What’s your spiritual pathway?
Should everyone be expected to relate to God through the same spiritual pathway? At times we assume that because another Christian does not worship or connect to God in the same way as us, there must be something wrong with their faith. Unfortunately, we as Christians tend to question or criticize the legitimacy of any experience unfamiliar to us. God wants us to connect to him spiritually in worship and devotion according to the way he has made us.
Understanding our spiritual temperaments allows us to discover how we best relate to God so that we can develop new ways of drawing close to him. Our God-given differences in personalities and temperaments are reflected in our worship, devotion and relatability to him. Similarly, parents enjoy the uniqueness they experience through the differences in their children and their relationships to them.
In his book, Sacred Pathways, Gary Thomas describes nine pathways to discover our soul’s path to God. The nine are: Naturalists who love God through creation, Sensates who love God through their senses, Traditionalists who love God through ritual and symbol, Ascetics who love God in solitude and simplicity, Activists who love God through confrontation, Caregivers who love God by loving others, Enthusiasts who love God with mystery and celebration, Contemplatives who love God through adoration, and finally Intellectuals who love God with the mind. We all journey to God through different pathways and that is by his design and for his good pleasure. Identifying and enhancing these pathways will create a closer relationship with God.
The garden of Gethsemane was a sacred place of refuge for Jesus where he found refreshment, intimacy and encouragement from his Father. He often retreated to the garden for solace and solitude in prayer. Thomas’ question, “Where is your Gethsemane?” invoked my reflection on the place I go to connect with God and hear his voice. Gethsemane, when used as a metaphor for a meeting place with God, vividly displays the balance between intimacy and mission, prayer and work (33).
My Gethsemane is my car. I spend on average of one hour a day in my car and it is in these moments that I communicate with God and reflect on his word. I connect to God by listening to sermon podcasts and worship music, as well as being in silence and solitude. I look forward to getting in my car and often feel energized after my moments with my Saviour. At times of distress, I can find peace and solace from singing along to a Christian worship song. When needing wisdom or direction, an impactful sermon or podcast provides clarity and insight. In the busyness of life, a few minutes of silence provide internal rest and relaxation.
In Mark 12:30, Jesus describes “four elements essential to every true expression of faith: loving God with all our heart (adoration), soul (will), mind (belief), and strength (body) (37). A complete Christian should ultimately exhibit adoration, belief, divine guidance and service in their relationship with God. As I journeyed through the nine spiritual pathways in this book, I found myself connecting to all nine with varying degrees of impact. Interestingly, something in each pathway resonated with my soul from either my past or present. The order of impact is as follows: Intellectuals, Enthusiasts, Sensates, Traditionalists, Ascetics, Contemplatives, Caregivers, Activists, and Naturalists.
My inclusion of all nine pathways is probably due to the various Christian traditions and churches I have been a part of throughout my life and ministry. I grew up in both the Anglican and Methodist denominations in childhood. I was baptized as a child in the Anglican church and came to know Jesus at a young age within that tradition. My late childhood and early teens were spent in the Christian and Missionary Alliance church. My late teens and young adult life were influenced by attending and pastoring a traditional Pentecostal church. From there I pastored a Charismatic church and currently I pastor a non-denominational evangelical church.
My journey in life has taken me through various Christian backgrounds that have exposed me to different spiritual pathways. Each pathway has enriched and developed my relationship with Christ. For this reason, I am cautious to criticize other traditions and find the good within each. After further reflection, introspection and analysis of my scores, my dominant pathway is as an “Intellectual” and my secondary pathway is an “Enthusiast”.
The intellectual pathway allows me to connect to God when I understand new concepts and gain deeper insights about him and his word. My relationship with God is strengthened when I learn something new but becomes stagnant when I am stuck in routines. Clarity in my mind through right thinking produces right living. It is through the engagement and exploration of God’s word in my mind that my soul expresses a desire to connect with him. Topics such as church history, systematic theology, apologetics, biblical studies and church leadership broaden my faith and enhance a great fervour for God.
During my thirty-minute drive to work, I primarily play podcasts from thought-provoking pastors and leaders who communicate sermons to challenge my faith and broaden my view of God. As a pastor, sermon preparation is very exhilarating because I have the opportunity and time to read, meditate upon and explore God’s word and communicate truth to people. One of my greatest joys in ministry is to hear a response from someone who has listened to one of my sermons and experienced enlightenment, change or encouragement through God’s word.
My secondary pathway as an “Enthusiast” developed during my time in Pentecostal and charismatic churches. My desire for celebratory worship and supernatural forms of faith were formed in my experience of God’s mystery and majesty. Having experienced supernatural healing, dreams, tongues and other gifts of the Holy Spirit, I appreciate the mystery of faith. I feel connected to God through listening to contemporary Christian music and attending engaging worship services. Music awakens my emotions to pursue God and ignites a passion to love him more.
I am grateful to God for creating me in a way that I can experience him through multiple spiritual pathways. My time in a variety of Christian churches has also developed and enhanced my ability to connect to Christ. This multifaceted approach to spiritual development has certainly enabled me to appreciate and grow in different spiritual environments and has also erased my critical and judgemental mindset towards other Christians.
So what spiritual pathway do you connect with the most?
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