The Christian life is the lifelong practice of attending to the details of congruence—congruence between ends and means, congruence between what we do and the way we do it, congruence between what is written in Scripture and our living out what is written, congruence between a ship and its prow, congruence between preaching and living, congruence between the sermon and what is lived in both preacher and congregation, the congruence of the Word made flesh in Jesus with what is lived in our flesh.
Eugene Peterson
I became a Christian right around puberty.
The frontal cortex was not yet fully developed.
Many social economies - the youth group, the basketball team, the girl I was attracted to, and most prominently, the peculiar nuance of early-2000s-hyper-masculine-Asian-American-gangster culture were all at play… as I made my way down the center aisle of a small immigrant church in Los Angeles.
Delirious’ History Maker was being played.
And there on bended knees, my 13 year old self, with plenty of unarticulated father issues, and a developmentally appropriate adolescent angst around identity formation, I said aloud:
“Jesus, I will follow you.”
It’s well over 20 years later, now. And most everybody else who was there that night, standing next to me, also with tears and juvenile confessions at the front of the altar, are no longer a part of any church.
Everybody has their own story. But when I catch up with friends from those days, there are a few recurring themes as to why this is the case:
Participation and dependence in the American marketplace also commonly referred to as “adulting,” the development of critical thinking skills, a willingness to differentiate from tribal thinking, and almost always, a whole lot of pain and disillusionment on account of spiritual authorities they once respected.
But you might also could say the theologies handed to us as teenagers did not grow up with us as we entered adulthood.
I had a panic attack in the summer of 2013.
Ironically for me, challenging my childhood faith took place in a seminary. Immersed in a world of books on history, sociology, theology, and culture I felt that my faith had been formed moreso by confucian and shamanistic cultures. I was horrified to study the history of colonization by way of merchant, soldier, and missionary. I felt an intellectual dissonance between the rhetorical device of condemning someone to eternal conscious torment and an incarnate God who spoke of a present alternative Kingdom.
I questioned the god and particular version of christianity I was handed as a child, including those very real emotive experiences as a teenager.
But I was fortunate.
I was located amongst friends and mentors and a faithful community who welcomed the questions I had.
Honestly examining the faith given to me as a child created a new level ground upon which to build a more robust and lived faith with theological humility.
Oikon and Wesley is my humble and creative attempt at offering the world a vision of the Christian life that has captured my imagination since that panic attack. A life of following Jesus that is worthwhile and honest.
Very little originates with me.
It is largely shaped by Wesleyan theology and contemplative prayer practices.
I believe the movement began by John and Charles Wesley articulates a vision of the Christian life that brings together personal piety and social holiness. A faith that values emotion, intellect, behavior, and social engagement. Its vision of salvation is not post-mortem escape into nebulous paradise, but the restoration of all things in the present time. It is a theology that is rooted in divine grace, while calling for an earthly responsibility. It is a faith that welcomes critical thinking while championing the felt experience of a Living God.
I believe spiritual growth is not marked by activity and accomplishment, but by an interior movement from the first half to the second half of life - where life becomes less about appeasing social pressures, but surrendering them in order to live in greater union with God with deep awareness of self and others.
In such a framework, prayer is not a performance but contemplation - a way of seeing and being in the world with God.
In days ahead, you will see teaching films, music, liturgies, and courses that aid in forming the kind of life Eugene Peterson speaks of in the quote at the top of this page - a life of congruence, where faith and life are integrated as one act of worship unto God.
Perhaps you are in the midst of reconstructing your own faith. I pray these resources will be of help along that sacred and lifelong journey.
Grace and peace,
Rev. Mike Whang
Houston, TX
November 2023
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