There is a theory of psychological development, attributed to Diana Baumrind, that traces the formation of a sense of identity from early childhood to adulthood. There are four stages: identity diffused, foreclosure, moratorium, and identity achieved.

At the risk of calling down the wrath of the pit bulls roaming the cyber alleys of Godblogs, I am going to apply this theory to spiritual development. I find it immensely helpful in my practice – especially with those believers in their late teens or early twenties – and also believe that it is a process all Christians should go through during sanctification. By applying this theory, I am in no way arguing that this is all that is involved or necessary for spiritual growth and maturity. I am only describing what I believe to be the progression of sanctification.

Identity Diffused

In Baumrind’s model, this is a period when the child has no sense of self or concern with identity. It is a non-reflective time, a joyful time, when the opinions of self or others do not even occur to the toddler or pre-schooler. It is, I suppose (since none of us really remember anything before the age of six or seven1) a time of existential bliss: the child simply is. They play, cry, eat, and sleep without any worry about what that says about them as a person. They simply have no sense of identity. There is no exploration of one’s beliefs and values; thus, there is no commitment possible.

Is there a period in the spiritual life of the Christian that corresponds to such a stage? I believe there is such a time for believers, whether they have trusted Christ as Savior when they were four or forty-four. Most of us, even becoming Christians as adults, have at least a brief period of time when we are so enthralled or enraptured with the joy of our salvation that we do not stop to think about ourselves, not in the eyes of others or our own. It is a heady time, a wonderful time, a period most of us would love to recapture and dwell in continuously. It is being present at the Mount of Transfiguration or being in the presence of the Resurrected Christ. There is no thought of self: we are simply too overwhelmed with the reality of God and the impact of what has just transpired in our lives as we have moved from the kingdom of darkness to the Kingdom of Light.

Like the toddler, we have not yet evaluated or explored our experience, nor have we consciously committed ourselves to it.2 A commitment to Christ as Savior has been made, of course, but the rush and subsequent flush of being baptized by, filled with, and sealed by the Holy Spirit floods our minds and crowds out the cognitive, rational capacities.

This stage does not last, however, and I do not think God intends for it to continue in this lifetime. It may be a foretaste of what our heavenly existence will be like, but it is not a condition in which we can accomplish the work that God has given us to do in subduing the earth and exercising dominion over it. Ideally and typically, we move on to the next stage.

Foreclosure

Foreclosue is a period of commitment but not exploration or evaluation. In children, this is usually apparent in the adoption of their parents’ values and lifestyle. If mother and father are Republicans, then Junior is a Republican, too (although he has no idea what that means). If the girl’s parents are Baptists, then Missy is going to be the best Baptist in the Sunday School program. The commitment is often strong but lacks personal evaluation and apprehension.

This is also observed in the lives of most (if not all) Christians. We typically become a part of that group which was instrumental in leading us to salvation. If Catholic, then we become committed Catholics; if Charismatic, then we are Charismatic; if Reformed, Reformed it will be for us. Like the child, there is a strong commitment to the values, beliefs, practices, and doctrines of the group of which we are a part. The local church is our spiritual family and we, as young and immature believers, make a commitment to whatever spiritual tradition in which we find ourselves.

This stage, too, is meant to be but temporary: God does not seek followers who possess only a hand-me-down faith. Exploration and evaluation are vital and essential in spiritual growth; hence, the next stage of

Moratorium

The choice of Baumrind’s terms dates the study: moratoriums were common in the ’60s and ’70s, and the word “moratorium” was very much in vogue. It meant and still means a suspension of commitment. According to one dictionary, moratorium may be defined or described as

An authorized period of delay in the performance of an obligation; a suspension of an ongoing or planned activity”

This stage is typically and normally found in teenagers, but especially during the late teens when the brain is undergoing the last of its profound re-configurations. Exploration and evaluation of parental values, beliefs, and lifestyle are scrutinized. Commitment is withdrawn. Parents feel as though the child is rebelling and may wonder what went wrong. In the process of identity formation, however, this is a mandatory stage. It is also at least as painful and frightening for the young person as it is for the parents: goals, friends, values, beliefs, faith – indeed, almost all of the foundations that once seemed so solid are now questioned. It is a time of crisis.

