As one who has felt spiritually broken more times than I can remember or recall, I felt a certain camaraderie at Trans4m. It amazed me at how many in the continued development of Emergence Christianity have been abused, rejected, dehumanized, and cast out of the churches they so dearly cherished for many many years. This was not just a "gay" issue but one that straight people and many others expressed. It was troubling to hear.
This lead me to re-think the problem of the little societies we call churches. People create them and people have a tendency to desire power when it is available. Hierarchies have developed and will continue to as long as there are clear class differences between the educated and wealthy and all the have-nots, just for one.
However, it occurred to me while listening to Kathy Escobar talk about The Refuge, that Alcoholics Anonymous is both a deeply spiritual and completely non-hierarchical place for the broken to heal each other. The expertise of the community is not from a degree in counseling, or theology, but from experience. Personal vulnerability and personal stories are what drive the Program.
I have an intimate experience with the Program from several members of my family. If there was ever a place where church happened that was not church, it was there, every Saturday afternoon in the middle of dingy rooms with dingy ashtrays where doctors and lawyers sat by street people on a regular basis. Everyone in that room was, and is, powerless: the first step.
That's not what we see in church. We see a pastor or a preacher stand on high as an authority over the Word of God and over the sins of the people. The people do not share much but receive the Word from a single source on high. Confession is not one's personal story told to the others in the chapel, but something pre-fabricated. The meals can only happen as sacraments by someone basically voted to wield that authority over the people. There are clergy, and there are non-clergy. Everything screams "conform to this set of principles and you will find the Kingdom of God." Church is more often than not a divisive social structure.
No wonder why we are losing young adults. They are seeking intimate and deep relationships and most church structures are just not designed to do that. It's as if they want home made cookies but the church gives them a package of over-priced Oreos while telling them it's better. Something needs to meet these rightfully disaffected explorers who want to understand something deeper, richer, and better not from clergy but from each other.
This is why I am going to begin working on a Program for the spiritually disaffected and for those who want to jump in the deep end of spirituality in a world that has for the most part lost its nerve to do so. I have drafted a few Principles and Characteristics that have been rolling in my brain for two years. The Characteristics actually correspond to each of the Principles for cohesiveness.
I am willing to take this risk and I am betting that in my conservative, blue-collar, small town, these folks are out there. I am one of them. AA started with a conversation between two alcoholics who wanted to change. It is now a global phenomenon that works, as each meeting affirms in a moment of benediction and charge. Why can't we also take church and our healing that seriously? I want to. I need to. Do you?
Thirteen Principles
- We can only understand God when we admit our powerlessness to become like God.
- We will never fully know God.
- No religion can ever therefore claim to have sole authority of the Truth of God's revelation.
- Religions that make these exclusive claims to Truth demand conformity.
- Religions that demand conformity tend to abuse non-conformists who do not assimilate.
- In history God is continually revealed among the religious non-conformists.
- We live in a world of religions where conformity is valued more than non-conformity.
- This situation has resulted in countless cases of spiritual and religious abuse, about which many we never hear.
- Abuse and conformity also by necessity squeeze out the revelation of God in favor of the human desire for social control.
- Yet God desires those who do not conform in order to reveal who God is.
- Even as Jesus, Muhammad, Siddhartha Gautama, Moses, and others underwent persecution because their society challenged them, so those who do not conform to religious norms live today.
- Those who refuse to be assimilated into a religious structure lack a space to experience God's revelation in their midst and in community.
- This space is thus sorely needed and is what The Thirteenth Step is designed to be.
We are:
- Powerless
- Incomplete
- Mindful
- Non-conformist
- Healing
- Loved
- Unique
- Compassionate
- Receptive
- Attentive
- Whole
- Together
- Safe
Related posts:
[...] This post was mentioned on Twitter by Kris Socall, TransFORM. TransFORM said: RT @dtatusko: the meeting was just what i needed to work on a new missional experiment: http://bit.ly/ckqYyz #trans4m /// exciting, Drew! [...]
I've frequently thought that much of what I have learned in recovery could be applied to the churches I have attended, but please do not mistake the non-hierarchical nature of the organization as a lack of structure and implied submission in the processes of the program. Recovery is more than a bunch of vulnerable people sharing stories and life with one another. It offers a set of principles and program for living that requires submission of will and conforming of self to principles of a central text (the Big Book) and the 12 steps and 12 traditions. While it is the group conscience that drives the unique flavor of each group, there are frequent arguments, disagreements and splintering of groups for a variety of reasons – just like churches. People offend one another, disregard one another's feelings. Sponsors make demands of sponsees in the form of suggestions that, when not taken, often end in the severing of those relationships. Recovering drunks range from fundamentalist program literalists (often called 'Big Book thumpers) who feel that anything that does not fall within the pages of Big Book is not "real" recovery. Others go to meetings, don't work the steps and, in many cases, remain living in the chaos of active alcoholism even though they are not drinking. All this to say that I love recovery. It saved my life. But meetings can be just as dysfunctional as churches – mainly because people are people. So, to use a recovery term that is about at Biblical as you can get – our task is to learn to live life on life's terms…
thanks for sharing. i appreciate your openness. and i understand your comments. you will always get a range of ideologies everywhere. i do understand the culture very well since it runs deep in my family too.
