Leaving Church - Barbara Brown Taylor [90]
Taylor defines being poor in spirit as emptying oneself like Jesus, who surrendered all power—a move just as countercultural then as it is now. Is there a time when you voluntarily surrendered power? Where in your life might you be called to do so now?
Taylor writes that church should be a starting place, not a stopping place, for discerning God’s presence in the world. Which do you tend to view church as?
Chapter 14
Once Taylor was free of defending the faith, she writes, she found herself able to revisit what faith meant to her. She realized that her faith was based more on trust than on certainty. What does this mean to you? Is it true of your faith?
Where are you on your spiritual map? In the center or on the edge? Taylor describes the wilderness as “the undomesticated encounter with the undomesticated God whose name was unpronounceable—that, and a bunch of flimsy tents lit up by lanterns aside, pitched by those who were either seeking such an encounter or huddling in their sleeping bags while they recovered from one.” What role do the center and the edge play in your own spiritual landscape? If you have visited the wilderness edge, what has it taught you?
Taylor writes, “I saw how Mother Church had not only fed me, clothed me, and housed me, but had also given me brothers and sisters to learn to love…. I saw how she had taught me the same things that had helped her older children find their way in the world, as well as a few that she hoped might keep me safe. Be careful. Don’t leave the yard. No more questions.” Has the church functioned as a mother to you? How has she cared for you? What has she taught you? How has she limited you?
Chapter 15
When she is no longer the leader of Grace-Calvary Church, Taylor feels more open to the Lakota spiritual practices that have long attracted her husband. What religious traditions other than Christianity have attracted and influenced you? What have you learned from these traditions?
One of the things Taylor notices is how Native American religious practices value direct experiences of God higher than study. Which would you say your Christian tradition emphasizes? Which has been more influential in your own life and practice?
Taylor also admires the element of real risk in the Native Americans’ focus on direct encounters with God. What have you risked in your faith journey?
Chapter 16
The readjustment period that Taylor describes after returning to the United States after her sabbatical in Kenya is typical of those who return from the Peace Corps or similar organizations. What did her reactions to the sheer abundance and hectic pace of the United States teach or reinforce for you about our culture? When have you ever left your familiar surroundings long enough to be able to look at them with fresh eyes when you returned? What did you learn about the place and things you took for granted?
Since in the Episcopal tradition, confirmation comes at age twelve, Taylor comments that many church members live the rest of their lives as spiritual twelve-year-olds. Is this true for you or for others you know? Do you think that people you know who have left the church would have done so if they had continued in their practice and study of faith? When did your theological study begin and/or end? How well does your church or tradition educate adults?
It is difficult for Taylor to adjust to her classroom, having grown accustomed to the concept of sacred space and the special preparations of that space by church members each week for worship. What does the concept of sacred space signify to you? Do you have a sacred space in your home where you regularly meet God? What makes a place sacred—its purpose, the sacred objects it contains, the view it affords, the way it is treated by those who use it?
What does it mean to you to be a part of the priesthood of all believers? How do you serve humanity as a priest each day?
Keeping
Chapter 17
Taylor writes that the