{"id":452,"date":"2005-11-03T09:27:18","date_gmt":"2005-11-03T09:27:18","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/blog.beliefnet.com\/jesuscreed\/2005\/11\/the-mentored-life-6.html"},"modified":"2005-11-03T09:27:18","modified_gmt":"2005-11-03T09:27:18","slug":"the-mentored-life-6","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/jesuscreed\/2005\/11\/the-mentored-life-6.html","title":{"rendered":"The Mentored Life 6"},"content":{"rendered":"

Brad Bergfalk and I are both tiring with the prose of James Houston, and one of us thinks the book better than the other. But, here is our fifth part (on chp 6).
\nSummary<\/strong> (Brad Bergfalk)
\nAfter reviewing the meaning of personhood in the three false categories of mentoring (heroic, stoic, and therapeutic), Houston embarks on a discussion of the meaning of personhood in the context of Christian discipleship. The problem that one encounters when speaking about “the Christian person” is that our culture has succeeded in redefining “personhood” as individual in relation to self.
\nHouston distinguishes between the “individual” and “personhood” by
\nsuggesting that the “individual” understands humans as being created in
\none’s own image, while “personhood” understands that humans were created
\nin the image of God. Likewise, the “individual” sees their identity
\nbased on human action, while “personhood” accepts that they are “made
\nrighteous” by God. Freedom is defined by the “individual” as autonomy,
\nwhile the category of “personhood” understands freedom in relation to
\nbeing “grounded” in Christ. Finally, Sin is understood by the
\n“individual” as “self-enclosure” and disobedience, and for “personhood”
\nsin is understood in the context of discipleship and “openness to God”
\nand God’s calling.
\nFor Houston, the definitive understanding of “personhood” takes place in
\nthe context of Christian discipleship. And thus the process of
\ndiscipleship is a process of transforming autonomy to become “open” to
\nthe other. Quoting Fenelon, Houston argues that “conformity to Christ
\n(as an act of discipleship) reconstructs one’s whole manner of “being”
\nand “doing.” The tendency in the church is to blur these categories thus
\nChristian discipleship is often about “becoming a more efficient
\nreligious entrepreneur…of the Gospel (p. 118).”
\nThe distinctions of Christian discipleship for Houston include the
\nfollowing: First, discipleship is always God’s initiative; second,
\nJesus’ call to discipleship is inclusive; third, discipleship always
\ninvolves radical reorientation; fourth, discipleship means sharing in
\nthe ministry of Jesus (this sounds strangely like “The Jesus Creed”);
\nand fifth, discipleship is expressive of Christ’s suffering love. On the
\nbasis of these distinctions, Houston concludes this chapter by
\nsuggesting the “art of letter writing” as a form of Christian nurture
\n(presumably as a function of the mentoring\/discipleship process).
\nBrad’s Response:<\/strong>
\nWhen Houston describes some of the by-products of a distorted view of
\npersonhood being a Christianity of efficiency rather than of
\ntransforming relationship, I am ashamed to say that I have succumbed to
\nthis distortion from time-to-time throughout my Christian experience.
\nThe notion that our relationships to Christ exists in isolation from
\nothers is one of the dominant characteristics of contemporary
\nevangelicalism. Returning to an understanding and practice of Christian
\ndiscipleship that is rooted in a radical reorientation from the present
\nage will be both painful and liberating for those who have the courage
\nto go against the prevailing Christian culture.
\nScot’s Response:<\/strong>
\nI like Houston’s distinction between individualism and personhood — the latter offering for us a more robust perception of human nature and our calling as Christians. He has a very nice chart on p. 114.
\nHere’s a profound comment: “Without God, humanity is a mystery. But, likewise, without humanity God is unknowable” (115).
\nPersonhood, Houston maintains, is an open category. He calls it (and man did I jump up and down on this one) “an iconic existence, because it is like a window, looking out to the future of God’s intent of love” (117). Now that’s a good definition of personhood.
\nHouston rather imperceptibly wandered into letter writing as a form of relationship in discipleship, and he pulls out all kinds of interesting quotations from letters.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Brad Bergfalk and I are both tiring with the prose of James Houston, and one of us thinks the book better than the other. But, here is our fifth part (on chp 6). Summary (Brad Bergfalk) After reviewing the meaning of personhood in the three false categories of mentoring (heroic, stoic, and therapeutic), Houston embarks…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":298,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[15],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-452","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-books"],"yoast_head":"\nThe Mentored Life 6 - Jesus Creed<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/jesuscreed\/2005\/11\/the-mentored-life-6.html\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"The Mentored Life 6 - Jesus Creed\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Brad Bergfalk and I are both tiring with the prose of James Houston, and one of us thinks the book better than the other. 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