Darryl Tippens Interview about "Pilgrim Heart"

Added February 11, 2007

Joyce: In the Library Reviews welcomes Darryl Tippens!

How is your book, Pilgrim Heart, different from others which address the subject of spirituality?

Darryl: There are many "spiritualities" abroad in the land, to be sure. They share some common elements: a hunger for "something more"; a sense that our external, material existence is not enough; the conviction that we must find our purpose in life; a longing for community and lasting meaning. Yet Christian spirituality is different from many of these popular spiritualities. I hope that Pilgrim Heart points us in the direction of a particular form of spirituality, an authentic spirituality rooted in the character of God. We bear the imprint of our Maker. He is holy and so should we be; He rested, and so should we; He created community, and so we are restless until we find our place in an eternal community. Christian spirituality is special because it is social, not private, and particular, not vaguely ethereal. It involves a special way of life, a set of concrete practices, an array of habits. To a surprising degree, Christian spirituality is liberating in its sheer simplicity. It's a walk, quite literally; a journey marked by a set of simple practices.

Pilgrim Heart examines some ordinary things that people do daily (eat, welcome others, tell stories, sing, and so forth), but I invite readers to "reframe" these practices, to see them in a fresh light, to recognize their spiritual power when done in a certain way, to practice them "as unto the Lord" with passion and joy and sacred purpose.

My book is also a bit unique in the way I draw on the wisdom of Christian witnesses covering a span of 2,000 years. There is much wisdom to be gleaned from our spiritual mothers and fathers-wise souls that many of us have never heard of. Pilgrim Heart introduces readers to a vast company of spiritual guides and mentors who can help them on their journey. Finally, the book grows out of several decades of my own experience as a disciple of Jesus, listening to the Word, and trying to follow the Master Teacher. The combination of Scripture, my personal reflections, and the testimony of the saints through the ages makes Pilgrim Heart a unique book.

Joyce: Pilgrim Heart has been described as a feast of Christian spirituality. You quoted from many notable Christian authors. Yet, is there anyone to whom you return to for spiritual encouragement and enlightenment?

Darryl: I have several favorites-St. Augustine from antiquity, Lady Julian of Norwich from the Middle Ages, and Henri Nouwen from the 20th century. All three of these writers speak profound things about the faith as they reflect on their own pilgrim journeys. Their uncommon transparency and honesty touch my heart.

Joyce: After reading these pages, I felt a faint stirring of hope for the Christian community. It's as if you gently stoked the fire of true discipleship that has been struggling to survive. Yet, why are some churches in America wasting away? Is it because of the inclusion of extra-biblical philosophies or the exclusion of some vital biblical principles?

Darryl: I like to quote the Ba'al Shem Tov, who said: "In memory lies the secret of redemption." A dying community is often a forgetful community. The people forget how to reproduce themselves. They lose touch with their spiritual story. They forget the story. And they forget to pass it on to their children as a living narrative, of which they are a part. They also fail to understand that the communal story is handed down in various ways-not only through words (through oral and written narratives, through preaching and teaching)-but also through a rich complex of practices.

Faith is more often "caught" than "taught." Faithful living comes through a life of "apprenticeship," an immersion in a rich set of practices. Many Christian communities are frail and lifeless today because they have forgotten the importance of telling the story through ritual, form, and practice. They don't remember, for example, how a meal-conducted in the right way-is a powerful conduit of cultural values and spiritual memory. When we stop eating together as family and as a family of believers, (which is happening throughout our country) something dies. Similarly, when we forget to confess to one another, to pray for one another, to welcome one another into our lives at a deep level-little by little, the community is weakened.

Joyce: Why do you feel American Christians are so reluctant to practice Sabbath rest?

Darryl: Americans are socialized to work hard and to be proud of their labors. Americans, more than any people I've met on the earth, love to brag about how overly busy they are. They love efficiency and productivity. Between 1968 and 1988, the average American worker added 168 hours to his or her annual workload-that's a whopping extra month of work each year. Against this backdrop, rest seems like a vice rather than a virtue. (Who wants to be a "slacker"?) Of course, in biblical terms, Sabbath rest is not a waste of time at all. It's a richly rewarding thing. It renews, restores, and re-creates us. God rested and was refreshed, the Scriptures teach. Sadly, our American values drown out Biblical wisdom.

Joyce: I understand you're an avid student of American culture and have jointly authored a book, The Gospel According to Generation X. Was your research the motivating force behind writing Pilgrim Heart? How is American culture inconsistent with the teachings of Jesus?

Darryl: Although I didn't see it at the time, in retrospect I realize that my studies of adolescent spirituality were preparing me for Pilgrim Heart. Through my study of adolescent faith I became riveted to Jesus' penetrating question from the Gospel of Luke (18:8): "When the Son of Man comes, will he find faith on the earth?" What a question! Jesus seems to suggest that the future is open, that there will be places on the earth where faith wanes, while other places where the faith blossoms. Why? Why do some people believe and others not? Why do two children-both reared in the same Christian home-take radically different paths? Why do some families and congregations consistently produce faithful offspring, while others do not? I learned a lot in our empirical studies of adolescents. I learned that there is a great mystery about belief, but I also learned that certain spiritual practices, in the aggregate, can make a big difference. This conviction is spelled out in Pilgrim Heart.

Joyce: The spiritual disciplines you presented are simple, yet deeply profound. What must the contemporary Christian cast aside before embarking on this pilgrim journey?

Darryl: The Apostle Paul says that "knowledge puffs up, but love builds up." Human pride certainly impedes our journey. Our conviction that we already have the answers may well stand in the way of spiritual discovery. Remember the words of Mary: God "has filled the hungry with good things, and sent the rich away empty" (Luke 1:53). If we are filled with our own self-righteousness, we are probably going to be sent away empty. Those who come to the gospel with a sense of brokenness and need will most likely get on the road. After all, no one makes the journey, unless she feels the need to be somewhere else. Spiritual hunger is a good thing.

Joyce: You presented an intriguing view that the most effective evangelists in Christian history have been, not preachers, but storytellers. Could you elaborate on that for us?

Darryl: Human beings, it has been argued, are "hard-wired" for story. How many times have you heard a boring speech, but then perked up when a really good story began to unfold? How many of us are eager to go to a movie with a really good plot? Stories do things that rote recitations of facts can never do. Interesting narratives engage us at the heart level. They move us. They help us remember. This is why the Bible is mostly story, not lists of rules. The great story tellers have enormous power to influence and shape culture. Christian storytellers like George MacDonald, C. S. Lewis, and Madeleine L'Engle will be remembered generations later when most contemporary politicians and moralists have long been forgotten.

Joyce: Thank you for taking the time to answer my questions and for writing such a spiritually insightful book I hope that many readers take this message to heart.

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