the absolute i am trying to learn in my own life is one day at a time. some buddhists call this mindfulness. jesus used a wonderful little metaphor about lillies that neither toil nor spin. what i'm also trying to do is use an organizational philosophy to help those who already, to various degrees, feel broken somehow. the paradox is that this principle does not let itself be an absolute since it changes all the time!
it will be interesting to see how an experiment like this works with people i am not assuming are addictive in any way shape or form.
I agree, it will be interesting, and I look forward to observing your experience with this from a distance if you intend to chronicle it on your blog. Two thoughts on your steps from a person who did not grown up within a faith tradition, embraced atheism through my 20s until I came to believe in a "power greater than myself" in my early 30s and came to Christian faith unexpectedly at age 37.
First, I noticed that forgiveness does not show up in your list of principles. Whether from the perspective of my recovery history or my Christian faith, I have come to view this as a key life principle that is worth pursuing beyond reason. In recovery it tends to manifest as a result of deep work in the steps with a sponsor where one examines resentments, confesses them, makes amends with those they have harmed and who have harmed them and continually through prayer and meditation seek conscious contact with God in pursuit of "a spiritual awakening as a result of these steps" that leads to fruitful service to others and maintenance of sobriety. It is not easy, nor is it intuitive. There are people in my life I firmly believed I would never be able to forgive in my heart and I was not willing to pay lip service to forgiving them. My sponsor just told me to be willing to forgive them some time in the future and to continue to move forward one day at a time. It was wonderful advice.
Second, your step 12 resonated with me deeply. I am a person who has yet to find a community of likeminded people with whom to share my Christian journey (although I do go to church as an act of obedience to what I have discerned to be the leading of the Holy Spirit in my life). I find that I am too doctrinally oriented for the people who share my social views and too socially progressive for those who share my doctrinal views. Thankfully a group of Benedictine monks, a couple of Catholic nuns, a progressive writer/professor, a couple of evangelicals, a wise woman from the Dutch Reformed tradition and a few other wonderful people from various Christian tribes have been kind enough to inform my journey which has, in many ways, been quite lonely. Thankfully I am a contemplative sort and there is a short walk from loneliness to meaningful solitude..
Wow, Drew, this is really fantastic. This sounds like the church I want to attend. With that in mind, I'm a seminarian in a major Protestant tradition. I hope to reach out to persons of faith as one who doesn't claim authority and doesn't claim to have all the answers.
I'd rather chat with people and talk over ideas. In the words of that great theological film Dogma, "I think it's better to have ideas. You can change an idea. Changing a belief is trickier. Life should malleable and progressive; working from idea to idea permits that. Beliefs anchor you to certain points and limit growth; new ideas can't generate. Life becomes stagnant."
I live that in my faith life and I learn from being part of a faith community. Thanks for enlightening me with your ideas!
forgiveness is a part of compassion and love. without forgiveness of self and others one cannot truly be compassionate. i think compassion, derived from buddhism, is a more holistic ethic that includes forgiveness.
also remember that i am using aspects of the program, but not looking to continue the program. this is not an extension of aa, but something "like" aa for the religiously disenfranchised, disaffected, outcast, etc.
thanks so much for the thoughtful insights here!
Drew: This last comment really has me thinking…
Forgiveness as a subset of compassion and love? No doubt I will be chewing on that for some time. So far it has led me to ponder how easily factions within the Christian faith (conservative, liberal, denominational, evangelical, emergent, et al) compartmentalize their love, compassion and forgiveness – meting it out generously to those with whom they identify but sparingly with those with whom we butt-heads or come into conflict. As a result, groups become convinced of their love and compassion for others despite considerable anger and unforgiveness toward other groups who inevitably "deserve" it. Your statement above, that "without forgiveness of self and others one cannot truly be compassionate" begs the question: Does this lack of forgiveness in one area of our lives mean that we are not "truly compassionate" in another? It may well be the case. Perhaps that is why loving friends and enemies is central to Christian faith — pointing the way to unconditional love, forgiveness and compassion.
Again, I look forward to learning more about what you are wresting with and where it takes you…
Best,
Joan
Drew,
Thank you so much for your thoughts and also thanks to everyone who posted comments. I came back to Jesus, so to speak, through finding a power greater than myself who restores me to sanity on a daily basis. I therefore imbue all my Christian beliefs, ideas, thoughts, discussions with the color of AA. While I agree with Joan that AA is imperfect (Thank God for that!) and that there is splintering, resentment, gossip, etc. among us, it casts a wide net and brings everyone who is but willing to be willing into a relationship with God as they understand God. It's funny, because I'm sure that Bill and Bob and all them were Christians getting sober in a mostly Christian context, but the Holy Spirit led them to create a system that didn't require belief in THIS GOD or THAT GOD, and through this wideness in God's Mercy, people like me get sober, survive, thrive, and grow closer to God. It's truly remarkable. I wish you luck in this and look forward to being with you in dialog with you about it.
