Author Archives: Tammie Grimm

Fasting for Wholeness by Tammie Grimm

“The part you must jettison is not only the best-written part; it is also, oddly, that part which was to have been the very point. It is the original key passage, the passage on which the rest was to hang, and from which you drew the courage to begin.” Annie Dillard, The Writing Life

As I complete edits on my doctoral thesis, I was stupefied to trip over this nugget several weeks ago. A month or so earlier, I heeded the wise advice of my supervisor and ripped out an entire section of a chapter that I had written and formed the whole motivation for my research and writing. It was agonising, and even though that work was at once the genesis and culmination of what I was writing towards, it was the right move. Though a valuable piece of research and writing, it does not “fit” into the thesis as it stands. It has another place in which it can stand on its own merits – but not in the thesis on which I’ve worked so hard for many years.

Lent is upon us, and I’m drawn back to Annie Dillard’s thought over and over again the last week or so. In recent years, the age-old practice of self-denial and fasting from a particular enjoyment has, in many communities, been approached differently. Rather than view Lent as a time of sacrifice in this season of preparation, a suggestion is to add something healthy or positive to our daily life. The idea is that by adding something good to our lives, whether it be spiritual reading, taking a daily thematic photo or committing to a particular health routine, we must give something up, something extraneous and unnecessary, to make room for the new addition.

There have been years in which my approach to Lent, to give something up, has been to consider Lent as something of a chore. Something to be endured, a prolonged period during which I faithfully swore off chocolate, diet soda or some other item I enjoyed, only to look forward to Easter when I could add it back into my life again guilt-free. And, when I’ve taken the positive approach, adding something new and beneficial has, too often, just been adding one more thing in an overcrowded life.

However, this year, in light of Dillard’s quote, I have considered what it is I need to sacrifice in order to find life — as I did when I jettisoned part of my chapter, parts of my thesis which were (and still are) my favourite bits. How does self-denial allow for the addition of something good? How does fasting bring about wholeness? What parts of me must be cleansed in order for God to do a new work in me? Maybe in approaching Lent differently, there will be a different outcome – something more lasting and true.

“Create in me a clean heart, O God. And renew a right spirit within me” Psalm 51:10

Tend Your Fire: Fanning The Flame Of Zeal by Tammie Grimm

“I want to look confident but not come off as aggressive or too assertive – that just won’t do!” How many of us have thought that when preparing for a public presentation, whether it be a workshop we lead for our peers, a meeting with other leaders or even a job interview? We want to look professional, neat and tidy, but with a little snap, a little flair that gives us some edge. We want to avoid dowdy and boring, but we also avoid appearing gaudy or overdressed. It’s the age-old quest of Goldilocks – looking for that bowl of porridge that is not too hot, not too cold, but just right.

Zeal is like that, too. It’s a good thing to have zeal and be zealous – to share our excitement and love for the Lord with others – but to be overzealous or to be called a zealot carries a whole different connotation to it. Zealot does not come with complimentary overtones. It implies your passion and fervor have crossed the line; you go from being an enthusiastic advocate to being a fanatic, unreasonable and so singularly focused that you become offensive and actually repellant to others. But, without zeal, not only do we not share our faith effectively with others, our faith languishes and grows cold, like the second of two bowls of porridge Goldilocks passes over in the quest for the one that is just right.

Most Christians can agree that there is a line distinguishing the difference between being eager to share your love for God with others and being so assertive that people seek to avoid you. But is it really possible to have too much zeal for the Lord? Or is it that in being overzealous or becoming a zealot our zeal is actually misdirected – distorted by falsehoods that are incompatible with zeal, becoming objectionable and obnoxious – even dangerous.

Contemporary issues with zeal are similar to problems Wesley noticed about this quality that is integral to sharing Christian faith. In his sermon, On Zeal, Wesley writes, “without zeal it is impossible either to make any considerable progress in religion ourselves, or to do any considerable service to our neighbor, whether in temporal or spiritual things. And yet nothing has done more disservice to religion, or more mischief to mankind, than a sort of zeal which has for several ages prevailed.”

Sadly, zeal might be misdirected towards inconsequential matters, either material objects such as our clothing, our accessories or even our worship spaces, that results in arrogance or conceit. Or zeal might be confused with pride which leads to being offensive to others. Tragically, zeal can be tainted by anger, even hatred, for those that don’t share or claim the same love for God, inciting violence, death and destruction. While Wesley cited the Crusades and the martyrs that suffered under Queen Mary as examples of this wrongly motivated zeal, ISIS is a contemporary manifestation of the same perverted sense of zeal. Zeal of this sort is neither too hot nor too cold. It’s just wrong: wrongly motivated and wrongly deployed.

Genuine zeal, however, is something that is true and lasting and good. It is ardor and energy that stem from love for God. It is directed to share God’s love with others. “True Christian zeal,” Wesley wrote, “is no other than the flame of love. This is the nature, the inmost essence of it.” Zeal actually is hot – as hot as fire.

Zeal of this sort operates in an attitude of confidence, but with humility, allowing the possessor of Christian zeal to know understand their place within the world, as a child of God and steward of God’s creation. Zeal is patient, not forcing its way on any person or group of persons, but allowing divine grace to operate in any and all circumstances. And, while it is a good thing to be zealous for the Church, Wesley commends it is a better thing to be zealous for actively doing the will of God through prayer and demonstrating love for neighbor, and an even better thing to be zealous for seeking the fruits of the Spirit and sharing in the love of God in order to share it with others. This is the zeal that we need: zeal inspired by God’s love to be zealous to share God’s love. This zeal burns with a holy fire that is controlled but cannot be quenched. This kind of zeal is not the middle ground of “just right” between two extremes, but it is zeal that is hot, truly hot enough that excites the Christian to share the love of God with others.

