Customer Reviews

Sacred Pathways

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Many members, one body. A delightfully refreshing look at the differences we have as individuals in the church through our communication with and worship of God. Thomas confirms our own uniqueness through nine "Sacred Pathways" to God - the naturalist, sensate, traditionalist, ascetic, activist, caregiver, enthusiast, contemplative and intellectual. He provides practical ways to test yourself at the end of each chapter to determine your own path. Just as God communicated differently for Moses, Elijah, and Paul, we too hear Him and worship Him in different ways. What a confirmation that you don't have to be a clone, but rather, can follow the direction God has put into your own heart. This book spoke to my spirit and I've recommended it to many. It is a must for pastors who wish to understand their congregation better. Thomas expands our horizons without compromising the message.

Just as people have different personality temperaments, they also have different spiritual temperaments or preferred ways of approaching God for worship and discipleship. This is the primary thesis of Gary Thomas' book, "Sacred Pathways." People do not have to go to God in the same way. The best way to approach God is in accordance with the specific temperaments with which one has been created.

Thomas contends that every person has at least one spiritual temperament, and most have several. Understanding basic spiritual temperaments is helpful not only for identifying one's God-given preferences, but also for understanding how others may worship God in equally valid ways.

"Sacred Pathways" includes a chapter each on nine spiritual temperaments: naturalists, sensates, traditionalists, ascetics, activists, caregivers, enthusiasts, contemplatives and intellectuals. Each chapter describes the temperament's distinguishing characteristics, including its strengths and weaknesses. Thomas' discussions are well illustrated with many personal experiences from his own life and others. Each chapter concludes with a short assessment to help readers determine whether they have that specific temperament.

The final chapter, "Understanding Your Sacred Pathway," gives practical suggestions on how to nurture one's spiritual personality which consists of one or more temperaments and the interplay between them. Thomas does not discuss the differences between private and corporate worship, but he does recognize that some temperaments are better suited for private worship-not all are equally suited for corporate worship. The final chapter also includes practical suggestions for cultivating a more meaningful devotional life in accordance with one's temperaments in both corporate and private worship. This is helpful not only for individual worshippers, but also for those responsible for leading corporate worship.

I first discovered this book through reading Rick Warren's "The Purpose-Driven Life." I'm glad I did; "Sacred Pathways" has given me a better understanding of-and a greater appreciation for-the different ways we worship God.

Most Christians have dealt with the frustration of trying to balance a busy lifestyle with a consistent devotional time. Some of us do better with the balancing act than others. Many of us wonder, "Are there better ways I can commune with God on a regular basis?" Thomas states here that there are better ways, once we have discovered as God has placed them in us.

Thomas identifies nine "sacred pathways" that are present in differing degrees in Christians. Naturalists love God in nature. Sensates worship God through their five senses. Traditionalists walk with God through ritual and symbolism. Ascetics draw strength from solitude with God and from simplicity. Activists energize themselves spiritually through confrontation. Caregivers best worship God by caring for the physical needs of others. Enthusiasts love God with mystery and celebration. Contemplatives interact with God via adoration. Intellects love to serve God with their minds.

The author includes at the end of each chapter a questionnaire, so that reader can quiz himself to see how strong of an inclination he has in each pathway. Most people have two to three pathways that are dominate.

This title is excellent. I recommend it to anyone who wants to improve the quality of consistent devotional time with God.

The "Pathways" helped me understand other people. Of course, in a church there are different people with different personalities but I have had a judgemental heart toward some that I considered "weird" and "inappropriate". (Bear with me...I'm being honest).

Through this book God showed me how diverse and beautiful His children really are! I realized that the guy that sings and claps really loud is an "Activist" for the Lord and is genuine in his passion. I understand now that the lady who talks about Jesus being her lover is a "Contemplative" and really does have a true deep heart love for Jesus in an intimate way.

This book will open your heart to love, respect and even enjoy the diversity of the Body of Christ. Plus: I tried all of the "Pathways" (even the ones I thought were really really not for me) and it gave worship and my relationship with God a new depth.

Having already read Thomas' "Sacred Marriage," I had extremely high expectations for this book, and I would say that they were largely met. Gary Thomas manages to write in a style that is both intellectual and personal, challenging the reader to ponder at a deeper level than many Christian books while never allowing his style to seem distant or arrogant. It's a tricky balance, but Thomas manages to strike that balance.

