We live our lives immersed in communities and societies that tell us how things are supposed to go.
Religious communities often tell us what will happen if we follow the way of God (and what will happen if we don’t). Social, economic and political forces tell us what to care about, what to strive for, and how to be in the world. And yet for many of us life doesn’t follow these narratives. There are all sorts of ways in which our life doesn’t seem to measure up to the story we were given.
And realising this can be difficult. It can be painful because many of the communities we participate in rely on the stability of the system. Our sense of belonging often depends on our lives following the script or (as is more often the case) appearing to follow the script. To be honest about our real experience can be interpreted as ‘losing our way’ at best, or some kind of betrayal at worst; both to others and ourselves.
So we can get pretty anxious about all of this. What is my life supposed to look like? Whose narrative am I supposed to follow? Where do I fit and is it ok to ask hard questions? What do we hold on to when we lose our sense of certainty?
We’re at an interesting point in time. The global and local conversations we’re having around faith, culture, identity, economics and politics amid our interconnected lives are complicated and tense. For many people, old paradigms are no longer working. In particular, faith systems and institutional religion are struggling to sustain a compelling and coherent vision of life, and the so-called certainty of the frameworks we’ve been handed by previous generations no longer seem adequate.
But where does that leave us and how do we navigate the world now? These are big global conversations and yet they’re experienced in the very personal and everyday experiences of ordinary people. Whether we like it or not, transitions are usually difficult. And transitions from communities of belonging and systems of belief that have helped to make some sense of the world, especially toward undefined futures, can be threatening and anxiety-inducing. Perhaps spirituality still matters, and faith still has something to offer us, but it can be uncomfortable terrain to explore.
This space is about helping to open up this conversation.
So this is me. I’m Michael Frost, although most people call me Frosty; a nickname that I think is probably stuck with me until the end of time. I’m a researcher and writer in the areas of theology, spirituality and social change. Having initially studied biomedical science, I took a slightly unusual shift sideways from a scientific research career to work in ministry and theological education, completing my PhD in theology with the University of Otago in 2016.
It has not been a smooth road and over this time I’ve been on a journey of deconstructing and reconstructing my own faith and spirituality, challenged by the idea that genuine honesty must sit at the heart of all meaningful conversation. It seems to me that a lot of religious ideology ironically relies on obscuring honesty and truth along with misusing the dynamics of power. As an alternative, I’m interested in the idea that healthy spirituality can subvert and unravel these constructs and invite us instead into liberating and transformative moments and conversations.