If there is anything we need today to be faithful disciples of Jesus Christ who seek the lost to share the love of God that others might know the transforming grace through the power of the Holy Spirit, it is zeal. Zeal that is hot, passionate and unafraid. We need zealous disciples, with hearts ignited for God in a flame that burns so hot and bright it does more than generate heat that warms the individual and lights a single disciple’s path.

Our zeal for Jesus Christ must overflow out of our hearts, attracting others to the light that is perfect and good and holy, shared in the power of the Holy Spirit so that God’s goodness and love is known and so that God’s kingdom is ushered in in real and tangible ways. This is the zeal that isn’t too cold, isn’t just wrong, but is hot and just right.

A Pipeline Of Grace: Pros And Cons by Tammie Grimm

A proposed pipeline in my community has caused me to consider the nature of Christian faith and our lives as disciples. I’m not talking about the political, economic or environmental ramifications of pipelines, but the pros and cons of using the analogy of the Christian way of life, our discipleship, as a pipeline.

On one hand, the idea of having a pipeline to God, to supply our lives with the divine grace, sounds like an ideal concept. And, in some respects, Christians have access to any number of pipelines by which God’s grace is poured out. Spiritual disciplines and other practices of faith, such as prayer, reading the Bible, attending church, participating in acts of mission and service are known to Wesleyans as being “means of grace.”  These activities serve as channels designed to deliver and pour out God’s grace into a Christian disciple so it may flow out into the world.

On the other hand, the image of a divine power located in a far off distant source that can only be accessed when a believer taps into the pipeline reduces God to far less than the omnipotent, omniscient deity the Triune God of the universe already is. The corresponding picture of a believer who can control God with the turn of the spigot makes God a little too much at our command rather than us as servant leaders doing his will.

One of the more predominant pipeline proposal signs that has popped up in my community refers to the fact that a pipeline delivers its resources or its refuse 24/7/365. As some neighbours have noted, the promise of the benefits of constantly available energy resources can have problematic consequences. Without a doubt, this also draws a strong analogy to the Christian life as well.

It is incredible to think of, to realize God’s grace is always available for renewal. In one sense, it is how the whole Kingdom of God was advertised and announced by John the Baptist. “Prepare the way of the Lord, make his paths straight”(Matthew 3:3). Jesus’ life and ministry demonstrated that the Kingdom of God has arrived, breaking in with powerful inroads through healing and miraculous works as the lame walked, the blind saw and the hungry ate.

Tapping into the means of grace as a channel to have divine power and grace made available 24/7/365 is a comforting and empowering promise upon which Christianity rests. But it doesn’t quite tell the whole story or describe the importance of rhythm, the need for ebb and flow in our lives. Humanity is, after all, created for work for six days and rest on the seventh (Genesis 2:3).

The proliferation of internet news outlets and cable channels that produces a 24-hour news cycle helps paint the picture of the upside and downside of constant availability. On one hand, it is great to be able to catch up with the world, but watching for any great length of time can create anxiety and restlessness in a viewer, never mind reveal that from hour to hour, newscasters are repeating themselves and looking for a new angle. The spiritual life cannot be sustained at full tilt. Seasoned disciples know that growth and strength come from periods in the desert. The words of Ecclesiastes rings true, “for everything there is a season, a time for every activity under heaven”(Ecclesiastes 3:1).

One argument for pipelines is that they help transport remote resources to a nearby location. This is both problematic and helpful as it confronts the Christian life: problematic because it allows us to think of God as a distant entity in a fixed location who cannot traverse the distance that divides heaven and earth, and helpful because it provides a way of thinking about who disciples are and how they act – as ministers and agents of God’s grace. In some ways, disciples are pipelines of God’s grace, not merely using the spiritual disciplines so they can tap into the reservoirs of divine power and grace to use for themselves, but allowing their lives and examples to be used as a conduit of God’s grace that fills them up and pours out of them to others.

The real deal is that divine grace isn’t a commodity that needs transportation from one point to another, but a divine resource available in abundance. Disciples need to be the channels and conduits of God’s grace. Our very lives should be the faultiest of pipelines, too. The divine grace we receive is not ours to dispose of as we see fit, but should pour out of us and splash into the lives of others. We need to be as soaked and as saturated in God’s grace so that it flows through our lives and into our environment -pervading all of our lives so that we are not just energized, but fulfilled to the point of overflowing, allowing the goodness of God’s love to be available to all.

Warming The Soul With Celtic Traditions by Tammie Grimm

For as long as I can remember, my family has celebrated St. Patricks’ Day like many other Irish-American families: corn beef and cabbage, homemade Irish soda bread, green dye in everyone’s beverages all served on Mom’s best Irish linen tablecloth. Typically, the sound of The Chieftains or Tommy Makem and The Clancy Brothers can be heard on my parent’s stereo. Over the years, I’ve tried including The Pogues, The Waterboys and of course, U2. But tradition in my family runs strong – St. Patrick’s Day isn’t the complete without a rousing rendition of  “My Wild Irish Rose”and “O Danny Boy,” designed to bring a tear to your eye.

