Solitude, Silence and Meditation
February 9, 2010
I had a stimulating discussion with a pastor the other day in which we talked about Scripture engagement with the Emerging Generation. He raised a question I’ve been thinking about for some time – how far do we go to accommodate the post-modern approach of the Emerging Generation to the Bible before we really lose the essence of the model of personal spiritual practice demonstrated by Jesus?
A strong desire of the Emerging Generation is to relate to one another in community, be it online or offline. Talking about faith / God / Jesus / the Bible etc in community allows an Emerging Generation person to discern what they do and don’t believe. They can contribute, agree, disagree and build their theology based on what they learn from others’ experiences and ideas. But is this safe? What kind of theology will this kind of approach result in?
The problem is that for any valuable discussion to take place there needs to be some kind of authority or knowledge within it. There needs to be some kind of absolute truth to stand on. There needs to be some knowledge that feeds the discussion.
On the one hand, community was certainly something Jesus encouraged and modeled – fellowship, sticking together, mentoring, supporting one another, teaching etc. But on the other hand, he also modeled solitude, silence and meditation. He spent time alone with God, often on a hill. He sometimes even sent his friends away so he could do so. Time with his Father was most likely the highlight of his day, his source of energy and wisdom and comfort.
“After he had sent them away, he went by himself up into the hills to pray.” Matthew 14:23
The conflict lies in the fact that the Emerging Generation are somewhat suspcicious of authority and narratives that describe absolute truth. If this post-modern characteristic is true, where does that leave the Bible?
The Emerging Generation are somewhat attuned to being surrounded by noise and flickering lights. Silence is not something we hear much. In fact, many might actually be scared of silence. Maybe they’re scared of what they might hear in the silence?
How do we encourage young people to share and grow in community whilst at the same time submit to the authority of the Bible within those discussions as well as within the context of personal spiritual practices?
In my paper I discussed new ideas on engaging the Emerging Generation with Scripture. But those new ideas need to be considered in light of the fact that some things will never change, no matter how different a generation might be. Those things are the need for personal relationship with God facilitated through personal spiritual practices including prayer and engaging with the Bible alone.
