Who shapes your faith?
Deep in your most inward core of your being, the center closest to God, the Creator, who are you? Who influenced how you live from that tender place? What you believe. How you think. How you perceive others, the world, and even yourself.
Reflecting on who shaped/shapes us (both past and present tense) is a powerful question revealing insights into ourselves and why we think and act when we are on autopilot. That default mode leads many of our daily decisions and in the long run, forms the direction of our life. This also affect our intentional actions but to be honest, often we exist quite mindlessly.
Many of us will note our parents and grandparents as part of this list. Maybe a significant teacher or mentor. Sometimes an important event, ah-ha moment, or momentous situation contributed to our bent. I know even my silent still times with God formed and continues to form my heart.
Other Writers Shape our Faith
Writers, both current and ancient, make an impact on my faith. Thinking about these people lately has been forefront in my mind since reading Phillip Yancey’s book Soul Survivor. The tag line of this book is: How Thirteen Unlikely Mentors Helped My Faith Survive the Church. His words started me to ponder which writers shaped my faith.
Yancey’s book is partial personal memoir with the explorations about 13 different people such as Gandhi, Dostoevsky, C. Everett Kopp, Annie Dillard, and Henri Nouwen. Their words and lives shaped his faith as he studied how they lived, wrote. Their lives engraved his life. We get peeks into these influencers’ accomplishments, failures, contexts, words, and even their personal habits.
Last summer I wrote a blog post about choosing mentor texts. These writers resonated with my spirit and wrote deeply and powerfully. I yearn to be that type of writer.
When I was younger, Catherine Marshall mentored my faith and my longing to write.
This year I am “walking” with Howard Thurman and Teresa of Avila. Studying their lives and slowly digesting their words.
I am not sure who else right now would be part of my “13 Unlikely Mentors” but sense others in the shadow waiting to be discovered and to companion me and nourish my mind and soul.
I heard a new question this morning as I pondered this practice of identifying who shapes faith. Whose faith am I shaping? How will my life, my words nurture my grandkids’ faith, friends, possibly even strangers? That thought certainly woke me up!
The challenge now is to do the work, observing, reading, listening to God through their lives and words. I sense this practice will stretch me in new and exciting ways. What adventures God takes us on. I am sure glad He is with us all the way!
What do you think of this reflective approach? Other than the obvious influencers, who shaped/shapes your life?
I’ve not read Soul Survivor but it sounds fantastic. There have been several key authors that have really influenced my faith as well. It would be interesting to see who would make it on each of our lists of 13!
It was an interesting read and the concept got me thinking. I like how he mingles his own story with reflections on each of his authors, One of those books to pick up read a chapter then come back to later. Yes I think I will make my list of 13. I know some right off but will have to really ponder the rest of list. Let me know if you make a list too
I’m so grateful that He is the potter. Not me! I know that somewhere in the chinks and cracks and mars, He is still hard at work. That’s a great comfort!
I love this idea of mentor texts. Fascinating. Will have to check into this. Thank you, Jean!
I love naming and gathering my mentor texts. Now I want to study them more, listening to their guidance. Hope you find yours too!
Jean, in recent years, you have helped shape my faith in being real yet vulnerable, smart yet humble, spiritual yet practical. I have been shaped by most of the writers you mentioned too, and I loved the book edited by Scott Larsen with a foreword by Philip Yancey called Indelible Ink: 22 Prominent Christian Leaders Discuss The Books That Shape Their Faith. I was happy to see you mention Catherine Marshall. Her book Beyond Ourselves was pivotal for me in introducing me to her “Prayer of Relinquishment.’
wow I love the idea of the Indelible Ink book and just ordered it from our library,. Thanks for the suggestion. Interesting to see the forward was written by Phillip Yancey who wrote the book I mentioned in the post. and love connecting with another Catherine Marshall fan!
One of the first authors to influence me was Elisabeth Elliott and her books, Through Gates of Splendor and Shadow of the Almighty. I may have been in junior high when I read both–perhaps five or six years after she wrote them. Another ten years later and I was serving in Ecuador myself, teaching 25 preschool and kindergarten children of missionaries and nationals who worked at HCJB. Recently I read another of Elisabeth’s memoirs, These Strange Ashes. Her superior faith is exemplified on nearly every page. You’ve inspired me, Jean. I must read more of her books–especially because of the connection we share in Ecuador. Her writings would undoubtedly make excellent mentor texts!
i haven;’t read Elisabeth Elliott for a long time and would be a good one to reopen someday. Amazing isn’t it how their words shape us.
Thank you, Jean. You are helping to shape my faith with your Healthy Spirituality.
and you too, Linda!!
I know that Christian writers have impacted my faith greatly, Jean. The one that comes first to mind is C. S. Lewis, but there are many others, too, that I’ve read over the years. I also find that reading Christian blogs like yours strengthens and confirms my faith. Thank you!
CS Lewis is a great addition to this list, Isn’t his story amazing and how he kept growing in the Lord. May we both keep growing too