Early in my career as a school teacher, I was introduced to another saint commemorated in March: St. David. Like St. Patrick’s Day, there are associated traditions for St. David, and as a young school teacher with a new teaching assignment, I found myself carrying on another cultural tradition of sorts when I was conscripted by a friend and co-worker to make St. David Day cookies for our faculty colleagues. In preparation for St. David’s Day, we’d spend the last weekend of February making dozens and dozens and dozens of a little Welch biscuit so faculty members could literally fill their pockets with these addictive little morsels.  It was in discovering more about St. David and this new tradition I participated in that I also discovered more about St. Patrick and the rich tradition of Celtic Christianity.

Who St. Patrick is to the Irish, St. David is the Welsh. Both men were early Christian bishops who helped spread Christianity and converted Druids and other pagans throughout Ireland and Wales. Both are two of only a handful of Celtic saints, who are also recognized and canonized by Rome for their influence on the Christian faith. Celtic saints were the men and women of Ireland, Scotland and Wales who, whether they were of noble or peasant birth, lived a life dedicated to God, and sought with heart, body, mind and soul to share and express God’s love to others. Many Celtic saints are known only in their localized area – their holiness revered and cherished among the people who witnessed that the successive generations continue to benefit from the life of the saint who once lived there. Whereas the status of Catholic saints of the Roman church is conferred by a far-away pope after a lengthy documentation process that verified the saintly credentials of a person, Celtic sainthood is conferred by popular veneration.

Often times, particular Celtic saints may have legendary stories attributed to them. The famous Lorica of St. Patrick is attributed to an incident following Holy Saturday in 433 when Patrick kindled the paschal (Easter) fire on a hill across from Tara, the center of the country and seat of the Druid High King. Patrick’s fire undermined the high king’s authority and power, who, by virtue of their office, ritually lit bonfires, thereby symbolically claiming they were the givers of light and warmth. When summoned by the Druid king to what would likely be his execution, Patrick and his companions robed themselves in white and found miraculous protection in chanting the Irish hymn invoking God and heavenly protection from the “powers of corrupt and distorted powers of the world.” The tale does not describe the king’s reaction, but the resultant successful spread of Christianity throughout Ireland suggests he did not have much of a fight left in him after being thwarted by God’s miraculous protection.

A similar story is told of St. David, but instead, the subdued chieftain is credited to say, “the kindler of that fire shall excel in all powers and renown in every part that the smoke of his sacrifice has covered, even to the end of the world.”

But for all the miraculous stories and the supposed powers that rivals today’s superheroes, Celtic saints became saints because the community in which they lived recognized their life of holiness and relationship to God. Perhaps one reason there are so many Celtic saints is because they saw no separation between what was secular and religious – all of life was sacred, and therefore consecrated to God. It was intertwines, much like the famous knot work still popular today.

In the centuries before furnace units and central heating, Celtic women who kindled the day’s fire in their hearth didn’t just clear the night’s ashes, they prayed and asked God’s blessing upon the fire that would give their families heat and light throughout the day. The prayer underscores the understanding they shared with St. Patrick and St. David, that light and life was a gift from God.

This morning, as I kindle the fire upon my hearth, I pray the flame of God’s love may burn in my heart, and the heart of all I meet today.
I pray that no envy or malice, no hatred or fear, may smother the flame.   
I pray that indifference and apathy, contempt and pride, may not pour like cold water on the fire.
Instead, may the spark of God’s love light the love of my heart, that it may burn brightly throughout the day.
And may I warm those who are lonely, whose hearts are cold and lifeless, so that all may know the comfort of God’s love.

In our contemporary lives, when the light and heat of our homes can be programmed and controlled by remote from miles away by computer prompts, it takes a little imagination – or a power outage – for us to understand how present day humanity is still dependent upon the provisions of the earth – God’s creation – for our sustenance.

But understanding that God’s presence is infused into all of daily life like the Celtic saints of old did does not require we heat our homes with peat dug from a bog. Spiritual sight to acknowledge God’s sovereignty in all things comes with practice as we avail ourselves of divine grace. Like the Psalmist who was content “to be a doorkeeper in the house of the Lord” (Ps. 84:10), may we also embody holy lives and open the doors of heaven, pointing the way to God for others.

Which Saint Are You? Quizzes On Holiness by Tammie Grimm

On any given day of the week, a scan of my Facebook newsfeed reveals secrets about my friends I might never have guessed on my own. It turns out that several friends closely identify with a variety of Disney Princesses, from the bookworm-ish Belle of “Beauty and the Beast,” to the kind and gentle maternal Snow White, to the adventurous Mulan who is the heroine of her own story. I’ve discovered some of these friends are most likely to enjoy time in Paris, France or Stockholm, Sweden while others are destined to live in New Mexico or New Hampshire. By answering a series of multiple choice questions, usually with nine choices depicted on a grid, each of us can discover our inner superhero, the color of our soul, or even the kind house in which we are meant to live. You can find almost anything out about yourself, including but not limited to:

What classic fictional character are you?

What burger topping describes you best?

Which US city should you live in?

Not only are online quizzes a fun diversionary escapism, they also illustrate something called the “Barnum Effect.” The “Barnum Effect” occurs in most popular internet quizzes designed to reveal results that appear tailored made, but in actuality, are really so vague and general that they apply to a wide spectrum of people responding. (For the record, I self-identify with courageous Merida from “Brave” who longs for a voice in shaping her destiny, I should enjoy time in Aberdeen, Scotland and I’m best suited to live in the New England states. If you know me, it sounds about right, but really, those answers should apply to any East Coast red head who enjoys the cooler seasons and climates and likes to travel to the UK.) Very little, if any, inner truth is revealed. These quizzes actually say nothing about who I am as a child of God, what God has done or is doing in my life, nor what God wants me to do with the gifts and graces I am provided with in order to be a faithful disciple growing in grace and knowledge of Jesus Christ.

