It can feel threatening when our experience of faith changes--or when someone else's does. Based on The Critical Journey: Stages in the Life of Faith by Janet O. Hagberg and Robert A. Guelich, these videos look at classic wisdom from spiritual direction about what different stages of faith look like and about how to figure out both where we are and what we might expect is to come.
Visit www.journey-on.net to download our free group discussion guide and journey templates
Dave’s story:
“What became an abiding love of stage theories of spiritual and emotional development came after, as an atheist, I had an unexpected spiritual experience that profoundly shaped my future. However, it didn’t explain why I still didn’t connect with some of my religious friends, much less tell me how to actually get whatever benefits the experience might offer me. So I got a graduate degree in theology. For a time I led a church near Harvard and became a leader amongst folks asking similar questions. I got book deals and lectured a bit on the college circuit.
I learned that I could explore these questions from a psychological perspective (M. Scott Peck was super helpful) or from a modern Christian perspective (three cheers for The Critical Journey!) or from an ancient Christian perspective (whoop whoop for The Interior Castle or the desert tradition’s three stages!) or from a social and philosophical point of view (props to Integral Theory!) or by learning from great myths (let’s hear it for The Hero’s Journey!). And there were more still.
What each of these helped map out for me in their differing ways was that our lives seem to work best when seen as a surprising journey with unexpected setbacks (that maybe aren’t actual setbacks) and opportunities we can’t see coming (but which might change everything). Not all of our friends or family members will be on the same journey as we are, but these views of the world offer us compassionate ways of understanding their stories as well. And for those of us who crave encouragement that there’s an ongoing path to spiritual and emotional growth that might extend throughout our whole lives, these journeys offer very good news indeed.”
