Canaan's Rest

As a young pastor back in 1978, I read Richard Foster’s book “Celebration of Discipline.”  It was a kind of spiritual awakening for me.  I felt like I was breathing “fresh spiritual air.”  I was concerned about matters of the heart and soul, but there were few evangelical leaders speaking to the issues of “soul care.”  Foster opened new doors for me. 

I was captivated by the opening words of Foster’s book: “Superficiality is the curse of our age.  The doctrine of instant satisfaction is a primary spiritual problem. The desperate need today is not for a greater number of intelligent people, or gifted people, but for deep people.   Foster went on to say, “the spiritual life calls us to move beyond surface living into the depths.”  He was talking about soul life.

Recently I watched a video of Foster giving a presentation in 2018 at the celebration of the 40th anniversary of his book.  What was true then is true today: “The need for the growth of the soul.”  In Foster’s view, “The most lasting work is accomplished in the depth of the heart.”  All real spiritual formation is “heart work.”  The focus is on the purity of the heart (Proverbs 4:23).  “We must not neglect this work,” he warns, “Spiritual formation is not a tool kit to fix things.”

When Foster looks at our culture, he listed four areas of concern:

First, information technology.  We are all wired to the information age.  The changes have been rapid and all pervasive.  The demands on each of us can be a spiritual drain.  The inner life can easily be neglected.  Soul care takes time and attention.  Foster cautions us with one word: distraction.  “We need,” he maintains, “a discerning, life-giving ascetism.”  We need practices to help us “unplug” so we can listen and learn to just be.

Second, the loss of Christian consciousness.  The Christian story and culture are being lost in the collective consciousness of our nation.  How do we minister to people who have no roots in Christianity?  We need to focus on spiritual formation and the growth of the soul.  The inner life of many is an empty, confused spiritual space that needs to be addressed.

Third,  learning to live courageously through dark times.  We live in what Foster calls, “a wilderness of cultural unbelief.”  We may be witnessing “the beginnings of a new dark age.”  Evangelicals in our day are considered “hypocrites.”  How are we to sing the songs of Zion in a strange land?  Foster’s advice is stark: “Shut up” and “listen.” Talk less. Listen more.

Fourth, narcissism is the spirit of the age.  Culture has changed in this regard over the last 40 years.   We live in the age of “expressive individualism” (Carl Trueman).  It is the very air that we breathe.  Only inner transformation of the soul can help us to be “other-centered” rather than “self-centered.”  Jesus is our model in a life of surrender. 

Recently I came across a review written by Foster.  He mentioned a prayer that he was using in his devotional life.  I have memorized it and use it both in prayer and during the day.  “Lord Jesus, please/Purify my heart/Renew my mind/Sanctify my imagination/Enlarge my soul/Amen.”  This is a prayer that helps us focus on our inner life.  

Notice: a purified heart comes first, then the renewal of the mind.  I continue to need much sanctifying of my imagination.  Recently, I have become aware of the Spirit enlarging my soul as I focus on Jesus at the center.  May the Lord help us all to do this (Hebrews 12:1-3).

Recently, I got an e-mail from my number one son in North Carolina that included an ad for Jeremy’s Razors.  When Mark wrote, “This advertising is causing more conversations in my world here than anything in the last few years,” I knew I had to see it.  Then Kurt, my second son, responded to the e-mail string, saying, “One of my favorites.  Some of my buddies have bought these razors.”

The company and the ad are both “old school.” See the ad on YouTube: “Jeremy’s Razors: the greatest commercial ever.” I consider the ad “slapstick” comedy, the kind that I enjoyed in the 70’s and 80’s (like I Love Lucy or Red Skeleton), when we were less concerned about being offensive and hurting people’s feelings.  But in our day of “cancel culture” many would deem it offensive.  The ad was a little too “edgy” for me as a more seasoned guy, who has stuck with an electric shaver all these years and doesn’t really prefer to see all the flesh.  But it still carries some insights for us.

Jeremy’s Razors started as a protest against a woke culture in which ads are pulled or walkouts are staged simply because the ads are deemed “offensive.”  Jeremey Boering launched his company on April first as a protest to the woke culture in advertising. In the first month, the firm already had 60,000 subscribers wanting razors.  The brand attracted more Twitter followers in the first month than Gillette has gained since it went on Twitter in 2009.  The ad has been watched over 15 million times.

With tongue in cheek, the ad asks, “Stop giving your money to people who hate you. Give it to me instead.”  Boering acknowledges in the ad that his company’s values are misaligned with a culture which sees anything masculine as “toxic.”  He wants to celebrate manliness.  He had no idea that he would be an immediate success.

Why?  Here is part of what I wrote back to Mark: “What impresses me about the ad and the response you are experiencing from other guys is the opportunity to identify with someone who says, ‘Enough is enough.’  It shows me there is a lot of pent-up emotion and frustration in men.  Together, guys are able to celebrate and ‘let off some masculine steam.’  Young men feel mistreated and misunderstood by a culture that wants to put them in a box.”  They see the ad as an act of rebellion against the dominant media that gives credence to social engineers who are committed to blending the genders. 

Men respond to the candor in this ad.  As I wrote to Mark, “Each man is unique, but he needs to have his soul renewed and made alive by the Spirit of the living God,  who enables each man to function as a man, not like a “shadow” based on the “broken” rhetoric of the feminine which has lost its God-given uniqueness.”  

My suggestion is for younger men to find male mentors to walk with them.  Along with that, find a band of brothers who are trying to understand manhood from a biblical perspective.  I, for one, have lived through the sexual revolution.  Many younger men only hear part of the story (a bent feminine) and not a strong masculine (tough but tender).  Healthy men, integrated in their masculine identity,  need to come alongside confused younger men who are in danger of losing their masculine soul.  If we don’t, men can easily become weak pushovers who cannot stand against the lies and illusions  of a woke culture.  Pray God guides us in that.