As it turns out, understanding the inner character God created within me and revealing the imago Dei (“image of God”) embossed upon my heart does involve responding to a series of interrelated questions. In his sermon, “The Witness of the Spirit,” John Wesley asked just four questions, but of a different variety than the ones on a pop culture website. His questions included:

What is this “witness of our Spirit”?

What is the “testimony of God’s Spirit”?

And how does he “bear witness with our Spirit that we are the child of God”?

How is this joint testimony of God’s Spirit and our own clearly and solidly distinguished from the prescription of a natural mind and from the deliverance of the devil?

With hard hitting, open-ended questions like these, discerning an answer to discover the path to your inner self involves more than choosing from a bank of multiple choice responses designed by computer-programmed algorithms on popular internet websites.

Lack of multiple choice responses might seem daunting, but it only makes the process of finding the path to our true inner self more rewarding. After all, Christian disciples know what it is they are looking for! With the imago Dei stamped upon the heart of each believer, Christlikeness is the true and valid goal for each and every Christian. The questions help us navigate the journey and our resulting growth in and towards Christlikeness. Each journey towards God’s holiness is as unique and as personal as our age, gender, race, ethnicity, occupation, or status.

To aid in the soul-searching that occurs during this journey, Wesley advocated the use of a small group, what he called bands and classes, made up of other disciples, who covenanted with one another to “watch over each other in love.” True soul searching is done in the company of others; there is no isolating one’s self behind a laptop or in a crowd transfixed to our handheld screens and devices.

Small groups in the Wesleyan tradition seek to help individuals discern an inspired life particular to their individual context. Every disciple committed to share in accountability and spiritual discernment with one another seek to craft an uniquely tailored life that still shares in God’s goodness and demonstrates towards others. Questions such as

Do we love God and our neighbor?

Do we keep his commandments?

How does it appear to you that you are alive? (a classic Wesleyan question familiar to any one who attends annual conferences in the United Methodist Church)

helped early Methodist disciples probe the depths and breadth of their public and private lives to see if they had “holiness of heart and holiness in outward conversation,” double-check that they were producing the fruit of the Spirit, as well as demonstrating love towards God and one another.

The crux of finding the path to our inner true selves and becoming more Christlike is a matter of responding to questions – not just random questions – but ones carefully posed by friends in spiritual conversation and in holy love. I suggest a far more fascinating and revealing quiz would be, “Which Saint Does Your Life Emulate?” Answers are not meant to be computed according to a standardized algorithm, but discerned and deliberated in the company of others. The value of other Christians dedicated to “watching over one another in love” in the process of spiritual discernment is that no one is left to the whims of fleeting emotions or how one feels before their morning coffee. It is then, in the company of other disciples, who are also witnesses to the truth of the Holy Spirit, that we can truly find and navigate the path to our inner self that is found in Christ.

Advent Adjustments by Tammie Grimm

Advent. For some, it’s a countdown to Christmas. For others, it marks the beginning of the Christian calendar year. For most Christians, it is a season of preparation: not just to celebrate the birth of Jesus but to renew our hearts that we might see Christ in the here and now as well as in hope and expectation of his second coming.

When we are children or new to Christian faith, Advent mostly seems to be about counting down to Christmas. Advent calendars, either the candle wreathes lit in weekly worship (or even in the home) or the calendars with perforated windows (bonus for the ones with chocolate morsel surprises!), are used to help teach the importance of waiting; patiently, but expectantly. Regardless of age, we are reminded each week that the light breaks into the world and with each new glowing candle, the symbolic darkness of the world’s troubles recedes as the hope, peace, joy and love of Christ take center stage, culminating in a flood of light on Christmas Eve.

However, if we always let Advent be a countdown to Christmas, we more likely become consumed with the crazed frenzy of the holiday season, stressing out as we sit in gridlocked traffic instead of getting items crossed off our to-do lists. You see, Advent has so much more to offer! In the midst of the hustle and bustle of the season, Advent bids us to a posture of getting ready for Christ. We prepare our homes and our hearts not only for the celebration of the nativity inaugurating the twelve days of Christmas, but also for the constant way Christ breaks into our lives each and every day, and for the eventual, expected and awaited second coming of Christ in history. Congregations that allow for Advent (thereby waiting on Christmas) sing brooding hymns that voice our hope and longing for God to finally break into this world. The focus of Advent is on God’s coming, God’s arrival, God’s entrance into the world. We sing “O Come, O Come, Emmanuel” or “Come, Thou Long Expected Jesus” requesting Christ’s full presence among us. In “Hail to the Lord’s Anointed” we are reminded that “he comes to break oppression, to set the captives free, to take away transgression, and rule in equity.”

Advent also begins the year for Christians. Just as Jewish friends celebrate their new year at Rosh Hannah and the Chinese inaugurate the year with the Lunar New Year, the Christian church marks the start of the new liturgical year with Advent. As I’ve experienced Advent in its various manifestations over the years – as a countdown to Christmas, or a time of preparation and expectation to receive and see Jesus – it is this aspect of Advent that beckons me this year. I don’t just mean opening the lectionary to Year B, either. If Advent is the Christian New Year, what things am I called to do, or do I need to do differently, starting now, for Christ and for the world, that should not wait for a New Year resolution on January 1?

