complex listening will open participants to a deepening experience of God.

Schipani’s case study focused on spiritual caregiving for a fictional couple, Cristina and Julio, who were living with marital distress caused by the husband’s affair. The caregiving in this scenario blended contributions from several counseling approaches with an overarching aim of fostering spiritual nurture, formation and transformation.

Schipani emphasized that this spiritual companioning begins with listening. “You must maintain a stance of listening in a sacred way,” he said. Part of that listening, he added is prayer. “I teach students to pray—before, during and after” encounters with the care receivers.

He compared the movements of spiritual caregiving with that of an artist in The Netherlands, Christine Langerhorst, who creates book forms out of damaged pieces of wood. The first movement is contemplation, paying attention to the piece of wood. The second movement is engaging the piece to explore its characteristics. Only after this does the form-giving start. She comes with some idea of what she wants to create, but the seemingly formless piece of wood has a form within it that needs to be discovered.

“This is not unlike ministry,” Schipani said. The minister has some idea of what he or she wants to happen, but cannot be fully certain what is going to happen. Eventually, for the artist, a form emerges and she must disengage; a minister also must know when he or she has done as much as possible.

“I have been learning to see the crucial importance of contemplation,” Schipani emphasized. He concluded the case study by saying, “We need to see people, such as Julio and Cristina, as redeemable, “because God is at work. That is the spiritual dimension of this vocation.”

In the final session, participants were asked to name signs of hope they see in their own congregations that relationships with God are being nurtured. Responses included the Mennonite Church USA priority of Christian formation, named by delegates at the 2011 convention in Pittsburgh. Other signs of hope included intergenerational activities, reading Scripture in both English and Spanish during worship services, and renewed emphasis on reading the Bible in Mennonite Church Canada and spiritual direction groups.

Two respondents participated in the lectureship, adding perspectives from different forms of ministry. John Rogers, Ph.D., administrator for the Center for Family Excellence in Pittsburgh, Pa., brought the metaphor of the desert into his comments. Citing biblical examples when God called people into the desert, he suggested that going to the desert may be part of preparing people for the life abundant. Later he reflected, “We may be invited into the desert more often than we realize. But for various reasons we miss the invitation.”

Ruth Boehm, pastor of Faith Mennonite Church, Leamington, Ontario, and graduate of AMBS, commented from her vantage point of being a congregational pastor. At the close of the lectureship she emphasized the theme of listening as spoke directly to students preparing to be pastors: “When you are here, learn to listen. Practice listening to God, listening to yourself, to others. Learn to listen to the community and the world. Listen to the Word come alive. Trust that the Holy Spirit will lead you.”

This emphasis on the Trinity throughout the lectures was reinforced by a set of three banners, created by Michelle Hofer of Freeman, S.D. She is artist-in-residence in her congregation, Hutterthal Mennonite Church, and created the fabric banners to reflect the Trinity icon of fifteenth-century Russian painter, Andrei Rublev.

Kropf is retired associate professor in spiritual formation and worship. She holds a D.Min. from Graduate Theological Foundation and has taught at AMBS since 1984. Schipani is professor of pastoral care and counseling, with a Dr. Psy. from Universidad Católica Argentina and a Ph.D. from Princeton Theological Seminary. He has been a member of the AMBS faculty since 1985. The two professors attend Belmont Mennonite Church in Elkhart and have been members of the same group for most of the time they have lived in Elkhart.

Mary E. Klassen / April 2012