Three Insights from Celtic Spirituality That May Help You Too

In a “post-covid” environment – a risky term to use – the church has to find better ways to connect with people and help them better understand the God who has come to them in Jesus. Most of this will happen in ways that are underutilized in many congregations.

Last weekend I was online in a class with Esther de Waal, a legendary teacher in the field of Celtic Christian spirituality. I was excited to hear what she had to say and I was not disappointed. Her time with us focused on the three main subgroups inside the Celtic world – the Irish, the Welsh and the Scots. And she saw common threads through all of them but also that each emphasized things in slightly different ways that can help us as we develop our spiritual lives today.

The Irish have built large Celtic crosses all across the land. Their spirituality emphasizes the majesty and power of a God who stands over creation and then comes to be a part of it in Christ. The Welsh developed small communities – there are hundreds and hundreds of small communities all across the land with relationships at their core. And the Scottish people have a spirituality that has a blessing for all sorts of regular things – cooking, farming, putting the kids to bed – a sense that ordinary life is a focus of faith.

Imagine how using those three lenses from the Celtic world can be the basis for deepening faith among the people you serve and start conversations that can help people reflect on their faith. So, using these three lenses, here are three questions you can ask to start meaningful discussions in your setting:

* Where has the power and majesty of God impressed you? Share the stories of times when you felt a sense of awe.
* Where have relationships with other people of faith been most important to you? Share stories where relationships or Christian community were most important to you.
* How do you see God in the midst of daily life? Share stories of how you see your life being impacted by God or useful to God in the midst of a typical week.

It is one thing to tell people about these things, but Celtic spirituality gives us a doorway to seeing God in some very important ways. Sharing these as a way to help people talk about and see God in their own lives can be life-giving for all of you. The deepest changes come, not just from information, but from letting faith insights be the basis for interaction. We learn best from each other when we both listen and speak.

Want more tactics to help people think and talk about their faith? Check out our newest book Beyond Chit-Chat for one of the keys to making church meaningful again.