"Sacred Pathways" sets out to establish the reality that Christians do not naturally connect to God in identical ways and that this is not only acceptable but part of God's plan. It's the type of message that many of us need to hear, as we play the dangerous game of comparing our spirituality to other esteemed believers and realizing that we don't measure up to them. Thomas instructs us to consider that we are not meant to try to mirror anyone else's walk with God. Rather, we need to identify how we have been created and head down that "sacred pathway" with all diligence to "cultivate and grow" our relationship with God.

Thomas managed to tell very personal stories from his own life about every one of the nine sacred pathways, while managing to explain which ones came more or less naturally for him. This articulates the crucial point that though we may be bent toward one pathway more so than another, none of us have the right to ignore any of these sacred pathways as somehow irrelevant in our lives.

One particularly commendable component of Thomas' writing is his respect for the history of the church, and he constantly refers to our spiritual predecessors to gather their thoughts from the past centuries on so many different topics. What a refreshing approach to contemporary Christian writing! How much richer would the spiritual vitality of the church be if we were able to better learn from the past two thousand years of collective wisdom and experience?

I look forward to reading more of Gary Thomas' books. I would recommend "Sacred Pathways" to any Christian interested in learning more about the diverse ways that God has created us to seek after Him.

To be honest, I was a little skeptical when a good friend recommended that I read Sacred Pathways, by Gary Thomas. I agreed to give it a look, purchased the book and left it on the shelf for the next couple of years until I could "get around to reading it."

I've always been told, never judge a book by its cover, or in this case, by its title; but that's exactly what I did. Sacred Pathways... It sounded meditative, mystical, and slightly New Age-ish.

However, when I finally "got around to reading it," I was pleasantly surprised. I'd never read anything by Gary Thomas before, and found him engaging and easy to follow. Sacred Pathways captured and held my interest right from the start.

In Sacred Pathways, Gary Thomas identifies and examines nine different spiritual paths. What exactly does this mean? Each of us have different approaches as to how we relate easiest with God. Each of us grow spiritually in different ways. Gary Thomas leads us through nine major categories, showing us the strengths and weakness of each one. And after each of them, he offers a few questions, to help identify if that particular pathway is one of the reader's stronger characteristics.

I found this rating system especially helpful, and quite surprising. I thought I knew how I best deepened my spiritual relationship with God, but found out that I may have strengths in areas that have remained unrealized in my life. More on that and how I grow later.

Here are the nine pathways, with a quick synopsis of each one:

Naturalists: Loving God Out of Doors
The naturalist sounds like exactly what it is: someone who prefers to leave everything behind and head into the great outdoors to connect with God. A walk beside the river or through the woods is more worshipful than reading a book or listening to a sermon. Naturalists are moved by God's creation. A view from a mountaintop connects them closer to God than a classical cathedral ever will. Naturalists seek God by surrounding themselves with all that he has made.

Sensates: Loving God With The Senses
Sensates love to be lost in the awe and wonder of God. Sights, sounds, and scents add to the worship experience. A sensate desires to connect with God through the senses, and the more overwhelming, the better. Experiencing God though the five senses is a most effective inroad into the heart of the sensate.

Traditionalists: Loving God Through Ritual And Symbol
Traditionalists are fed by the classic and historic dimensions of the faith: ritual, liturgy, sacraments, and symbols. The traditionalist have a desire for worship to have a ritual and structure; without these, he feels disconnected from God. Traditionalists tend to be very disciplined and organized in their faith.

Ascetics: Loving God in Solitude And Simplicity
The ascetic would love nothing more than to spend every waking hour alone in prayer. The ascetic needs none of the symbols and structure of faith; anything along those lines would simply be a distraction. Ascetics tend to isolate themselves from others and any organized structure. Frequently seen as introspective, leaving everything behind in his quest for God is no trouble for the ascetic.

Activist: Loving God Through Confrontation
Activists love to set things right, even if that means confronting someone or something head on. The activist is quick to jump into a cause, or several of them, if it helps wage the war against injustice. The activist feels closest to God when she is standing against evil and calling sinners to repentance.

Caregivers: Loving God By Loving Others
The caregiver is a servant. Serving another is the quickest way for this person to connect to God. The caregiver sees Christ in those who are needy, poor and downtrodden. The caregiver's faith is built by serving others. Caregivers often display the deepest compassion, seeing the needs of others and identifying practical ways to meet those needs.

