Brian McLaren, faith development expert, shares a simple framework for faith development, emphasizing inclusivity. Topics include faith journey, transitioning to complexity, the beauty and danger of God, accepting reality, stage-sensitive leadership, and the influence of Pope Francis.
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insights INSIGHT
Early Faith Stages Explained
Stage one faith (simplicity) relies on black-and-white thinking and authority.
Stage two (complexity) embraces independence and critical thinking but remains pragmatic and rule-focused.
insights INSIGHT
The Crisis of Stage Three
Stage three (perplexity) involves skepticism about all authorities, including oneself, and confronting life's contradictions.
It can lead to cynicism or a deep spiritual seeking for honesty and humility.
insights INSIGHT
Integral Stage of Faith
Stage four (harmony) integrates paradox and accepts complexity without dissolving faith.
It values interdependence, universal love, and holding mystery within faith.
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For this week’s episode, we’re sharing one more talk with you from our Restore gathering in 2022. This was one of our absolute favorite sessions, and it was the final presentation, right at the end on Saturday afternoon. We were privileged to hear from Brian McLaren, who shared his simple and incredibly resonant framework for faith development. It’s one that we’ve referenced before on this podcast, and we think you’ll love hearing Brian teach it. Brian does a beautiful job emphasizing that the point isn’t to get everyone to a particular “stage” of faith — rather, it’s creating a Church and a community where each stage is welcome and included.
First, you’ll hear Brian give his presentation, and afterward, Tim and Aubrey sit down for a live Q&A with him. We think Brian brought really key insights to both parts of this session. When we listened back, there was so much there that we hadn’t fully absorbed, and even if you were with us at Restore last year, we think this one’s really worth a listen.
For those of you who haven’t heard Brian from before, he’s a bestselling author, speaker, and public theologian. A former college English teacher and pastor, he is a passionate advocate for a Christianity that is just, generous, and works with people of all faiths for the common good. He is a core faculty member of The Living School and podcaster with Learning How to See, which are part of the Center for Action and Contemplation. His newest books are Faith After Doubt, released in 2021, and Do I Stay Christian?, which was released in 2022.
Faith Matters