Water From A Deep Well

I want you, my church family, to know some of the things that influence me, shape my thinking and perspective on our faith in Christ. I want you to know some of the things I’m enjoying… Perhaps you might enjoy them too. So, every now and then, I hope to share a few thoughts and reflections on a book, article, album, or (in this case) a podcast.

Water From a Deep Well is a book that Dr. Jerry Sittser wrote years ago which “opens to us the rich history of [Christian] spirituality, helping us learn from the practices and stories of believers from the past who thirsted for God.” Practicing The Way is a podcast series hosted by John Mark Comer that is interviewing Jerry about his book. It’s basically an excuse for Jerry to talk us through the book. You should read the book! But this podcast is a great summary, and a chance to hear Jerry teach. He is an excellent teacher. Jerry was a colleague of my dad’s at Whitworth, and Jeff Aitken and I first met at a month-long class he held at Tall Timber - a class where we explored what he later turned into this book.

What is moving me as I listen to Jerry, is the history of the church as she has sought to remain faithful to Christ, but responsive to her context. The church has been persecuted, and the church has had tremendous political and cultural power. But in each of those drastically different settings, there were individuals and communities stretching with longing towards God. Those saints are beautiful to me, and have much to teach us. The church is always shifting in response to the needs of the moment she finds herself in. The gospel never changes. Jesus is the same yesterday, today, and forever. But the church, at her best, is curious about how best to live the unchanging gospel in the midst of the ever-changing world we inhabit.

The main metaphor Jerry employs is that Christ is the water from this deep well, who simultaneously quenches and increases our thirst for God. But then these waters trickle out and down and over the past 2,000 years have formed different streams at different times that have emphasized different avenues of faithfulness and intimacy with Christ; different avenues of service and love.

Some of these are familiar to us who have been raised in the reformed and evangelical streams. Others stretch me. Icons. Saints. Mysticism. Martyrdom. But I want to learn, and grow, and be stretched - that I might grow in my thirst for God, and in the ways I experience God quenching my thirst.

I’d love to hear your thoughts if you read the book or listen to the podcast.

Peace,

Mark