A roadmap to the 8 stages of the seeker’s journey
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How does a person come to faith? And are there similar experiences people have along the way?
These questions came to my mind when I became a Christian along with a number of my college friends. We seemed to have similar faith journeys that led to our spiritual transformations. Most of us first grasped that the Good News had implications for our eternal destiny. Then we recognized we each had a personal problem that humans seemed unable to help us conquer. For me it was alcoholism, for Barb it was drugs and for Steve it was political extremism. Barb told us she had overcome her addictions through the Bible and a spiritual transformation by Jesus Christ. And soon, Steve and I followed along on that spiritual awakening and journey.
Over the years I learned researchers have discovered similar stages people undergo before conversion, or what I call spiritual transformation.
James Engel was one of the first modern writers to describe the process most people go through before spiritual transformation. He observed a process of stages, which he called "the Great Commission in common dress"[i]. Let's look briefly at each stage in what Engel labeled "a model of spiritual decision processes." [ii]
Stage -8:(This and the following numbers are "negative" numbers because they count down toward a spiritual transformation). At this stage a person might label oneself an agnostic, knowing there is a God but not knowing who that God is. The Bible tells us that God can be seen through what he has created (Psalm 8:3,4). Recent photos from the James Webb telescope reaffirm this for many people. They may not know who God is, but they sense there is some supreme being behind the beauty and power of the cosmos.
Stage -7:Here a person becomes aware of Good News about God (i.e. the Gospel) through the deeds, words, testimony, etc. of Christians or others.At this stage, a person witnesses changes as well as benevolent actions in Christians. The Book of Acts is replete with the Good News of Christ's followers serving, healing and selflessly helping others.
Stage -6:At this stage, we experience a deepening awareness of the fundamentals of this Good News, e.g., the traveler might experience good deeds of Christians such as charity, forgiveness, graciousness, reciprocity, etc. This could be exemplified in acts of mercy, sacrifice, justice, etc., which fulfill the Great Commandment (Mark 12:31) to "love your neighbor as yourself."
A sizable portion of people today may lie in this realm, appreciating the good deeds of Christians but not moving into the next stage (-5) where they grasp personal implications of the Good News for themselves. That is what Barb (in the illustration above) did for me. She began treating me and others with selfless kindness and she unashamedly pointed to the Bible as the source of her altruism.
Stage -5:This indicates the person understands the personal requirements of the Good News. Here is where major disconnects may occur, when people see good deeds but fail to grasp that the Good News has requirements and obligations upon the hearer.
Jesus noted this many times, for instance when he said, "take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy and my burden is light" (Mt. 11:29-30).
When I saw that Barb benefited from supernatural power to change her addictive behavior, I wanted that too. I told her, "I believe in God. So, why can't I get free from alcoholism? Isn't believing enough?" She replied, "It takes more than belief, you have to follow, Bob" and quoted James 2:19, "You say you have faith, for you believe that there is one God. Good for you! Even the demons believe this, and they tremble in terror" (NLB).
I now understood something new. The personal requirements of the Good News were more than believing. I had to follow him too, which is to say I needed to take his yoke upon myself and learn from him.
Stage -4:The person develops a positive view of the Gospel. Again, because of what was noted above, many unchurched people today probably reside in a realm between -7 and -4. But now I realized that God could change me, like he changed Barb. Steve had grown up in a religious home, but as he studied the Bible afresh, he saw it was more than rules or regulations. It now told him of God's power to make people into the persons we want to be.
Stage -3:Here a person recognizes a personal deficiency, incapable of being addressed without divine interaction and assistance. I knew my chronic alcoholism was something I had not been able to overcome for many years, despite many attempts. Steve felt the same way about his political intolerance. Barb had similar addictive behaviors and was now daily growing free of those forces. We witnessed that it was only God who could help us overcome our personal deficiencies.
Stage -2: At this waypoint, a person makes a decision to act and reach out for supernatural assistance to address their deficiency. Two weeks later, while studying late at night for a college exam, I felt God telling me, "Choose today whom you will serve…" Little did I know this was from Joshua 24:15.
Stage -1:At this stage, a person recognizes they have not lived up to God's standards, and that only by faith in Jesus Christ and his death on their behalf can they escape the penalty of their sins. I recalled a question I had asked Barb, "Aren't there many ways to heaven?" to which she quoted Jesus, "I am the way, the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me." (John 14:6).
New birth. Here God creates an intersection between the spiritual and physical words; and a new person is born (John 3:3-8). I prayed a "sinner's prayer" inscribed on a small pamphlet I had been given somewhere. And now new direction, passions and ministry began taking me in a new trajectory. God still had changes ahead of me, but I was no longer tempted by alcoholic excess. I now knew God had power to help me overcome anything in my path.
James Engle continued to describe the journey after new birth as a series of stages, including: post-decision evaluation, joining a faith community, understanding spiritual foundations and more.
All of these stages I would experience over time. But their depth and magnificence requires a longer telling than this article allows. So, for the reader wanting more depth, I have described my and others' spiritual journeys and the accompanying waypoints in Spiritual Waypoints: Helping Others Navigate the Journey(Indianapolis: Wesleyan Publishing House, 2010).
Footnotes
[i] Engel and Norton, What's Gone Wrong With the Harvest?, 45.
[ii] James F. Engel, The Church Growth Bulletin (Fuller Institute of Church Growth, Pasadena, CA: 1973). Engel stressed that his decision scale emphasized how a church's "communication ministries" must change as the traveler journeys through the spiritual decision process, What's Gone Wrong With the Harvest?, 44-45. Unfortunately, the published designation, "Engel's Scale of Spiritual Decision" clouds Engel's emphasis upon the elastic role of the church's communication, and thus this scale's designation does not correspond to its content.
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Bob Whitesel (D.Min., Ph.D.) is a foresight coach, professor, and award-winning author of 14 books. For over 30 years, he has guided leaders and churches to pivot and engage what’s next. He holds two earned doctorates from Fuller Theological Seminary and teaches on leadership foresight, church health, and organizational change. His website is www.ChurchForesight.com. Learn More » |
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