I have a deep appreciation for the liturgical tradition that marks time differently than our culture does. In the past, I have been an Advent Nazi, holding off on Christmas carols and songs till at least mid-December. I also have strong opinions regarding purple (not blue) as the proper color of waiting and expectation. And as firmly as I’d like to hold onto those aspects of Advent, I am reminded that my staunch mindset can hinder me from seeing how Christ is breaking into the world while I remain firmly entrenched in tradition for tradition’s sake. As the culture continues to co-opt Christmas into a commercial holiday that begins increasingly earlier and earlier, I’m ready, this year, to begin my contemplations for making New Year resolutions now, in Advent.

And the wonderful part is that I dare to believe John Wesley invites us to do just that! Many contemporary Wesleyans are familiar with Wesley’s Covenant Renewal Service, a service instituted among the people called Methodists. Wesley’s Covenant Prayer is often used today, as it was in Wesley’s day, in January, at the start of the new calendar year. Since Wesley lived in 18th century England, a time in which Christendom was unquestioned, when persons in the early Methodist movement were expected to be members of the Anglican Church, the whole calendar, ecclesial and cultural, moved with intentional ritual, filled with reflection and meaning. Today’s postmodern, post-Christian society lacks the rhythmic cadence, the purposeful quietness that allows us to be introspective, to take pause and take stock of our selves and get our bearings. So, what’s to prevent the contemporary Christian, specifically the modern day Methodist, from using Advent (the Christian New Year) as the time to contemplate how to prepare our hearts for the continual and eventual return of Christ by using Wesley’s Covenant Renewal Service?

In Wesley’s service, participants are asked to consider five aspects of their discipleship: their everyday Christian life lived before God and the world. A modern paraphrase by George Lyons reads as follows:

  • First, consider what your sins are and examine whether you can resolve to forego them all. Consider what His laws are — how holy, strict, and spiritual, and whether you can, upon deliberation, choose them all as the rule of your whole life.
  • Second, compose your spirits into the most serious frame possible, suitable to a transaction of so high importance.
  • Third, lay hold on the covenant of God and rely upon His promise of giving grace and strength, for only through these will you be enabled to perform your promise. Do not trust your own strength, but take hold on His strength.
  • Fourth, resolve to be faithful. Having engaged your hearts, opened your mouths, and subscribed with your hands to the Lord, resolve in His strength never to go back.
  • Fifth and last, being thus prepared, in the most solemn manner possible, as if the Lord were visibly present before your eyes, bow and open your hearts to the Lord.

Each prompt is not only consistent with a life of intentional Wesleyan discipleship, which is lived day in and day out throughout the year, but also imbued with themes of Advent. Waiting in expectant hope. Joyfully preparing for the coming peace. Asking God’s grace to break in and envelop the world in a conspiracy of love. How meaningful might our Christmas celebrations and the New Year resolutions we take on might be, if we take full advantage of Advent and live into each of its various aspects in this Christian New Year? May this Advent season be especially blessed as you celebrate it in all aspects as God leads and guides you.

Divergent: Discerning Dystopia by Tammie Grimm

Dystopian young adult fiction is not my preferred genre for leisure reading. For one thing, novels set in a stark world, often portrayed as a police state, in which humanity is regularly repressed and coerced is a sure prescription (in my book!) for disturbed sleep and not sweet dreams. However, having recently committed to helping a middle schooler with a literature project, I’ve fallen headlong into Victoria Roth’s Divergent trilogy. As a discerning adult of a certain age whose tastes for fiction run more along the lines of spy thrillers and good old-fashioned murder mysteries, I am alternately fascinated and distressed by the predominance of this burgeoning genre. Yet, at the same time, I’ve grown a little more understanding of why this genre has captivated the imaginations of today’s youth and young adults. Rather than diagnose the sociological factors contributing to the proliferation of this genre, I offer these observations from the perspective of one whose more serious reading includes the writings of John Wesley and works on how Christians are formed theologically.

Value and Benefits of Community

The world into which “Divergent”’s main protagonist, Beatrice/Tris, is born, is run by five different factions. The worst thing that can occur to a citizen is to be declared “factionless.” Though Beatrice/Tris often acts as a “Lone Ranger” figure, she continually longs for and is most at ease when surrounded by a community in which she is a member and knows acceptance, nurture and even challenge.

Desire to belong is not just teen angst seeking to be part of the “in crowd,” this is a fundamental human instinct. Wesley understood that and organized the lives of early Methodists into societies, classes and bands in which Christians could support one another in their pursuit of following Christ. It was in these groups that members could not only find refuge from the world but uphold one another as they sought God’s intentions in their own lives and context.

Problematic Compartmentalization

The five factions are separate entities and except for the higher echelons of leadership only associate with their own. “Faction before Family” is the mantra drummed into the heads of citizens from the time they are children. Though born into a biological family and raised within a particular faction, if an adolescent were to choose a faction different from the one in which they were raised, they have little to no contact with their families from that point forward – they are labeled for life.

It is human nature to want to assign labels and assign categories to which we can locate persons as a way of understanding. Throughout Christian history, different sects of believers have earned names for the particular and distinctive ways they practice Christian faith. These categories can become harmful and problematic when they lose sight of the holistic nature of Christian faith; to love God with heart, soul, mind and strength and love our neighbor as ourselves (Mark 12:30-31). Wesley often referred to Christian discipleship as having the “mind that was in Christ” and “walking in the way Christ walked.” To engage in outward actions of mercy and compassion without attending to nurturing one’s relationship with God and other believers depletes interior resources even in the most earnest of persons. Likewise, to be in love with God without demonstrating that love to our neighbor truncates our faith.