Enthusiasts: Loving God With Mystery And Celebration
The enthusiast loves the excitement and mystery of worship. Joyful celebration is crucial to the growing faith of this type of person. God moves by moving their hearts. If they don't feel moved during their worship, they wonder if they've experienced God at all. With some similarities to the sensate, the enthusiast doesn't want to just know concepts, he wants to experience them to the fullest.

Contemplatives: Loving God Through Adoration
A contemplative would refer to God as their lover. The idea of a loving Father or Bridegroom depicts their relationship with God very accurately. The person who is a contemplative seeks to love God with his entire being: his heart, soul, mind and strength. The contemplative is a very humble person, seeking nothing else than to sit at the feet of the Savior.

Intellectuals: Loving God With The Mind
Intellectuals live in the world of concepts. Studying and learning are a prime way that this type of person experiences God to the fullest. Understanding doctrine and other key points about Christianity and the faith is the best type of connection for this person. The intellectual gets fed when they learn or grasp something new about God or their faith.

There they are, the nine pathways to God that Gary Thomas identified. Is this list exhaustive? Probably not. It is fairly descriptive of several general approaches to complete worship? I think it is.

There is a lot to be learned from Sacred Pathways. As I read, my mind was opened to possibilities for me to experience God in ways that I've never even thought of before. And, as I mentioned above, I came to realize that I may have strengths in areas that I never guessed I had, or even guessed could have in my life.

Here are my top four categories, as scored in the self-evaluations supplied at the end of each chapter.

Naturalist
I scored 27 out of a possible 30 here. This is no surprise to me. I love the outdoors. In fact, some of my favorite moments have been when I escaped to the river, or a secluded campsite, with nothing more than my Bible and journal, and maybe a book or two. I love to hike and float. I figured that I would display strong naturalist tendencies.

Intellectual
My score here was 22 out of 30. Again, no real surprise. I love to read and study. When I learn something new about God, it reinforces my connection to him in the realm of my faith.

Ascetic
This one scored a 21 out of 30. Once again, I wasn't surprised by this characteristic. I love to get away and enjoy solitude. This goes hand in hand with my naturalist leaning.

Enthusiast
Here, I scored 21 out of 30, tieing with my ascetic score. This one caught me rather off-guard. I've always been someone who views faith through the lens of reason, and not as much emotion. Here I discovered that I may be more experiential in my connection with God than I have ever realized. I've always been excited, almost to the point of tears, when I see God moving dramatically. I just never have identified that as one of my strengths. And so I have a challenge: to learn to recognize and improve my growth through this pathway. Being aware of it may be the first step in allowing its potential life-change to happen. And I'm excited to see just how God might use this tendency, now that I'm more aware of it.

And, for your information, I scored lowest as an activist. No surprise there. I've always hated confrontation, even when it's beneficial...

All in all, I really gained some incredible insights from reading Sacred Pathways. I definitely would recommend this as material for anyone trying to identify their best spiritual growth opportunities. If you wonder why you don't grow as much as you feel you should, it could be because you aren't working within your strongest strengths. Give this book a read, and you might be as surprised as I was.

Sacred Pathways is easy to read, plain, balanced, and straightforward. The book surveys 9 different spirituality types. For each type it identifies Scripture, historical characters, styles of worship, and dangers. The book contains an evaluation tool to help the reader identify his or her personal spiritual personality.

As with any survey tool this book does not go deeply enough into any particular spiritual practice. It doesn't need to. What it offers is an excellent service to the Christian community.

For those who are trapped in a church that worships in a style predominately different from the their own, this book offers the knowledge that the reader is not alone. There are others out there that worship in the same way.

For those who believe that all true worship looks like their style of worship this book offers a broader view of the Christian landscape.

I gave this book 5 stars because it could have a potentially life changing impact on those who have lived in a closed environment.

I read Gary's "Sacred Marriage" and it totally transformed my marriage and the way I thought about my marriage. So I bought "Sacred Pathways" and I have learned so much about who I am and how I worship. I always thought that my way of being with God was strange and not like other Christians and now I can see why I have never "fit" in with others and that is ok now. I have learned to embrace it and my walk has grown so much stronger.

Thomas provides a keen analysis of the various pathways we use to relate to God. He also provides insights that all believers need if they are to be tolerant of other peoples pathways. This is a much needed resource for those experiencing a disconnect due to changing worship styles. Traditionalists can better understand those desiring a contemporary experience and "Contemporaries" would be well-served to seek understanding of the validity of the traditionalist's preferences.

If you are trying to find a way to connect better with God, then this little guide may point you in the right direction.