• Direct Experiencers and Christian A. Schwarz's "The 3 Colors of Your Spirituality"
    By The Contemplative Bard
    October 20, 2024

    Direct experiencers of G-d and the spiritual realms have been ostracized and excluded from Church life for a long time; they were left into the fringes of faith. At one point, they were labelled as diabolical heretics (gnostics) and the punishment was severe (remember the Inquisition?). I don't refer to the neo-gnostics of the present day which are driven by ideology and hate for the mainstream, but those faithful who wished to connect and experience the Divine without human intermediaries who are corruptible. These included St. Joan of Arc, St Francis, Benedict, Theresa, John of the Cross, Padre Pio, and many more. They were considered as competitors of the early church who demanded monopoly as the sole mediator between humanity and the Divine.

    In the present era, the direct experiencers (as I wish to identify them, us) are the modern mystics and contemplatives - those who worship G-d Within through at-one-ment using meditation, contemplation, and the likes of centering prayers as their tools. They are also the Eucharistic adorers, who feel the great magical presence of Christ in the Holy Eucharist. They are also the esoteric Christians who directly perceive gnosis or Divine Wisdom directly through energetic means and the gifts of knowledge and wisdom. Then in recent years, it found its expression in the mainstream through the Charismatic Renewal movement, though the fire was snuffed out in many parishes by organizations influenced by extreme clericalist mindset that are frightened of the charisma of the Holy Spirit falling into the hands of an empowered laity.



    Schwarz (2009) believes that experiential Christians need not be ostracized from Church life, but rather they should be embraced to balance the spiritual life of a ministry. Christian Schwarz is a ministry visionary and the founder and author of the Natural Church Development paradigm series. He advocates for applying science to understand the nature and spiritual needs of people to formulate strategies for church growth. He also experiments in synthesizing eastern and western spiritual paradigms to create an effective ministry. In "The 3 Colors of Your Spirituality", Schwarz asserted that spiritual experiencers are following a valid style or way of connecting with G-d. He observed that there are 3 general ways in which people view G-d, and based on that, they worship and connect to the Divine differently.


    • Some see G-d as present in creation or in society (mythic/symbolic/empirical) - green space
    • Some see G-d as a Great Being in heaven (transcendent) - red space
    • Some see G-d as within each of us (immanent) - blue space

    He cited Mark 12:30 from which Christ appeared to be describing 3 different ways of worshipping and connecting to G-d: "Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul (blue space) and with all your mind (green space) and with all your strength (will, red space)."

    From the Trinitarian approach of loving G-d, arose different connecting styles:

    • Out of loving G-d with the mind and created things arose the Sensory style (spiritual music and art), Rational (understanding the nature of divinity; path of the intellect; expressed in the different theological perspective of G-d), and Doctrinal (that is systematizing faith so people will not deviate from the scriptures or tradition).

    • Out of loving G-d with the the will or strength, comes the of Sharing the love of G-d to people (that is through altruistic pursuits and works of mercy), Evangelization (that is proclaiming G-d's message in the Scriptures to other people), and Ascetism (that is ethical self-discipline to purify oneself from wordly or material attachments).

    • Out of loving G-d with the heart and soul, arose the path of the direct experiencers. The Mystical style (that is connecting and experiencing the Christ within through meditation, prayer, and the contemplative tradition), Enthusiastic style (that is celebrating and using the power of the Holy Spirit, "signs and wonders", to strengthen faith and proclaim G-d to others), and the Sacramental style (that is connecting and experiencing the presence of Christ through the Holy Sacraments; an inner and outer spiritual experience interface).

    There are 9 spiritual styles in all. These are our natural way of connecting based on our personalities and on how we view G-d. They are just starting points, however, the end goal is that we synthesize the 3 as we grow in the spiritual life. G-d is a Trinity, and so are we (Body-Soul-Spirit). As we become one with the Divine (theosis), we have to connect to G-d multi-dimensionally with our whole Being.

    This reminds me of a parallel teaching on Eastern spiritual traditions (which probably inspired Schwarz's works), that is the 7 Rays of manifestation or the 7 human temperaments or the 7 ashrams. Out of the one, comes the 3, then the 7. They are also considered as spiritual styles:

    (1) Path through will or power,
    (2) Path through love and wisdom
    (3) Path through the mind and abstract thinking,
    (4) Path through beauty and the arts,
    (5) Path though science or practical application of knowledge,
    (6) Path of devotion and of faith, and
    (7) Path of ceremonialism and organized activity (Wood, 1925).

    To dig deeper into this innovative ministry framework, we would recommend the book to pastors, clergy, and various ministries of a Church so they will have an open heart in accepting people into their congregations with different styles or approaches in connecting to G-d.

    ------ References:

    Natural Character Development. (n.d.). The 3 Colors of Your Spirituality PowerPoint presentations and book images. https://ncd.life/character/d/en/spirituality/artwork

    Schwarz, C. (2009). The 3 Colors of Your Spirituality. Churchsmart Resources. Ohio, USA.

    Wood, E. (1925). The Seven Rays. Theosophical Publishing House. Adyar, India