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Howard Thurman uses the parables of the sower (Matt. 13:1-23) and the fig tree in the vineyard (Luke 13:6-9) to explore the growth of the kingdom of God. He claims these parables illustrate that “the kingdom of God comes independent of human effort aside from the initial act.” This initial act is the choosing and planting of the seed and after that, “there isn’t any more than can be done.” Then, once the time to reap the crop has come, we must be able to discern between the wheat and the tares.…

In this second installment of Disciplines of the Spirit, Thurman builds upon the concept of growth introduced in part 1 of the series. Here Thurman describes growth as the ability to accept what is fact and to handle change, whether the change is gradual or radical. Our desire to resist change for fear of being without a familiar structure requires us to grow in wisdom as we navigate the anxiety associated with the search for stability having lost all that is familiar to us. Our ability to…

This initial lecture in the Disciplines of the Spirit series is a discussion about the development of patience through the discipline of growth. Thurman describes discipline as the training, development, response to, and often responsibility for something. The spirit is disciplined, trained, cultivated, and fashioned by many things. One of these things is the experience of growth. Growth is characteristic of life and as our body continues to develop, so does our mind and spirit. In our initial…