Defying Societal Expectations

Each 16-year-old will discover the faction for which they have the aptitude during a serum-induced exam on the eve of their Choosing Ceremony. As a result of this test, Beatrice/Tris defies the expected norm of testing for one faction and displays the aptitude for at least three of the five factions. She is labeled “Divergent” and urged to conceal this fact from others – even those she loves – because it is dangerous. Throughout the course of the trilogy, she discovers others who have the capacity to think and act beyond the parameters set upon them by society.

At some point, most Christians seeking to follow Jesus realize that their discipleship asks them to defy stereotypes that confine and segment their selves into neatly ordered boxes. Wesley was labeled an “antinomian” by some of his detractors for disregarding the law, defying Anglican norms and declaring the world to be his parish. Alternatively, he was labeled a legalist and called a “Papist” by those who considered the rules that governed the methodical living of his followers to be constraining. Despite this contradiction, Wesley is credited for holding a dialectic in tension, balancing each as he he sought a third alternative. For good reason, contemporary authors refer to Wesley as a “rational enthusiast” or a “radical conservative” for his ability defy expectations and hold together what society would otherwise compartmentalize. Our discipleship is at its fullest when we love God with all our heart, all our mind, all of our souls and with all the strength of our will.

Valuing and Cultivating Virtue 

Beatrice/Tris chooses to transfer factions even though there is much about her parent’s faction she cherishes. When she transfers, she meets Tobias/Four, another transfer who is also Divergent. Tobias/Four seeks to emulate and champion the qualities once championed by his adopted faction; bravery, courage and guardianship. Furthermore, he finds value and admires the virtues inherent in each of the factions, seeking to do what he can to cultivate himself as a well-rounded person.

In a similar vein, Christian disciples understand themselves to be recipients of the Holy Spirit and endowed with God-given gifts and talents they use for Kingdom purposes. Yet all Christians, regardless of gifting, are called to cultivate the fruit of the Spirit: love, joy, peace, forbearance, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control (Galatians 5:22-23). Wesley understood earnest Christians to be growing in these qualities. Regardless of social status, gender, educational level or ethnicity, Wesley and the people called Methodists radically included every person who expressed a desire “to flee the wrath to come” and encourage them in a faithful walk with Christ that they might bear fruit for more harvesting.

Purposeful Living

Beatrice/Tris and Tobias/Four work with others to not just free themselves from the present regime of factions but to unseat them in an effort to build a new society. They recoil when they discover their allies simply plan on substituting one totalitarian regime for another. Eventually, in league with other Divergents, they work to establish an integrated society in which all members are valued, fully included and experience human free will rather than government or scientific manipulation and coercion.

Disciples following Christ seek to live new lives free of bondage to sin and death. Christians just don’t seek any new identity, but one that is firmly established and grounded in the Lordship of Christ, the one human who is perfect, pleasing and good in the eyes of God. The ultimate goal of the Christian disciple is to live as God intended in ever increasing love for God and for neighbor. Wesley was adamant that humanity should continually strive to emulate Christ in all they did, which consequently had an effect on British society. As a result of seeking Christ, many persons were liberated from addictions. As Christians sought to share the love of Christ with others, schools were established and many families were gradually lifted out of poverty. Transformation of society occurred because disciples sought to be transformed and renewed in the image of God.

Final Thoughts and Takeaway 

Though I found the Divergent trilogy (and its prequel “Four”) to be quite the page-turner, my nightstand reading is not about to be overtaken by dystopian young adult literature. I did find relevant themes for Christian living which helped redeem the genre as a whole. Regardless of your purpose for reading, whether to develop a sermon illustration, study the art of narrative, find a way to relate to a younger family member or neighbor, or just reading for plain enjoyment, Christians should not avoid similar novels on general principle. Though a central Christ-figure is nearly always missing, a recurrent theme runs throughout this genre: that humanity is subjected to its own perversions but seeks the goodness it was originally created to express. And when considered in the light of Christianity, this theme hits close to home and is profoundly relevant for Christian disciples who seek to be in this world but not of this world.

Praying In Holy Boldness by Tammie Grimm

Prayer. It is as natural as breathing. Most of us, regardless of faith, will find ourselves praying instinctively at some point in our lives. Typically, the prayer that flows unbidden from our heart is a prayer formed in our soul that expresses our deep distress as a plea of boldness for help or guidance. Or the prayer might be one of overwhelming gratitude that simply cannot be contained as it bubbles up out of our heart and spontaneously erupts from our lips. Prayer can be our innate human response to a situation that suddenly makes us, the supplicant, the one who prays, aware of the enormous magnitude in which we are located and the utter lack of control we wield in orchestrating the fate or the destinies of those we love.

But prayer is not always natural. Prayer can be some of the hardest work a Christian can do. Because prayer calls us into a space in which we admit our complete helplessness to engineer our lives and petition the Triune God of the universe to intercede on our behalf, prayer can be a humbling act of submission we do not want to engage in – especially when we think we have the means to fulfill our potential by ourselves.

Yet, prayer is essential to our lives as Christians. Wesley understood prayer to be an indispensable means of grace that called for deliberate intention and disciplined action. He lauded those who prayed earnestly and lamented those who prayed superficially. In a sermon he delivered to the Oxford establishment, he dressed down the Anglican authorities for their Pharisaical posturing:

May it not be of the consequences of this, that so many of you are a generation of triflers: triflers with God, with one another, and with your own souls? For, how few of you spend, from one week to another, a single hour in private prayer! Who of you have any thoughts of God in the general tenor of your conversation! Who of you is, in any degree, acquainted with the work of his spirit, his super natural work in the souls of men?