One thing I need clarification on is the language of your first principal: "We can only understand God when we admit our powerlessness to become like God." I can't grasp my head clearly around these words. Do they mean that generally we humans try to become like God and it's only in knowing that we can never become like God that we can understand God? Help me, please. LOL. I'm a pretty smart fellow, but you lost me here.
Thanks!
i re-read your question about point one and i think you re-worded it correctly. the human tendency is to become like whatever god we choose to be God. however, what is also clear is that in the great religious traditions in the history of humanity we cannot do this under our own power. submission, mindlessness, love, etc. all are reflections on de-centering ourselves – to become powerless before that which we believe is the ground of truth, beauty and goodness in the world. it is the cross, the eightfold path, the four pillars, the shema etc.
"Does this lack of forgiveness in one area of our lives mean that we are not "truly compassionate" in another? It may well be the case."
Damn you have a good mind!
I can't answer this for sure, but intuitively there would seem to be a correlation. Test it. If I am truly angry at my kids or wife, whatever and go to work, do I not carry that anger into the new social place? It is only after I release that anger before I can actually be mindful of others in another social place. Even if I vent to a friend, I still carry that anger so that I cannot be truly compassionate to others because I am primarily thinking of myself.
The point is that compassion is not just being "nice" but a principle of living that requires us to be vulnerable and take risks for others that may seem dangerous and often out of character. For Jesus love of neighbor and God are fused together which was a new thing with old ideas. We cannot love God until we can love our neighbor because it is in this activity that we are truly de-centered and directed towards the other. Loving our neighbor opens us up and makes us vulnerable because it requires us to attend to that which is not us. To do this requires us to open up our defense mechanisms and release our ego. But this is not something that we can do on our own and we must also be mindful of that which holds the order of everything together namely, God. Thus, loving our neighbor is a spiritual discipline that we can only accomplish through the help of God. This is about radical vulnerability.
If we cannot know God and be spiritually grounded without such vulnerability, which takes serious discipline, we cannot love our neighbor as fully as Jesus would have it. Buddhists call this mindfulness. It is the same idea of no-self in order to be fully aware of the other to love them fully and without condition. Imagine a world where we all behaved that way. Why not see if by an experiment we can learn this discipline together?
I teach spirituality to alcoholics and addicts and have often observed that I feel safer and free in a Group Of Drunks (GOD) than I do in the Church. The Program echoes the thoughts of Paul that there is 'no condemnation' and that there is always hope. I as a non-alcholic/addict (albeit in recovery from elements of life and toxic religion, recognizing my own powerlessness over people and religious systems) have learned a lot from my sisters and brothers in the Program.
It is interesting you posted 13. This number is very familiar to Judiasm. Judaism has 13 Principles of Faith. Here they are:
1. G-d exists
2. G-d is one and unique
3. G-d is incorporeal
4. G-d is eternal
5. Prayer is to be directed to G-d alone and to no other
6. The words of the prophets are true
7. Moses' prophecies are true, and Moses was the greatest of the prophets
8. The Written Torah (first 5 books of the Bible) and Oral Torah (teachings now contained in the Talmud and other writings) were given to Moses
9. There will be no other Torah
10. G-d knows the thoughts and deeds of men
11. G-d will reward the good and punish the wicked
12. The Messiah will come
13. The dead will be resurrected
I was excited when I read the beginning of your blog…I thought heh, maybe someone else who is thinking like I am. I was hoping you were going to state the 13 articles of Faith in our new religion
alas that was not your aim. I've given serious thought to finding a "religion" like that.
As far as conformity goes, I'm not sure how a religion could survive without rules..everything would be willy nilly. I do agree with your idea that religions have started with mainly non conformists…the list is quite lengthy. The problem is the men who I think had good ideas at the beginning, let their pride and love of power to change the initial ideas. Perhaps it should be a woman to make this wonderful new religion. Power is not so important to the female gender.:)
[...] Drew Tatusko [...]
But we can answer the original question with surety: Mark 11:26 says that if we do not forgive (no condition stated), it will not be forgiven us. Jesus is making it clear that as follower of Him, forgiveness must be ever present in our lives. If it is not, then we will not be in the "good counsel" of the Lord because He cannot forgive us. It is our choice to be in God's good counsel or not. And active forgiveness toward others – regardless of the offence – is the means to ensure we shall ever and always remain so oriented and in uninterrupted communion with our Lord and Saviour Christ Jesus.