Spiritually, this is a most desirable development, as well. The faith of our fathers is examined closely and questioned deeply. It may be picked apart and found lacking in some significant areas. Doctrines that were previously – during foreclosure – not doubted or questioned at all are now subjected to intense study. “I’m not sure what I believe” is a common comment for Christians at this stage of spiritual development.

Happily, this is also a temporary stop on the journey to spiritual formation and maturity. The next step is the final one in the process.

Identity Achieved

Having evaluated, explored, and examined a wide variety of beliefs – but especially one’s own previously unquestioned values – the young adult commits to a particular set of individualized beliefs, values, and lifestyle. A crisis has occurred – and may periodically resurface, although with far less intensity – but a commitment has been made.

Ironically, the identity which is achieved is often very similar to that of one’s parents – but with a critical difference: the beliefs, values, and lifestyle are now owned by the young person and are not merely adopted unquestioned as was the case in Foreclosure.

Spiritually, this is what I believe to be God’s desired condition for all of us. We believe not because it is what we were told to believe, but because we have studied and tested our faith. We know it to be true and, though everyone else might turn away – including parents, pastors, professors, and/or any other influential person in our lives – our faith remains. It is now internally based and rooted, no longer dependent on what others might think or say or themselves believe. The questioning and exploration of Moratorium may – and hopefully will – continue, but there is a commitment to Christ that cannot be shaken. Specific, nonessential beliefs may be adjusted but the core, foundational beliefs are immovable. Identity – spiritual identity – has been achieved and is now the personal property of the individual believer.

An Illustration

There are, I believe, illustrations of some of the stages in the New Testament. One of my favorites is found in the events surrounding the conversation Jesus has with the woman at the well. According to the evangelist,

So the woman left her waterpot, and went into the city and said to the men, ‘Come, see a man who told me all the things that I have done; this is not the Christ, is it?’ They went out of the city, and were coming to Him.” – Jn 4.28-30 (NASB)

The woman, judging from her earlier interactions with Christ, was perhaps Foreclosed on the beliefs of the Samaritans. The Savior’s words, however, appeared to have moved her into a state of Moratorium: “this is not the Christ, is it?”

More interesting is the experience of the people of the city that come to see Jesus. They spend time with Him, listen to Him and, undoubtedly being moved by the Holy Spirit working through Him, are changed. Note carefully what is said by one of the men:

So when the Samaritans came to Jesus, they were asking Him to stay with them; and He stayed there two days. Many more believed because of His word;
and they were saying to the woman, “It is no longer because of what you said that we believe, for we have heard for ourselves and know that this One is indeed the Savior of the world.” – (emphases obviously added)

This is as clear an example of moving from a state of Foreclosure (”because of what you said”) through Moratorium (having listened to Him for two days) to Identity Achieved (”for we have heard for ourselves and know that this One is indeed the Savior of the world”). First there is a commitment to a set of beliefs aparrently without examination or exploration,3 then a suspension of commitment while listening to Him, and finally a commitment to Him based on evaluation and conviction regarding the truth of His claims. It is a remarkable distillation – or microcosm – of the process of belief that occurs in all of us.

But . . .

Due to the presence of sin in the world and in each of us, the process does not always go as intended. There are three main dangers that occur during the period of Moratorium that I want to address.

First, there is the danger of moving out of Moratorium back into Foreclosure. It is understandable why this might occur at times but nevertheless results in stunted spiritual growth and aborted maturity. The time of Moratorium is a very threatening time, both for the individual and for those around them. When someone begins questioning the basic underpinnings of the faith, it can cause no small amount of consternation for and anger in others. Most of us do not like unanswered questions or questions for which we have not yet discovered answers. If our temperament is such that loose ends cause us to become frayed around the edges ourselves, we will be especially quick to condemn those who question or propose other ways of viewing things.

We may be tempted and choose to run from the “valley of the shadow of doubt” and return to the safe haven of an unexamined, rigidly defended faith. “My tradition, right or wrong, my tradition” is our battle cray. Our Christian lives are then spent listening to and reading only those who agree with us, and those who think outside the box or color outside the lines are immediately suspect. An attack upon those who represent our belief system is perceived as a threat to the very truth of Christianity itself.

