- Home
- Article Topics
- Spiritual Formation
- The Disciple As Wanderer
The Disciple As Wanderer
- By Chris Folmsbee
- Published 11/14/2007
- Spiritual Formation
- Unrated
Chris Folmsbee
Chris Folmsbee is president of Sonlife, a youth ministry training organization. He is the author of A New Kind of Youth Ministry and an upcoming book for students called Clear: Bringing God’s Truths into Focus. He’s also an advisory board member for The Journal of Student Ministries.
Learning to trust God in between the familiar and the certain
There’s nothing quite like spending an hour or two meandering along the
sidewalk of a city street or over a mountainside trail. Wandering has a way
of lowering the anxiety level and raising our spirits. We seem to be able to
disconnect from the pressures and responsibilities we perceive in our lives
(as spouse, parent, minister, the expectations of others, etc.) and connect
to something “other” deep within us.
The Way of Trust
We wander because for millennia God’s people have been a wandering people. Sometimes this wandering took the form of walking away from God—though people were also called to wander so they could learn to way of active trust.
Brennan Manning describes this way of trust into ambiguity, not into some
predetermined, clearly delineated plan for the future.” Trust is that space
where we don’t know what the future brings—equally distant from the familiar and routine. We are “between here and there.” We are traveling in unknown territory that demands we rely on God’s presence that brings hope and comfort, God’s provision that equips and sustains us, and God’s power that keeps us following.
Between Here and There
The disciple who wanders after the way of trust discovers that “between here and there” is where God is waiting for us—often found at a provisional
residence (and often following trials or triumphs) off our “well beaten paths”—waiting for us to wander close where God can address our needs, form and reform us, and guide us down our next life path.
As disciples we are called to move beyond our past (settlements), and from
undue focus on the future (our preferred destinations) that we might be
wandering in that place of trust, abiding with Christ. Have you found yourself in this place, the place between, where God transforms your life and guides your steps? May we learn to wander with our Lord, to accompany the Spirit, to abide in Christ.
As ministers, we are called to help our students be disciples who wander, as
well. Our students need to learn to trust God in those spaces
between comfortable familiarity and a clear, certain future. We need to help
our students discover that God is waiting for them, wanting them to wander
God’s direction. Perhaps the best place to start in teaching this reality and practice is by helping our students understand what’s behind the meaning of that old word: abide.
Abiding in Christ
Abiding in Christ connotes being fully present with, resting in the comfort of, dwelling together with, and journeying beside Jesus. It is by discover our true selves. What we must realize is that we can only “be with” or “journey beside” an invisible God by pursuing a life of trust.
All of life for the wandering disciple is a life that lives as if God is beside, in front of, behind, over, and under us. We live daily trusting Jesus’ promise: “I am with you always” (Matthew 28:20). Helping others to live a life of trust is no easy feat, but there are ways we can reinforce and experience the story of God’s wandering people (e.g. Exodus 14, Deuteronomy 26:4-5, I Kings 19, Matthew 4:1-11, Luke 24: 13-34, Hebrews 10:35-11).
Resting. Provide time and space in our corporate gatherings for folks to be
quiet and still before God, helping us all learn to trust that the Holy Spirit is present, despite our inability to see God with our eyes.
Answered Prayer. Follow up frequently in our gatherings and small groups on prayer requests that we have prayed about in the past in order to demonstrate some of how God has been active in the lives of people in the
group.
Testimonies. Consider inviting students, guests, and adult leaders to share
about those times in their lives where “between here and there” they
wandered with God and found it to be a time of trust, testing, and transformation.
Exercises. Encourage students to look for evidence of God’s grace, love, or
activity in their daily lives to help them become more alert to, aware of,
and attentive to God’s presence around them.
Through these and other spiritual practices, we can rehearse and reinforce
the great drama of God meeting people as they wandered where they were led. May we all become, and help others become, disciples who wander.
sidewalk of a city street or over a mountainside trail. Wandering has a way
of lowering the anxiety level and raising our spirits. We seem to be able to
disconnect from the pressures and responsibilities we perceive in our lives
(as spouse, parent, minister, the expectations of others, etc.) and connect
to something “other” deep within us.
The Way of Trust
We wander because for millennia God’s people have been a wandering people. Sometimes this wandering took the form of walking away from God—though people were also called to wander so they could learn to way of active trust.
Brennan Manning describes this way of trust into ambiguity, not into some
predetermined, clearly delineated plan for the future.” Trust is that space
where we don’t know what the future brings—equally distant from the familiar and routine. We are “between here and there.” We are traveling in unknown territory that demands we rely on God’s presence that brings hope and comfort, God’s provision that equips and sustains us, and God’s power that keeps us following.
Between Here and There
The disciple who wanders after the way of trust discovers that “between here and there” is where God is waiting for us—often found at a provisional
residence (and often following trials or triumphs) off our “well beaten paths”—waiting for us to wander close where God can address our needs, form and reform us, and guide us down our next life path.
As disciples we are called to move beyond our past (settlements), and from
undue focus on the future (our preferred destinations) that we might be
wandering in that place of trust, abiding with Christ. Have you found yourself in this place, the place between, where God transforms your life and guides your steps? May we learn to wander with our Lord, to accompany the Spirit, to abide in Christ.
As ministers, we are called to help our students be disciples who wander, as
well. Our students need to learn to trust God in those spaces
between comfortable familiarity and a clear, certain future. We need to help
our students discover that God is waiting for them, wanting them to wander
God’s direction. Perhaps the best place to start in teaching this reality and practice is by helping our students understand what’s behind the meaning of that old word: abide.
Abiding in Christ
Abiding in Christ connotes being fully present with, resting in the comfort of, dwelling together with, and journeying beside Jesus. It is by discover our true selves. What we must realize is that we can only “be with” or “journey beside” an invisible God by pursuing a life of trust.
All of life for the wandering disciple is a life that lives as if God is beside, in front of, behind, over, and under us. We live daily trusting Jesus’ promise: “I am with you always” (Matthew 28:20). Helping others to live a life of trust is no easy feat, but there are ways we can reinforce and experience the story of God’s wandering people (e.g. Exodus 14, Deuteronomy 26:4-5, I Kings 19, Matthew 4:1-11, Luke 24: 13-34, Hebrews 10:35-11).
Resting. Provide time and space in our corporate gatherings for folks to be
quiet and still before God, helping us all learn to trust that the Holy Spirit is present, despite our inability to see God with our eyes.
Answered Prayer. Follow up frequently in our gatherings and small groups on prayer requests that we have prayed about in the past in order to demonstrate some of how God has been active in the lives of people in the
group.
Testimonies. Consider inviting students, guests, and adult leaders to share
about those times in their lives where “between here and there” they
wandered with God and found it to be a time of trust, testing, and transformation.
Exercises. Encourage students to look for evidence of God’s grace, love, or
activity in their daily lives to help them become more alert to, aware of,
and attentive to God’s presence around them.
Through these and other spiritual practices, we can rehearse and reinforce
the great drama of God meeting people as they wandered where they were led. May we all become, and help others become, disciples who wander.
