God Gives Us Strength for the Climb

“Honnolding” in rock climbing lingo can simply mean to face one’s fears. It evokes the image of Alex Honnold standing on a precarious ledge with his back against a granite wall, resting at a height that would paralyze nearly every other human on earth. Alex burst into popular culture in 2018 when he appeared in the Academy Award-winning documentary Free Solo that culminates with his death-defying climb up El Capitan, a 3,000 foot granite monolith with no ropes! That is what it means to free solo, to climb up into what climbers call the ‘death zone’ above 50 feet where a fall would almost assuredly result in death.

Anyone, novice or expert climber, watching Honnold ascend over half a mile into the air, spending nearly 4 hours in the death zone is left asking, “How does he do it?” It is likely that Alex had some genetic, anatomical, ‘natural’ predisposition to thrill seeking and a diminished response to threats. However, Alex doesn’t remember his first free solo as a casual jaunt up a rock.

The wall and spiritual formation

The Wall is an observable phenomena known for centuries by masters of spiritual formation that has been mostly rejected by our culture transfixed on self-actualization. There are a number of different paradigms for mapping the process of spiritual maturity that fall under the heading of stage theory. Janet Hagberg and Robert Guelich modernized this approach in their book “The Critical Journey.” They describe the stages of faith beginning with the Stage 1, basic recognition of God. This is the illumination moment that may come for a small child or mature adult who finally concedes there must be something animating an otherwise brutal materialism devoid of meaning. In the Christian tradition, this will be followed by Stage 2, a life of discipleship characterized by learning and belonging. For many deconstructionists, this involved youth groups, summer camps and Christian t-shirts. Whatever generation you come from, this is typically a sweet time when faith felt exciting and your community was vibrant.

Stage 3 is termed the productive life, where I anticipate most of us will find ourselves. You are likely well into your career and may have taken on the roles of spouse, parent, mentor, teacher and professional. This is the quintessential American stage. As a society, we love the feeling of completing tasks and earning a sense of accomplishment. Authors and teachers have observed that most Christians tend to stay in this stage, but the danger related to any sort of stagnation is that unhealthy tendencies can fester. Stage 4 involves a journey inward. This stage may come as an abrupt change marked by questioning, exploring, or doubt. Rather than calling this stage our deconstruction and running away, this is particularly the stage in which we must ‘honnold’ the best we can. It is in this stage that we must ask the deeper questions about who we are and who God has truly revealed himself to be.

Beyond the wall

I am convinced that as a subculture we don’t long for the Stage 5 experience deeply enough.  We often provide Stage 3 answers to people with Stage 4 questions. Many of the questions BioLogos seeks to help people navigate can’t be addressed with typical Christian tasks we can perform such as prayer, Bible reading, and church attendance. For many of us, to stare into the complex past of human origins and meaning in the universe is like staring up a 3,000 foot slab of granite. Rather than shy away from the experience, we must learn to press into it, perhaps building our strength with smaller successive climbs.