Soulcraft: How God Shapes Us Through Relationships
Reviewed by Robert P. Mills, April 18, 2000
From newspaper advice columns to self-help magazines, from TV talk shows to call-in radio programs, from church foyers to pastors’ studies, relationships are a dominant topic of conversation.
What often goes unrecognized, even among Christians, is how God uses our relationships – with our co-workers and fellow church members, with our spouses and our children – to shape us into his image. Acknowledging and participating in God’s activity in all our relationships is part of what Douglas Webster, pastor of First Presbyterian Church in San Diego, calls “soulcraft,” which he describes as “the art of discerning, applying and enjoying the wisdom of God in every aspect of life.”
Motivated by his belief that “sexuality and all of its related concerns has become our number one challenge,” Webster explores “the impact of our relation to God on our self-understanding, friendships, marriages and parenting styles.” Modern Christians, he observes, “are confused about what it means to follow Christ into friendships and marriages. … Our spiritual workmanship in the area of sexuality has become sloppy.”
“The basic skill-set” for correcting sloppy spirituality comprises prayer, the study of Scripture “and cultivating a spirit of humility.” These skills “come first in developing self-understanding, good friendships, solid marriages and effective parenting.”
A theme that runs throughout the book is that all our relationships are grounded in our relationship with God. The revelation that we have been made in God’s image is the basis for our own self-image. “The Lord’s knowledge of me is complete. It is intimate, immediate, comprehensive, persistent and sovereign. … I cannot escape this relationship, nor do I want to. It is this relationship that defines me, secures me and understands me.”
Webster writes with a pastor’s heart for the people of God. Yet he doesn’t shy away from the tough topics – sexuality and singleness, divorce and remarriage, adultery and homosexual behavior, grief and death. Noting that Jesus “showed us how to live fully for God as a single young adult,” Webster calls it “ironic that by virtue of his singleness and celibacy, Jesus is rarely considered as an example of authentic singleness.” Drawing on Malachi’s analogy between apostasy and divorce he writes, “The spiritual strength of the people of God is reflected in the strength of their marriages. … Wherever there is idolatry there is adultery and wherever there is adultery there is idolatry.” Of the painful reality of death he observes, “The frailty of human life and the sovereignty of God are back-to-back truths which serve to anchor soulcraft in God-shaped reality.”
This is a book for Christians in all vocations and at all levels of spiritual maturity. That is because “soulcraft involves everyone in the household of faith, for the craftsmanship of the soul belongs not solely to experts or specialists but to each and every follower of Jesus who desires to grow up in Jesus.”