Conversatio Divina

Part 1 of 19

The Time Is Ripe

Tara M. Owens
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I’ve seen the look at least a hundred times now. Stricken, energized, dazed, hopeful, and slightly angry. I’ve seen it on faces young and old, of many ethnicities and both genders. I’ve seen it in churches, sitting on park benches, in retreat centers, and on the other side of a computer screen. 

This time, though, the look came with words.  

“But,” the speaker stumbled slightly, “but, why haven’t I heard this before?” She was incredulous; her eyes filled with tears. “If this is really true, why has no one ever taught this to me?” 

Her boldness encouraged me. Rarely do people first introduced to the concept of the “Six Streams”—which is another way to say the great traditions of the Christian faith—actually voice the questions that are on their hearts. But the questions are there. 

Why? Why do we drink from only one stream, when all six flow from the life of Christ? Worse yet, why do we—good-hearted, well-intentioned Christ-followers—insist that ours is the right stream, the only stream to be drinking from? Why do we cast doubt on these other expressions of a life lived faithfully for Jesus, subtly suggesting that their way isn’t as good, as righteous, as pure? 

I answered her question the only way I knew how, and I admit now that I wasn’t really answering it directly. I told her that her exposure to the Six Streams came at the right time for her in her journey. And I do believe that God’s sovereignty and loving kindness work together in her life, as in all of our lives, to bring about his revelation when we are ready to receive it. 

But the questions, the perplexed faces I’ve seen over the years, sadden me as well. 

God is mystery, it is true. His thoughts are not our thoughts, and his ways not our ways. But we—myself squarely included—are so often tempted to box him in to ways of relating and being that are most comfortable to us, most like what we’re used to when it comes to the expression of our faith. Then we begin defending our way as the right way and, eventually, the only way to live out the Christian faith, because it keeps us safe. As a result, we lose what Christ prayed so passionately for in John 17, that his disciples be one as he and the Father are one. In short, we lose unity. 

The with-God life is one of incredible beauty, transformation, healing and wholeness. In short, the with-God life is the ability to live in the Kingdom of God here and now. This is the message Christ so boldly proclaimed. That Kingdom life is fully realized, first when we accept the message of Christ’s gracious redemption of our souls, and second when we begin to live the life that Jesus lived here on earth. The various expressions of Christianity across the ages are windows into that life. Each stream, each movement of the Spirit, reflects an aspect of what it means to live the with-God life. And each is necessary to the other, each flows out of the work of Jesus, and each makes richer the expression of the Kingdom of God in and through us. 

“The time is always ripe for reunion,” writes C. S. Lewis in his essay, “Answers to Questions On Christianity”: “Divisions between Christians are a sin and a scandal, and Christians ought at all times to be making contributions towards reunion, if it is only by their prayers.”i 

Desire for that life of the Kingdom, and the unity of the church worldwide, to be more fully realized is what prompted us to choose the Six Streams as the topic of Issue 11.1 of Conversations. For some of our readers, the great traditions of the Christian faith will be familiar ground; for others, this will be your first exposure to the breadth and depth of the body of Christ to be so succinctly explained. We’ve included for your convenience a one-page reference guide to the streams and, for the first time in the journal, we’ve clearly marked the articles in these pages with the stream or streams to which they correspond. 

Although at one point I joked with our editorial team that this was our “soggiest” issue yet, I believe that you’ll be able to dip your toes into each of the streams throughout these pages. In Transformational Theology, Richard Foster talks with his son, Nathan, about the origins of the term, Six Streams, and how each of those streams flows from the life of Christ. Then, Dallas Willard takes us squarely into the Incarnational Stream with a look at what it means to truly live as the church called out in Acts. In Honesty About the Journey, Ryan Taylor shares how his life in the Social Justice Stream has been shaped and transformed by its confluence with the Contemplative Stream—I believe you’ll be as challenged and enlightened as I was. Then, Dan Sullivan talks about how his Catholic faith (Incarnational) was enriched and enlivened by his time at an Evangelical graduate school. 

In Life Together, Todd Hunter shares how he journeyed from the Vineyard Movement (Charismatic) to Anglicanism (Incarnational) without losing his appreciation of the Spirit’s fire or his foundation in the Word of God (Evangelical). Then J. Brent Bill, whose warm presence I experienced last year in person for the first time, shares in “Several Forms of Christians in The School of Christ” how his Quaker faith (Contemplative) has been strengthened because of his exposure to and appreciation of the other five streams of the Christian life. Chris Webb, an Anglican priest and author of Fire of the Word, shares in Intentionality of the Heart how to shape a rule of life around the all Six Streams without the process becoming burdensome or complicated. And Ken Brewer models how the streams play out in a seminary setting, as he explains how his institution shaped a program around them. 

Finally, in Classical Spiritual Exercises, Gary Thomas gives us all permission to be the kind of believer that God created us to be in “Sacred Pathways,” and Jeannette Bakke talks about how an Evangelical took the plunge into the Contemplative Stream. Then, in an exclusive preview of his upcoming book, John Michael Talbot shares how the Jesus Prayer (Contemplative) has shaped his faith as he moved from calling the Evangelical Stream home to his current rootedness in the Catholic faith (Incarnational). 

I’m also happy to announce that this issue sees the debut of a new Feature column—As For Me And My House. In each issue we’ll be featuring resources for children and families that support formation in Christ. I think you’ll find our first article, “Growing in the Garden” by Lacey Finn Borgo, to be both inspiring and highly practical. You’ll also find all of your favorites in these pages: O Taste & See, Reflections, and the Conversations Guide for use in your small groups and churches. 

Did you notice the other feature we snuck into the last issue without telling you? If you were eagle-eyed, you saw Ruth Goring’s “Ezekiel II” in Issue 10.2. Poetry will be making regular appearances from now on in Conversations, because we believe that good art, like good food, brings people together over the table to converse, enjoy and digest the beauty of God in words. We also take seriously that in Ephesians 2:10 we are called God’s poeima, God’s poem, often translated as “handiwork” or “masterpiece.” We hope you enjoy Luci Shaw’s offering in “What to do with bits of string,” and let us know how poetry is making an impact on your life with God. 

The six great traditions of the Christian faith are a stunning picture of the diversity of the body of Christ throughout the ages. The grace of God is that this diversity, when lived out under the power and headship of Jesus, doesn’t bring comparison or conflict but instead greater unity. That is our heart’s cry, as it is the cry of every believer across the ages. Let your body be unified, God, and let your church be built. Let the gifts of God be experienced by the people of God for the realization of your Kingdom on this earth. 

I hope that this issue will strengthen your belief that prayer can be realized, and that appreciating all of the streams of the with-God life can bring us closer to Christlikeness daily. 

Footnotes

Tara M. Owens is the senior editor of Conversations Journal. As a certified spiritual director with Anam Cara Ministries (www.anamcara.com), she practices in Colorado and around the world. She is also a retreat leader, speaker, supervisor, consultant, blogger and author. She is working on an upcoming book from InterVarsity Press on spirituality and the body. If you’d like to continue the conversation with Tara, she can be reached at tara@conversationsjournal.com or on Twitter at t_owens or AnamCaraTO or at www.taramowens.com.

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Part 6 of 19
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Poetry

Luci Shaw
Spring 2013