Even in his admonishment, Wesley alludes to the supernatural implications of prayer. Prayer is not just how we communicate with God, prayer is how we discover who God is calling us to become. Through prayer, we realize what God is calling us to do and how God is calling us to be as we interact in this world.

Prayer allows us to transcend our finite lives, not so that we can gain control and manipulate events to our advantage. Prayer invites us to touch the eternal goodness of God, to glimpse at God’s extraordinary kingdom. It beckons us to be a part of making it real in this world by the power of the Holy Spirit. Prayer, when infused with divine grace, cultivates our relationship with God, allowing God to change us that we might more and more Christlike. Prayer as a means of grace will not only transform us, the supplicant, but has the potential to transform the circumstances about which we pray. Prayer, when in chorus with the Scriptures, bids divine grace and our cooperation with it to do incredible things we can only begin to fathom.

We pray with boldness when we ask God to “Search me!” (Psalm 139:23-24), “Lead me!” (Psalm 32:8), “Send me!” (Isaiah 6:8), and “Use me!” (Acts 4:289). Prayer like that requires that we submit ourselves to God’s holiness, allowing him to work in us what we cannot do on our own.

I admit when I read the headlines, catch the ticker on the 24-hour news channels, or scan my newsfeed, I can feel hopeless and overwhelmed. I’d rather find a simple emoticon to succinctly express my feelings than pray about the hardships faced by so many I know and read about. Sometimes, when I don’t know what to pray, I rely on the Spirit in my weakness to pray for me, or I petition God with the mantra, “Lord, have mercy. Christ, have mercy. Lord, have mercy.” At other times, it might be Psalm 23 or another refrain from the psalms to express heart wrenching agony. And, still at other times, it is the doxology that seems most appropriate, “Praise God from whom all blessings flow…”

It is an incredible thing to have a prayer naturally bubble up from within our soul and suddenly realize that this seemingly unconscious prayer fills our heart. Yet what a powerful and wonderful thing it can be when we regularly pray with all our strength and meet divine grace: our whole self is transformed. What a good thing it is to become attuned to the desires of Christ in our lives.

To act with holy boldness, to pray, is to cultivate a life of prayer that demands of ourselves an effort infused with grace so that we might discern the way in which God leads, becoming part of the transforming work God bids for this world.

Discipleship: Who’s It For Anyway? by Tammie Grimm

It’s nearing the end of summer and there is a pretty good chance, if you are a Methodist or attending a church in the Wesleyan tradition that either your church newsletter or weekly bulletin is currently showcasing upcoming Bible studies or spiritual formation classes under a banner headline, “Fall Discipleship Opportunities.”It might be that there is an advertised afternoon volunteer for a project in the community. If so, you are in pretty good company as it means your congregation’s leadership has been proactive about recruiting persons to head up this essential component that fosters health in congregations. If your newsletter or bulletin isn’t advertising for upcoming classes – hold fast! It might be that the next one you receive will be doing just that!

As you peruse the menu of offerings it is not uncommon to ask, “I wonder if I am prepared to sign up for this course?”or “Should I do this class….or maybe I should try this study?”or even, “Do they really want me to volunteer?”It’s always helpful to ask someone in leadership or a friend you know who has taken a study because it can be easy to feel intimidated or overwhelmed by the possibilities that lie before us.

Unfortunately, some of us will decide to opt out because either we don’t think we have the background and we will be in over our heads or we remember that we did a study similar to that a few years back and it doesn’t seem worth our while this time round. Truth be told, we are susceptible to falling into patterns ingrained in us during our formal education in high school or college as teenagers and young adults. Just as then, we are apt to decide from the course catalogue that a particular study is “too hard”or another is “too easy”and not worth our while. Often, we pigeon hole discipleship as something necessary for new Christians who do not know the Bible or feel comfortable praying out loud, yet. Alternately, it is possible to think that discipleship is reserved for the “super”Christian – the seasoned believer who seems to have a handle on their faith. And there are some of us who volunteer for a service project because we want to see tangible results – if we are willing to make that commitment at all!

The truth is this: every Christian – regardless of our stage in faith – is in need of discipleship! And here is another important thing: I am not just referring to an 8-week class or a long term study. Discipleship, attending to your relationship with God, is more than a class – it is a way of life! Discipleship is to literally respond to the call of Jesus, “Follow me!”As disciples of Jesus, our discipleship is to discover what it means to become like Jesus. John Wesley often referred to discipleship as “having the mind that was in Christ so to walk in the way that he walked.”Another way Wesley discussed the idea of discipleship was with the phrase “holiness of heart and life.”In short, our discipleship entails being like Jesus, so we can do like Jesus.

Discovering what it means to be like Jesus in a constantly changing world means each and every Christian can benefit from another opportunity to intentionally engage learning what it means to be Jesus’disciple. Discipleship is a lifelong endeavor! For most of us, our discipleship benefits from joining a Bible study or becoming a part of a group exploring various prayer practices – or even learning how to pray! But our discipleship is not measured by our small group experience. We experience the mind that was in Christ and walk in the way of Christ when we engage our everyday life – answering the phone, responding to emails, or shuttling the kids to and from their various activities.

When we take advantage of a Bible study of spiritual formation class at church or in the home of a neighbor, we are intentionally cultivating our discipleship by opening our hearts and minds to learn what it means to be like Jesus. When we enlist to serve lunch at the soup kitchen or assist in the construction of a local building project, we are intentionally cultivating our discipleship by earnestly offering our particular gifts and talents – our strengths – and doing as Jesus did. It is important to carve out intentional times and places where we learn and rediscover what it means to love the Lord with all our heart, our mind, our soul and our strength.

