The Spirit In Action

Dear Readers,

A change is taking place in the world. From what it looks like now, it is a change for the better. What is the change you may ask? It is a change in the way people have a relationship with the divine, a way they worship, and the way they live. Infused with the Spirit the pioneers of these changes are making a new path to the traditional Way.

People too often express their belief in two ways (without getting too technical): a conservative way and a liberal way. The conservative way holds fast to the traditions of Christianity and preserves the orthodox beliefs of the Church as it has passed down through the ages. However, they idealize the past as an age to be longed for and a goal for the modern church to aspire to. Thus they move forward painfully slow, often by being dragged kicking and screaming. They are torchbearers of Christianity, but they shun progression.

The liberal way is altogether different. They view traditional belief as the foundation of future belief. In time, they believe, the old gives way to new beliefs, new theories, and new ways of doing things. Adapting and moving, yet retaining the essential beliefs of their faith, the liberals are the progressors of Christianity. Their desire is to progress the Gospel in new ways, but reject the stifled views of the conservative. Sometimes, they lose sight of their roots and are too open to change.

Now, this is where the new change comes in. The Spirit is making a middle way in the midst of these two basic ways. It is making way for change yet retaining their roots. Take for example: New Monasticism.

The new monasticism movement takes a new spin on the ancient practice of living the monastery life. Instead of living in solitude to find and experience God they live in the midst of the poor, the marginalized, and the downtrodden, in their words “in the abandoned places of Empire.” The old way of finding God in poverty and solitude is adapted to further the Gospel in the streets and slums.

Old ways are being adapted for modern times. These new pioneers are not clinging wholeheartedly to the old or abandoning tradition for the new. They preserve tradition and teach and live and experience in new ways shown to them by the Spirit. Truly, God still works in new ways in the modern world.

What about you reader? Have you seen any new signs or wonders in the world lately?

The Simple Way
New Monasticism

-Ιάσων