Viewpoint

Exploring faith and spirituality

David Newstead continues a monthly series looking at how the Christian faith relates to aspects of life

IN the 1960s a group of young men from Liverpool were regularly topping the charts with their music and being mobbed by hundreds of teenagers whenever they appeared in public. One of their members, John Lennon, boasted that they were more popular than Jesus.

Despite all their wealth and fame, there was a void in their lives and they sought to fill it by exploring transcendental meditation, taught by the Indian yoga guru Maharishi Mahesh Yogi. According to its supporters, the ordinary thinking process is transcended and is replaced by a state of pure consciousness, which helps to create greater self-awareness.

Meditation can take many forms. For some it can be related to religion while for others it can be a non-religious experience, such as connecting with nature, art, music or yoga. Many are based on Buddhist teaching or eastern mysticism. They can seem attractive because the human spirit craves spiritual answers, but most of these merely focus on the mind and the self. The premise is that what you think you become, because you are shaped by your thoughts. It supposedly leads you to free yourself from the illusion of selfhood. Many people who follow these techniques describe themselves as being spiritual, but in a non-religious sense.

Today, such forms of meditation seem to have given way to mindfulness. This practice is intended to promote a calm and clear awareness of your thoughts and feelings in the present moment and encourages you to accept them without judging them as right or wrong.

Mindfulness is a practice of purposely living in the here and now by bringing one’s attention to the present moment without evaluation. Definitions and techniques are wide-ranging but, like transcendental meditation, it derives from elements of Buddhist traditions and techniques, such as how past, present and future moments arise and cease as momentary sense impressions and mental phenomena.

There has been an important debate in recent years, particularly within the Roman Catholic Church, about mindfulness and its benefits or otherwise. A document written in 1989 by the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, entitled Letter to the Bishops of the Catholic Church on Some Aspects of Christian Meditation, acknowledged that there can be positive benefits from techniques that are similar to mindfulness – such as those used in eastern Christian meditation that ‘range from a specific bodily posture to the basic life functions, such as breathing or the beating of the heart’.

However, the document warned of some limitations: ‘Understood in an inadequate and incorrect way the symbolism can even become an idol… It can degenerate into a cult of the body and can lead surreptitiously to considering all bodily sensations as spiritual experiences.’

Tom Wright, in his book Broken Signposts, makes a shrewd comment: ‘For many people today you can have any variety of spirituality you like, as long as it is not Christian.’ However, it is Christian spirituality and meditation that can take you closer to God than any manmade religion, because it stands for something greater in life than the physical or material world. True spirituality is the fruit that the Holy Spirit produces in a person’s life: ‘love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control’ (Galatians 5:22 and 23 Revised Standard Version).

In the context of Christian worship, prayer and meditation are integral to each other. In prayer we speak to God and in meditation God speaks to us. In a sermon preached at the Lambeth Conference in 1930, Archbishop William Temple said: ‘Worship is the submission of all our nature to God. It is the quickening of the conscience by his holiness; the nourishment of the mind with his truth; the purifying of imagination by his beauty; the opening of the heart to his love; the surrender of will to his purpose.’

There are many meditative practices that can be helpful for Christians, including contemplative reading of the Scriptures and hymns. Salvationists have a treasure trove of music that is an excellent aid for reflection. In the foreword to the 2015 Song Book of The Salvation Army General André Cox wrote: ‘Through our songs we gain insight into the wonder of salvation and the beauty of holiness, fuelling our deep desire to live in the presence of God and in a manner that brings glory to his name.’

Exploring Leadership Day asks w

WILLIAM BOOTH COLLEGE

‘YOU are a work in progress’ was the message at the heart of this year’s Exploring Leadership Day, reports Managing Editor Ivan Radford.

The annual event, which is led by the Candidates Unit, invites people to explore spiritual leadership. This year it took the theme Becoming, inspired by Philippians 1:6: ‘I am confident that the creator, who has begun such a great work among you, will not stop in mid-design but will keep perfecting you until the day Jesus … returns to redeem the world’ (The Voice).

Delegates of all ages from across the territory gathered to consider what God wants them to become and how they can become more through him. Territorial Candidates Director Major Janet Robson welcomed everyone, before Principal Lieut-Colonel Judith Payne began worship by paying tribute to the late General John Larsson as a model of leadership, celebrating his influence and legacy.

The way leaders influence others was a recurring thought, with Lieut-Colonel Judith remembering ‘Auntie Nelly’, a woman she knew when she was only six years old but who had an impact upon her. She also shared her memories of going to divisional youth councils as a teenager in the 1970s.

‘I knew that God had called me for more than that,’ she recalled with excitement. She testified to still having that excitement several decades on: ‘At every single stage of my life, I have known this truth: God’s got more.’

Guest speaker Major David Alton (Boscombe) focused on the story of Daniel and the influence that he had upon others. He considered the way that the word ‘becoming’ can mean ‘attractive’, but emphasised that this does not have to be in a physical sense. He used Daniel as an example of someone being compelling, engaging and authentic, highlighting the importance of living within the culture of today yet staying true to one’s identity in God.

He invited everyone present to ‘dig deep into who we are’, not just personally but as a collective.

Speaking about The Salvation Army as a movement, as well as a group of individuals, he challenged: ‘We are comfortable and settled and we’ve come out of huge change. We need to come to God and say, “What do you want of us?”’

Several people came forward to testify about who they are becoming, illustrating their journeys with two words written on opposite sides of a sign.

Cadet Thomas Morgan (pictured on the front cover) said: ‘I was willing to accept that God’s plan for me was not to stay in education as a teacher but to become a Salvation Army officer. Through that I was willing to serve, to do challenging things, to tell people all about God’s love.’

Singing group Una Voce, led by Music Editor Karl Westwood (THQ), provided music throughout the day that resonated with these testimonies, from the covenantal ‘Take My Life’ and ‘Song of Sacrament’, featuring soloist Megane Moki (Birmingham Citadel), to the affirming ‘We Believe’, featuring soloist Bethany Grimshaw (Norwich Citadel), and ‘We Are Not Ashamed’.

A moment for response led many to step forward to the mercy seat in prayer, while the William Booth College band played ‘Guardian of My Soul’ and the worship band, led by Lauren Westwood (Bromley Temple), brought the congregation to their feet to sing ‘Goodness of God’.

Major David drew the time of worship to a close reminding people their purpose is to enrich the world in Jesus’ name where they are, leading, serving and influencing others.

A range of seminar options helped people further consider Becoming in a range of contexts.

Some delegates explored the ministry opportunities available in The Salvation Army, from envoyship and officership to pioneer work and chaplaincy, or reflected on the importance for spiritual leaders to develop a spiritual rhythm in their lives. Others reflected on their spiritual gifts, focused on living out God’s calling in their community or gained insight into life at William Booth College. The highs and lows of ministry in local leadership were also discussed.

One inspiring and thought-provoking seminar focused on inclusivity, asking how everyone can feel welcome in The Salvation Army. People were prompted to think about what including everyone means and looks like. They reflected on the way that being multicultural can cover a range of different aspects of people’s lives and experiences, such as age, interests, ethnicity, sexuality, socio-economic background and whether someone is a survivor of trafficking or abuse.

Another seminar discussed ministering to and influencing people in a digital age. It emphasised that ‘church’ is not a service but the people who go to the service, with connection points not just weekly in one location but possible anywhere throughout the week.

Delegates were prompted to consider the opportunities and challenges of digital interaction and to ask whether they view the online world as a tool for one-way broadcasting or a community within which they can engage with others.

The main seminar was led by the Youth and