Journeying Together
How can I witness to Christ while also honoring others’
autonomy and distinctive faith journeys?
My understanding of formation is shaped by the image of walking alongside someone on their journey of faith. We all walk at different paces and often in different directions. The goal of a formation leader is to accompany people on this journey, to be able to identify the places in their lives that formation might already be happening, and to give them permission to explore in ways that fit their identity and who they are called to be.
The concept of permission is particularly important for me
in being able to honor other peoples’ journeys. Too often, the church has
become a place where questioning and exploration are discouraged, and growth of
the institution is the primary goal. As Elizabeth Drescher notes, to reach
people outside the church, the church needs to “engage without attempting to
colonize.”[1]
This means giving express permission for people to try new things, to ask
questions, to disagree and to critically engage with what they see and hear. In
giving permission, I want to allow those exploring life’s important questions
to be able to look wherever they are led, even if it leads to them to places
outside of the realm of traditional spirituality or church traditions.
In my own study of formation and education, I explored the
process of imagining new approaches to formation for people with little to no
religious background. I came to discover that these approaches are less about
designing programs to attract non-religious people, and more about forming and
maintaining relationships of trust and mutual growth. As Kyle Oliver has
observed, the church today provides little access to people seeking wise
mentoring relationships to help them navigate and find meaning in the transitions
of their lives.[2] My
dream is that the church can equip mentors in all age groups to walk with people
they encounter, both in the church community and in the wider community.
[1]
Elizabeth Drescher, Choosing Our
Religion: The Spiritual Lives of America’s Nones (Oxford University Press,
2016), 14.
[2]
Kyle Oliver, “Young Adulthood,” in The
Seasons of Adult Faith Formation, ed. John Roberto (Naugatuck, CT:
LifelongFaith Associates, 2015), 42.