Twelve Steps for Progressive Christians
Step 12
Matthew 20:20-28
Step 12: Having had our spiritual awakening as the result of following the steps of our faith journey, we assist others with their journey and practice the principles of our faith in all that we are.
This series using the 12 steps of recovery as a model for progressive Christianity has been a useful process for me to think about how I structure my faith journey and how similar the experiences of living a faithful life are with living a life in recovery. Some of you may not know that Rev. Robyn and I lead a Spirituality Class every Monday at Pride Institute where we talk about the relationship between healthy spirituality, healthy sexuality and healthy sobriety. More and more I’m seeing those areas as three legs of the stool of life. When one of the legs is missing or weak, we are prone to fall.
Another thing those of us not in recovery share with our friends in recovery is that many of us who consider ourselves progressive Christians find ourselves still haunted by the legalism or fundamentalism of our past Christian understanding. There is a real sense in which we are in recovery to build a healthy faith journey that is free from the triggers, the guilt, the shame and the conformity that was often a prerequisite to the religious understanding of one’s self.
The twelfth step in the recovery process is taken when one has healed enough that there is a readiness now to serve others going through their own journey. For Progressive Christians, this is the moment when we are ready to take off the bib and put on the apron. When people volunteer for leadership in the church I often ask them whether they are ready to be a provider Christian instead of a consumer Christian.
There’s a great story about the philosopher Diogenes standing at a street corner one day, laughing like a man out of his mind. The people walking by finally began to ask him, “What are you laughing about?”
“Do you see that stone in the middle of the street? Since I got here this morning, ten people have stumbled on it and cursed it. But not one of them took the trouble to remove it so others wouldn’t stumble.” For Progressive Christians the twelfth step happens when we are willing to move the stones instead of simply complain about them to others.
The twelfth step is the last step but it is not the end. It is the beginning of living a life of service to others. Did you notice that the purpose of this step leads to a spiritual awakening? Isn’t that the goal of all of our spiritual journeys? We desire to have our eyes opened to the reality we call God all around us – to be sensitive to the ways in which our spirit is connected with Holy Spirit and the spirits of our community – hearts beating as one in loving service. You’re spiritual awakening may look very different than someone else’s spiritual awakening. Even though we have laid this process out in steps, the journeys where our faith steps take us can look very different. But there is nothing that changes your life more than allowing a spiritual awakening in. Spiritual awakening doesn’t happen to us without our consent.
Barb went to see her pastor to volunteer to lead Bible school. The pastor was elated. “You’re an answer to prayer!” he told her. The previous year, the Vacation Bible School director had nearly burned out. But with Barb’s great enthusiasm she could make it work.
The previous director had contacted more than a hundred people to help out but only a handful agreed to help. Barb completed her staff well over a month before the program was to begin. The truly amazing thing was that not one person she contacted declined. Was it her personality? Maybe. Was it the way she asked? Maybe. Was it who she asked? Probably not. Many of the same people had been contacted the year before. What made the difference was Barb’s approach. She was inviting people to be part of something she really believed in. It was not just a task to be completed. It was a ministry to be done.
When we are ready to serve – to see, to touch, to be used – God is ever present with opportunities to reveal.
Source:
http://www.nacronline.com/ National Association for Christians in Recovery
Eugene Grimm, GENEROUS PEOPLE (Nashville: Abingdon Press, 1992), p. 106.
Anthony de Mello, TAKING FLIGHT (New York: Bantam Doubleday Dell Publishing Group, Inc., 1990). p. 161.