For example, after I had been a Christian for only a few years, I was firmly entrenched in my dispensational beliefs and theology. Criticisms of Ryrie, Walvoord, or others from Dallas Theological Seminary were felt as personal attacks, and I responded inordinately – not necessarily inappropriately – with far too much energy invested in the defense of the person and the beliefs they represented. If Ryrie, Walvoord, Chafer, et.al., were wrong, I feared, then I was wrong – and that was unacceptable because it would shatter my borrowed foundations.

To personalize my experience for yourself, simply insert the name(s) of your own spiritual gurus, whether it be Calvin, Colson, Wesley, Luther, Zwingli, Darby, or Augustine. If you cannot accept or allow criticism of your pet spiritual guru, then you have likely drifted – or run – back to the safety and security of hand-me-down beliefs.

A second danger of Moratorium is committing to the wrong thing. As the sermon illustration explains, a crisis is a time of both danger and opportunity. Some have entered into Moratorium and then committed to atheism, agnosticism, or some heretical off-shoot of Christianity. Others have chosen to become Muslim, Hindu, or converts to some other false belief system. Friends and mature believers who are not threatened by the questions being asked are essential during this time to help keep the individual in bounds.

Mormons, who seem to gain a lot of converts from the children of Baptists, prey upon this time of Moratorium, indoctrinating these young people filled with questions and doubts with the false teachings and hallucinations of Joseph Smith, Brigham Young, and others.

Often the only innoculation necessary to protect young people from winding up in the wrong place is a simple explanation of the process. I sometimes tell such young people, “I know you feel lost, but I know where you are. You’re exactly where you need to be and I’ll walk through this with you.” Of course, I’m going to do some simple apologetics while walking with them, but I’m going to allow them to question even the most basic principles – Is there a God? Was there really a resurrection? – without giving up on them or telling them that it is wrong to ask such questions.

The third and final danger of Moratorium that I will address is that of getting stuck in Moratorium. Anyone who has seen an old hippie has seen someone stuck in Moratorium. There is no commitment to self or life, it seems, only a constant and continual seeking and exploration of the foundations. This is a frequent condition of some street people and many college professors.

Spiritually, these people are those who remain on the fringes of faith, people who are “always learning and never able to come to the knowledge of the truth” (2 tim 3.7). This may also be the condition of many who embrace the postmodern position that truth cannot be known and, thus, cannot be something to which one may commit. Such Moratoriumist (if I may coin a term) are elusive and impossible to pin down: their positions change with the wind since they are truly committed to none of them. It is a state of continual doubt and questioning. One could say that they never actually emerge from this condition.

A Final Illustration

The experience of Francis Schaeffer exemplifies the process of spiritual identity formation. (I’m about to recall this strictly from memory, so forgive me if I leave certain things out or get other things wrong.)

Schaeffer was a pastor (in St. Louis?), fully committed to the Reformed tradition, when one day he came home and announced to his wife, Edith, that he wasn’t sure he believed any of it any longer. He explained that he had to go back to the very beginning – the existence of God – and work through it all again. Moving to Switzerland, he spent months roaming in the mountains, wrestling with philosophy and the Bible, trying to plumb the depths of what could be known and discovered about existence and God.

As we know, he emerged with basically the same beliefs he had previously. But he was a changed man: along with Edith, he began opening his home to spiritual doubters and nonbelievers who were seeking to discuss spiritual matters. L’Abri was the result and it was there that many questions were allowed, answered, and allowed to have no answers. He became one of the most influential and important figures in Christianity in the last century.

It is clear to see the progression in Schaeffer’s life: Foreclosure while in the pulpit in the States, Moratorium as he withdrew his commitment and questioned everything, and Identity Achieved when he committed himself to that of which he was now personally and internally convinced.

Diffused-Foreclosed-Moratorium-Identity. These are the stages of spiritual development. It would do us all well to ask where we are in this process and what, if necessary, it will take for us to move to the next step in achieving maturity in Christ Jesus.

_______

1 This is due to development in the brain involving the corpus callosum, a network which allows communication between the two hemispheres. If you want to know more about it, leave me a comment and I’ll try to find the books I pulled the information out of. It’s been awhile.

2There is frequently a conscious awareness of commitment to Jesus Christ as Savior. This experience, however, refers to the time immediately following the moment of regeneration.

3 OK, so I’m eisogeting here. It is possible that these Samartians had achieved identity but, hearing about the Christ from the woman, were thrown back into Moratorium.

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2 Cor 1:13