[ A B C D E F G H I J L M N O P R S T U W

[7] The Spiritual Journey

The Spiritual Journey is a joint framework for the individual spiritual life, Discipleship in its various Modes, and the experiential foundation of Kingdom Movements, including Missional Communities and Alternate Societies.

The Three Phases of the Spiritual Journey

There are three phases of the spiritual journey the represent different experiences and relational orientations. These three phases can be thought of as The 3Bs: [3] Belong-Become-Believe

Belong

Do I feel I have a place with Jesus and his people and do they belong in my story?

Idenity: Seeker
Growing in Jesus: Lordship

Become

How do I become the person who I want to be in Christ and what is he causing my situation to become?

Idenity: Servant
Growing in Jesus: Likeness

Believe

Where is Jesus leading me to manifest his Kingdom, exercising and demonstrating increasing faith?

Identity: Heir
Growing in Jesus: Life-on-Life

Belong, Become, Believe in MisComs and Alt Societies

Kingdom Movements must focus work on the 3Bs as both sequential phases for the entire community or society and as zones through which people enter and mature in the movement. As a community matures, enough individuals reach a tipping point that it can support the experience of many members moving to the next phase. However, space must still be made for generations of new members to retrace the path through the phases as zones within the lifescape of the movement.

Belong

  1. Tell an alternative story.
  2. Explore and demonstrate its practical meaning.
  3. Invite people to radically participate.

Support Tasks:

  1. Radical Mercy
  2. Balanced Listening
  3. Eductive Revelation

Become

  1. Open opportunity that demands people’s lives.
  2. Self-organize around momentum.
  3. Integrate diverse gifts and flows

Support Tasks:

  1. Fellowship
  2. Equipping

Believe

  1. Invest irreversibly in the transformation.
  2. Create demonstrations of the new reality.
  3. Give away seeds that plant new stories

Support Tasks:

  1. Partnership
  2. Broadcast

Media

Meta

  • [7] The Spiritual Journey is a synonym of the earlier frame [7] Discipleship. This frame was developed to present the same information but in vernacular terminology, avoid religious sounding terms like discipleship — really minimizing any terms that wouldn’t be part of most people’s lexicon.
  • [7] The Spiritual Journey is based on and a loose adaptation of [7] The Way of Jesus – an exploration of the life journey of Jesus and his practices.