cultural dichotomy

Posts Tagged ‘beliefs’


Posted on July 18, 2008 - by ray

The Gap

I’m preparing to teach a class on Spiritual Formation in September. I’ll be using the Frost & Hirsch book The Shaping of Things to Come as the primary text. In review of the book I came across something I had forgotten about that I think is worth posting. The authors refer to Robert Bank’s book Redeeming the Routines and his pointing out the gap between belief and everyday life. According to Bank this gap shows up in ten worrying ways:

  1. Few of us apply or know how to apply our belief to our work, or lack of work.
  2. We only make minimal connections between our faith and our spare time activities.
  3. We have little sense of a Christian approach to regular activities like domestic chores.
  4. Our everyday attitudes are partly shaped by the dominant values of our society.
  5. Many of our spiritual difficulties stem from the daily pressure we experience.
  6. Our everyday concerns receive little attention in the church.
  7. Only occasionally do professional theologians address routine activities.
  8. When addressed, everyday issues tend to be approached too theoretically.
  9. Only a minority of Christians read religious books or attend theological courses.
  10. Most churchgoers reject the idea of a gap between their beliefs and their ways of life.

Of course, the last is the most telling. Many of us fail to see the disconnect between what we read in scripture and believe about our life in Christ and what we actually do. I have to admit, I’m guilty of this as well, even living cross-culturally, where it’s my job to avoid this type of gap in my daily life.

I’m convinced now more than ever that we do a horrible disservice to both new and old Christians in our discipleship of them if we don’t teach and example what it means to live the incarnational life…what it means to love your neighbor, what it means to bless those who persecute you, and what it means to turn the other cheek. We do a fine job of teaching truth and sound theological concepts but we fall short in giving them the full council of the Word.

So, this is where the rubber meets the road - I need to come up with a way to teach and example this to 18 year olds this September in a way that will hopefully impact them to live out their faith, not just believe in it.