The Blog in Spiritual Formation
Spirituality books have comprised a large percentage of my reading of late. Don't get me wrong, I've spent time in fantasy with Temple of the Winds, social commentary with What our Mother's Didn't Tell Us, and even travel with Ireland: an Island Revealed. But I have many more titles like In the Name of Jesus, God's Original Intent for the Church, Awakening to Prayer, and The Ignatian Workout in the stack. Recently Spiritual Formation has held increasing sway in my literary pursuits. There's something feels so right about spending the best of myself pursuing God.
My spirtuality librarian, Reed Sheard, (recommends books, talks with me about them, but is not not quite a mentor) gave me a copy of the lesson he presented to the FM Sunday School class. I read it just as the Ambien kicked in one night this week, which means I had to read it again yesterday. The lesson was an introduction to the Spiritual Disciplines (enter Richard Foster stage right) and then a focus on journaling. Which brings me (finally!!) to my point. Can a blog be a journal?
There are certainly ways a blog is a completely valid journal. It allows the blogger to confront life issues and wrestle with spiritual realities. It opens the blogger to the community of believers who can assist in the confronting and wrestling. It's a very "stream of consciousness" expression, allowing the blogger to participate in his or her immediate feelings in a cathartic way.
But there are ways a blog is not a valid journal. I still keep a separate journal. When I was pleading with God for guidance on how to deal with a frustrating situation at work, I would not even consider posting that personal dialog on a blog. (See? I talk around it even when not hitting it head on!) On some issues I will in dive head first (see the Sabbath Attempt #4). Some issues I will not touch online with a 10-foot pole. Maybe that's just me, maybe it's my fear of rejection, my fear of failure, or my introverted side coming out. But maybe it's my respect for myself, respect for the intimate nature of my relationship with God, and respect for all of you out there who don't want to know details that gory.
So I guess the answer is both yes and no. (Let's give a hand for the Kevin Fayborg "Why can't it be both?" theory!) The public nature of the blog as a journal is both the blog's strength and weakness. Will I journal on my blog? You bet. Will I journal on paper where only God and I know the contents? I think I'll do that too. The blog's place in Spiritual Formation lies in the context of community of believers. Nouwen and Ignatias didn't have blogs, but I think they would have approved the spiritual thinking and community they foster. And I believe the Lord God looks on us disciples with love and pride whether we seek the Divine on paper, online, in the classroom, or over coffee. Long live the blog!
So, community...what do you think?
posted by Christy Randalll @ 9:33 AM
4 Comments
4 Comments:
I think I whole heartedly agree. I think there is a context, such as a spouse or a really good friend or private journal, where you can express in the ugliest form all that you are processing (not that you use it to fan the fire, but that as someone who processes things verbally, I need a safe place where I can throw out a theory and then rebuke my own theory. A blog would not be a good place to do that!) But there is also a time when some theories need to be tested by the greater community that I would call myself a part of. And that is an excellent function of a blog. As a reader, I am often encouraged by what others of my community are processing and it spurs my own spiritual formation.
My blog is where I do a lot of my spiritual processing. It seems a fairly safe place for most things, though it can be (and has been) misconstrued. I think that given the distance we often find between one another, that a blog is a great way to shared-joournal; we can share what we are thinking, invite feedback, and link to others' journals.
And yes, some things should stay off the blogs. Details of sex lives, anything that could cause a problem at work (people have been fired over blog content) and conflict with specific individuals are all things that quickly come to mind as 'do not blog' topics. But then again, those are also things that probably should stay behind the brain-tounge gate anyways.
Is the topic - how should spiritual formation happen? Should it be done in a private or public forum?
If so, the answer is yes. In all religions there is a call to spiritual formation with others (i.e worship, prayer, etc). But there is also a clear realization that if spiritual formation is to be complete, it must also happen away from other people. Jesus certainly did and taught both.
What is interesting is that the deepest and most significant spiritual formation seems to take place at a very personal and intimate level. The people we call "saints" are the ones whose spiritual formation has developed to a very great extent, and largely as the result of very private experiences.
So, it seems there is defintely a place for both. The real question may be, how deep and significant do we want our spiritual formation to be?
my lj kind of reminds me of my high school 'zine "Saturday's Child" where i never put anyone's full name on it so i would be the only one to go down "in the case the feds ever break up this little soiree'" (seriously, that's a quote from it.)
one of the main reasons i try to stick to poetry in my lj is so i can protect myself and use the "is this fact or fiction" curtain to hide behind.
but in another way, my lj makes me feel comfortable taking all the protective layers off my heart and leaving it naked and ideally, unashamed.
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