It is equally important to have those “in between times”to reflect on our discipleship and discern how our heart, mind, soul, and strength are integrated, demonstrating our love for God and for our neighbor – times that are not devoted to learning or service, but are carved out of everyday life as well. During those times we can ask if we are really loving God with our whole heart. Are we becoming more like Jesus? Are we more holy in our inward being and outward doing? Sometimes it serendipitously happens when we linger in the parking lot chatting with one another after a study or comes up in a conversation with a trusted friend over coffee or a meal. But it is especially helpful if there is a small group in your church or neighborhood that intentionally seeks to discern the integration of heart, soul, mind, and strength. Wesley called these “class”and “band”meetings. Today, we might call them “Reunion Groups”or “Accountability Groups.”The important thing is that in addition to learning what it means to be like Jesus and act like Jesus, we reflect that these classes and service projects are really affecting a change in our hearts and lives.

So, as you wonder while you examine the opportunities your local congregation is officially sponsoring, the answer is, “Yes!”There IS some sort of discipleship endeavor for you this upcoming year. If you don’t spy something that seems suited for you at your stage of the Christian journey, ask. Better yet, search your heart in prayer and see what doors God opens up! Maybe it is time for you to launch a group or begin by asking a few spiritual friends to reflect together on your discipleship; on how your heart, mind, soul, and strengths is connected with one another to express your love for God and for your neighbor!

Discipleship isn’t just education – it is a lifelong endeavor!

By Attending On The Ordinances Of God by Tammie Grimm

Have you ever noticed the similarities between Major League Baseball and the United Methodist Church? Both organizations exist throughout the country and have a brand logo which is recognizable around the world. In the case of the MLB, professional baseball is played on other continents and plenty of MLB players call another country “home.” In a similar vein, the UMC is a global denomination with congregations, schools, ministries and outreaches found in far flung exotic places most of us will never even visit.

Despite their world-wide recognition, neither organization is the only game in town. Baseball is only one of many spectator sports that competes for the attention of fans. Likewise, Methodism is only one denomination within the Wesleyan theological tradition that exists within the Church universal.

Both organizations experience their share of disputes and controversies. Each has a ready supply of pundits ably offering a play-by-play analysis. A big difference is that in baseball, pundits are former players and former coaches sitting on the sidelines offering their opinions. In Methodism, however, the opinions proffered and analysis given come from active clergy and laity. Christian disciples do not sit on the sidelines when it comes to practicing faith.

Thus, for all the parallels that can be drawn between the two, Major League Baseball and United Methodism are by no means the same. The point of MLB is to provide a platform for athletes to compete and win the World Series. Team franchises seek to offer their fans a good game to view and make a profit in the process. The point of the UMC is to provide a space for disciples of Jesus Christ to practice their faith in the Wesleyan tradition and replicate more disciples. Congregations seek to be that space of replication even as they strive to be a part of helping God’s kingdom to be realized in this world.

As a baseball fan, I really enjoy post season play. Even if my team is not playing, I love to watch the game being played in its top form. I especially enjoy watching the seasoned player who exudes the enthusiasm and excitement evident on a little league field. It is inevitable that at some point, one of the broadcasters will comment about one of the successful coaches whose team has made it to the playoffs because that coach stressed the fundamentals. Since the beginning of the season, the coach has drilled the team in hitting, base running, throwing, pitching and how it has helped the team get to the playoffs. In essence, the coach has kept his players focused on the game.

In many ways, that coach who is focused on the fundamentals reminds me of John Wesley and the Three General Rules of the people called Methodist. The General Rules are three simple guidelines to practice Christian faith: 1. By doing no harm. 2. By doing good and 3. By attending on all the ordinances of God. It is the third rule that spells out what the fundamentals are.

  • public worship
  • ministry of the Word
  • Supper of The Lord
  • family and private prayer
  • searching the Scriptures
  • fasting

Just as hitting, base running, throwing, catching and pitching are the fundamentals of baseball, these Christian practices form the basis of Christian faith because they were evident in the life of Jesus Christ. The ordinances of God – fundamental practices of Christianity – are intrinsically and uniquely Christian. They connect Christian disciples with one another and are a means to connect us to God’s grace.

Wesley’s Third General Rule grounds us in Christian witness and faith. The ordinances of God are the fundamentals of how we get initiated into faith. Repetitive practice and exposure to prayer, worship, Scripture reading and study, Eucharist and even discovery of the lost discipline of fasting help mature us as Christian disciples. By participating in these uniquely Christian practices, we are made available to God’s grace that aids us in knowing how and when to avoid harm and do good. By attending on all the ordinances of God, we open ourselves to divine presence in our lives. Through these practices, we remember the past and look towards a future with hope illuminated by God’s grace. We attend on the ordinances of God not so that we can win pennants and rings, but so that we can be disciples who demonstrate the love for God and neighbor and help be a part of God’s transforming love in this world.

The MLB and the UMC will always have its superstars. But baseball and Christianity in the Wesleyan tradition is not limited to the “major league.” Baseball is played on a local field in the neighborhood and even happens with a game of catch in the back yard with family members. Methodism is visibly practiced by attendance at Sunday worship services in the local congregation and it is sustained by the regular and repetitious practice of prayer, devotional Bible reading, and extending God’s love into the world by Christ’s disciples. How is becoming a baseball player like being a Christian disciple? By paying attention to the fundamentals. Or, by attending on all the ordinances of God.