Thoughts from class...

A question from class that has me.......thinking :)

Why do you think the Spiritual Disciplines are seen by many people as “optional add-ons for super Christians”?
I’m going to risk sounding heretical here.
The disciplines are, to a large degree, excluded from the Gospel we preach. We live in a culture where comfort is the ultimate commodity. Marketing efforts on the part of corporations (and, dare I say, churches) have blossomed. We hear that we are sinners, Jesus loves us and died for us, and that this death mysteriously makes it possible for us to shimmy into heaven when we die. We may even hear that being on God’s side will assure us material provision, comfort…even luxury. Some of this is good and true, but rarely have I heard the Gospel presented as an invitation to an ongoing journey, commitment, and struggle – “For your sake we are being killed all day long” (Rom. 8:36) is not a popular verse in evangelistic efforts. I have to wonder how much of the gospel we hear proclaimed today is merely the illegitimate child of our desire for fulfillment and the marketing schemes of twist doctors and image consultants.
We want people to buy into Christianity, so we do what can to make it appealing. Play up the good stuff, exaggerate a little, and play down or completely ignore the “unpleasantries.” After people are in, they may hear about courses or special schools for “discipleship” that require major time and commitment, but rarely (in my experience) of discipleship as the Way of living in the midst of our lives. So the assumption is easy to make: Discipleship is an extreme sort of lifestyle for an extreme sort of person and the rest of us are simply “not ‘built’ to be spiritual giants” (Reading Room article).