Barnabas File

Is it possible that what we have learned about our faith can get in the way of our faith development?     Much of my Doctor of Ministry research was informed by the work of James Fowler.     Fowler suggested that are stages of faith development which connect to cognitive and emotional development. In his book,   Stages of Faith: The Psychology of Human Development and the Quest for Meaning ,  Fowler outlined how individuals construct meaning and trust across their lifespan. Based on research, this framework spans from childhood's intuitive, literal beliefs to mature, self-transcending faith.    One of the things that we must wrestle with in considering Fowler’s model is determining how what we absorbed in the earlier stages of life either contribute to our ongoing faith development or gets in the way. For example, as a child and teenager, I learned a high regard for the Bible, the scripture of my faith.  I still remember passages that co...

In my work with the Summit Coach Training, I teach several times a year.  Most of our coaches-in-training are people with experience in the helping professions—clergy, therapists, social workers.  In a recent class made up of pastoral leaders, an idea emerged that I found invaluable.   First, some background.  In coaching, we teach that people are smart.  Our clients know more about their problems than the coach does.  They are unique individuals with various gifts, talents, and experiences that they can draw upon.  They can make decisions and pursue their goals.  The role of the coach is not to solve the client’s problems, but to help each client ascertain what they want to accomplish, what resources they have to get there, identify barriers and how they might be overcome, and celebrate their achievements.   As we were coaching around challenges that our class members face, we realized that taking a coachin...

When we consider resources that a coach might suggest a client pursue in faith coaching, there are many!  Please understand as I address this topic, I come from a Christian perspective (note the “a” and not “the”). However, there are rich spiritual resources connected to all religious faiths and to no particular religious faith.   Perhaps a starting point comes from the Methodist or Wesleyan tradition.    The Wesleyan Quadrilateral is credited to Methodist founder John Wesley.   This model bases its teaching on four sources as the basis of theological and doctrinal development. These four sources are chiefly scripture (the Bible), along with tradition, reason, and Christian experience.   As Christians, we are not bound by tradition, but we have two thousand years of tradition upon which we can draw.  Tradition is not simply about organization or ecclesiology, but ways in which believers approach God—spiritual practices (such a...

On my wall is an icon of St. Patrick, the patron saint of Ireland.  As one might expect, much of the story of Patrick is shrouded in myth. The accepted story is that he was kidnapped from Britain by Irish raiders when he was 16 and taken to Ireland where he was a slave for six years.  He eventually escaped and returned to his family, but he took vows with the Church and returned to his place of enslavement as a missionary.  He is credited with converting the island to the Christian faith.  By the seventh century, he had come to be revered as the patron saint of Ireland.   The genius of Patrick seems to have been his ability to contextualize the faith to win converts.  He took advantage of the well-developed stories, customs, and institutions of Ireland to present the Gospel in a powerful way.  So significant was this approach that it gave birth to what we call Celtic Christianity, a movement that differentiated itself from the Roman form of t...

Humans are meaning making creatures.  We seek understand of the world and of ourselves.  We ask existential questions. Existential means "related to existence," often focusing on the big questions of human life like purpose, freedom, meaning of life,  responsibility, and place in community.     Assistance in finding answers to these questions come through revelation, myth, and reflection.  Coaches who partner with clients to consider faith questions begin by being open to what the client seeks, taking into consideration the client’s maturity level, life experiences, family of origin, religious tradition (if any), and present context.     Although individuals raised in a similar context such as a Christian tradition have common experiences, we should not assume a common vocabulary or equivalent response.  For example, the meaning of the Eucharist (Lord’s supper) for an individual varies upon whether they experienc...

In the last few years, religion scholars and the popular press have written much about the “Nones”—people who profess no religious faith.     Ryan Burge and Tony Jones have found that it is not that simple.    The Nones are often thought of as a single group, but Jones and Burge have found they’re not. There are the Nones in Name Only (NiNOs), Spiritual but Not Religious, the Dones and the Zealous Atheists.  There not discreet boxes but gradients.   What this means for coaches is that we may find ourselves coaching about existential or faith issues when we least expect it.  Our clients may say that they have no particular religious views, but some are more spiritual than they think!   All coaches—Christian or not—can their support clients in authentic meaning-making by exploring their inner world, uncovering  and integrating their true selves.  Faith coaching acknowledges and accepts the inherent ambiguities and tensions ...

“Over 85% of the world population identifies with an organized religion while millions more practice folk religions and spiritual beliefs. Humans may be innately spiritual, learning existential views early through family traditions, community practices, and cultural narratives.”   You may be surprised to know that this quote comes from a study by the International Coaching Federation Thought Leadership Institute.  The study points out that it is typical for individuals to ask existential questions, often focusing on the big questions of human life like purpose, freedom, and meaning. Religion and spirituality enrich the human experience through meaning-making and help find one’s place in the word.   For those coaches who follow the Christian faith, the opportunity to “grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ” (2 Peter 3:18, NIV) is a given in our lives and will inform our coaching as well.  However, ho...