Eugene Peterson – The Patient Work of Soul Crafting

Paul writes – The theologian I’ve listened to (via the Regent College Bookstore) the most over the last 8-10 years is Eugene H. Peterson. Add the listening to the reading and his influence on my thinking and acting is significant. The first series of lectures I heard was his series entitled Soulcraft: Spiritual Formation (based upon Ephesians).

A passion for Spiritual Formation and Christian Spirituality, ignited by Peterson has continued to deepen over the years.

It’s been a little while since I’ve listened to something new by Eugene, so it was a real delight to download an Mp3 titled, Why Spiritual Formation is not an Option, from the increasingly useful Allelon site. Eugene has been my tutor over the course of my week as I’ve made the 40-minute return trip each day, and his tutelage has been both rich & evocative. 

Here’s a snippet which I’ve transcribed:

“…The rate at which mystery is being banished from our sanctuaries is alarming…at the centre is mystery…

… [Jesus formation] is slow work and cannot be hurried. It is also urgent work and can not be procrastinated…gospel life is being degraded at an alarming rate…”slow” and “urgent” are not compatible…impatience is antithetical to the Christian way…Patience is pre-requisite to the way of Jesus…the formation of spirit, cultivation of soul, developing a prayerful and obedient life; sticking with the incredibly difficult work of justice and peace-making, realising the congruence between “the way” and “the truth,” all this is slow, slow work requiring endless patience…

[This isn’t easy]…we’re addicted to shortcuts, we love “fast” – how fast can we get things…But, human life is endlessly complex, intricate, mysterious – there are no shortcuts to becoming the person’s we’re created to be. We can’t pump up the Christian life on steroids…

But patience is a difficult condition to come to terms with in a technology saturated culture that is impatient and contemptuous of slowness. And, as a consequence, patience is the first thing jettisoned in spiritual formation. And what happens [we discover] is that the faster we move, [the more we try to fit in], the less we become. Speed diminishes us…”   

Much of what he says his woven, in various ways, into his latest three books. All are well worth reading, slowly, patiently, attentively…listening all the while for the interior work of word, turn of phrase, metaphor, and Spirit.

Christ Plays in Ten Thousand Places: A Conversation in Spiritual Theology (2005)

Living the Resurrection: The Risen Christ in Everyday Life (2005)

Eat This Book: A Conversation in the Art of Spiritual Reading(2006)

Comments

[vawz]

Some years ago I listened to that SoulCraft series on Ephesians and was so stirred by it that when I was ooking for a title to name the kind of 'spirituaity coaching' I undertake from time to time in my business I could not go past this phrase. It captures...Peterson captures the essence of Soul Crafting!