I was so moved by “The Road Less Travelled” that when this book came out I had to read it.
This book contains, among other things, Dr. Peck’s model of spiritual growth which I reference in my book Rules Of The Spirit. That one thing makes this book a worthy read.
The model is Dr. Peck’s condensed version of theologian James Fowler’s “Stages of Faith” – a 7-stage model, and rather a difficult read; it’ll make your head hurt.
Since I reference Dr. Peck’s model frequently, the question often comes up – is one stage better than another. I liken the question to asking whether it’s better to be a 10 year old, or a 15 year old, or an adult. Is one better than the other? I would say no, they are just natural stages of growth. It is good to move along the growth curve, and I wouldn’t really want to go back, but it doesn’t seem appropriate to say that one is better than the other. Interestingly, “adult” applies, at least legally, to anyone 18 years of age or older, but I bet you’d agree that there is a vast difference between an 18-year-old and a 60-year-old. The mental, emotional, and spiritual growth doesn’t necessarily stop at 18.
The real benefit of the model is that with an understanding of the model, and being able to identify where another person fits into the model, it becomes possible to modify my own behavior to fit the other person. Since a Stage 2 Institutional finds peace in their “black and whiteness” it doesn’t help for me to speak in terms of technicolor – it just pushes them into fear, and the fear shuts down communication. One thing Ann and I have found is that people are where they need to be, spiritually. It doesn’t help to try to get someone to understand concepts they’re not ready for – when they’re ready they’ll seek it out. You can lead a horse to water but you can’t make it drink. When the student is ready, the teacher will appear. The inverse is true: when the teacher is ready, the student will appear.