Jun
14
2008
Metrospirituality
There are endless varieties of spiritual options available to us today but the one that seems to be in vogue at the moment is a phenomenon that has recently been described as “Metrospirituality.” Theologian David Wells describes the characteristics of this latest spiritual trend.
Metrospirituality is a Yuppie movement which is combining Eastern mysticism, from sources like Buddhism and Hinduism, and Western consumerism. Respecting the environment means buying a hybrid car and respecting one’s self means connecting with one’s own inner power and they are putting this together in a single spiritual package — Jamba Juice, meditation, kindness, and aromatherapy all rolled into one!
Metrospirituality proves that many deeply spiritual people are functionally admitting that they “still haven’t found what they’re looking for.” The reason for this is, of course, that God has made us for himself and our hearts are restless until we find our rest in him. True spirituality is an internal possession of an ever-deepening relationship with God the Father, through God the Son, in God the Spirit. It is an internal connection between God the Creator and us his creatures. Anything less than relational union with God is a false spirituality that cannot save or satisfy us.
A few years ago I was in Starbucks with our music director, Brandon. As we waited in line to get our afternoon caffeine kick, the young barista behind the counter overheard us talking about our church, which at that point was only a year old, and we started chatting. Brandon soon invited her to visit our church one Sunday. She responded in typical postmodern fashion, saying, “I’m into spirituality, but I’m not really into organized religion.” Brandon, who has a wonderfully quick wit, replied, “Don’t worry, we’re really not that organized.”
This article by Peter Jones entitled The New Spirituality: Dismantling and Reconstructing Reality shows that while it is not an “organized religion, this spirituality is the reappearance of the massive system of ancient world paganism and, as such, represents the greatest threat to the church since the Greco-Roman pagan empire.” He concludes that the situation is urgent and that the church must pay attention.