The Road to Spiritual Maturity

In March of 2013, Duke University ordered the flags on its campus lowered to note the passing of its longtime chemistry professor, James Bonk, who died at age 82. He had taught at Duke for 53 years. In reporting his death, the school’s paper, Duke Today, mentioned that over the years, Bonk had instructed 30,000 or so students and that those students called his general chemistry classes “Bonkistry.”

The article paid tribute to Bonk for his teaching accomplishments and other contributions to life on campus, including building the university’s tennis team, but added that he was “perhaps most notorious for the flat tire story” – not that he told the story himself, but because it supposedly happened in one of his classes. It’s been told many times in various versions, sometimes mentioning Bonk and sometimes not, and involving varying numbers of students, and it can still be found online.

One version has it that four of his students who had performed well on all their tests and quizzes and had solid A’s, decided the weekend before the final exam to go to Virginia to party. They made it back Monday just before the exam, but because of their alcohol consumption over the weekend, they weren’t ready to take the test. So they approached Bonk, told him they had gotten a flat tire and had no spare, and thus couldn’t get back in time to study for the exam. They asked to take the test later. Bonk seemed skeptical of their story, but agreed to accommodate them.

Their test day came, and he put the students in four separate rooms and gave them their exams. They looked at the first problem, which was something simple about free radical formation and was worth five points. “Cool,” they thought, “this is going to be easy.” They did that problem and then turned the page. They were unprepared, however, for what they saw on that next page.

It was the second question and was worth 95 points. The question was “Which tire?”

Unfortunately, the students had failed to consider this question when concocting their story, and thus, their answers were conflicting and they failed the exam.

Well, that story still has some punch, but perhaps in another 10 or 15 years, many drivers won’t get it, because by then, the issue will be moot. Cars won’t have spare tires.

Why? In part to save money, but especially to reduce vehicle weight to help meet increasingly tightened federal mileage standards. Already today, about 13 percent of new cars have no spare and that percentage will only go up.

Of course, that doesn’t mean we’ll never have flat tires. But today, many new cars include either tire repair kits with sealant and plug-in compressors to re-inflate tires or the even better option: run-flat tires. These are specially constructed so that, after a puncture and loss of air, they can still perform well enough that drivers can keep going and get to a tire shop. That can be especially helpful if the puncture occurs in an inconvenient or dangerous location, or if the driver is unable to put on a spare roadside.

Run-flat tires, then, are a boon for drivers, but at best, they’re a temporary solution. Most can only be used for about 50 miles and then, only at less than 50 miles per hour.

Given those restrictions, a run-flat tire is a pretty good metaphor for a congregation suffering internal conflict. It may keep rolling for a while, but its range is limited and without a fix, it will eventually give out.

Today’s Epistle suggests that the congregation at Corinth to which Paul wrote was a runflat church, already punctured, though not quite at a stop.

The “nail” causing this particular puncture was factionalism. The congregation was falling into personality cliques, each claiming partiality for a different preacher – Paul, Apollos or Cephas (Peter). One faction claimed to be following Christ himself, although whatever they meant by that is not clear, and, in making this assertion, they only deepened the schismatic atmosphere in the church.

There’s not the slightest suggestion that Paul, Apollos or Peter had done anything to encourage such splintering or that they desired personal followers. In fact, all of this was news to Paul. But there it was, and as a result, the Corinthian church was in emergency mode, running flat and needing to get to a “tire shop” soon. In fact, we can say that in writing this letter, Paul was functioning as a mechanic at that shop.

Paul’s plea was for everyone in the Corinthian church to “be in agreement,” to have “no divisions among [them]” and to “be united in the same mind and the same purpose.”

Perhaps you want to say in response, “Come on, Paul. Get real. Is full agreement even possible in any group these days?”

Congregations, like people, have different personalities, and, while some are contentious, some are not at all, and that may in part be due to the attitudes, mental health and emotional and spiritual maturity of the individuals who make up those parishes.

In congregations experiencing infighting, it’s not uncommon to find that a lack of good mental health among some involved is a contributing factor, and this can be a high hurdle for a congregation to overcome. The same might be said when emotional immaturity is in play.

But we can at least reach toward spiritual maturity – in fact, as churches, we have a calling to do so.

What does spiritual maturity or re-inflation look like? A work in progress.

Certainly one of the markers on the road to spiritual maturity is that we recognize that only Jesus was flawless, and that a church is always a work in progress. Regardless of members’ ages, some may still be infants in Christ. In fact, it’s possible that a few get stuck in that stage. But as individual members and as a whole church, we ought to be working to improve how we reflect God’s love, both to those outside the congregation and to each other.

We drive in carpools. To that end, each of us should be both a recipient and a donor of spiritual nourishment and encouragement (which is why the road to spiritual maturity is intended 4 primarily for carpools, vans and buses, not for single-occupant vehicles). We can talk together about what God is doing in our lives, share our struggles and testify to spiritual insights and victories.

We avoid spiritual elitism. In a church that’s running on four good tires, there will be no spiritual elitism, no sense of “My spirituality is deeper than your spirituality.” Yes, some dear souls may have much to learn about discipleship, but there will be an accompanying humble willingness to support that member with prayer and encouragement, perhaps even advice, if the other member seeks it.

All of this can be offered while recognizing the other person as a fellow traveler on the faith journey. No one will say, “My faith, doctrine, social justice views, sense of mission, moral uprightness and political affiliation make me a better Christian than you.” Instead, the message will be, “We’re in this together as we seek to follow Jesus.”

Christ is the model. He’s the One we should seek to emulate in our dealings with one another.

We don’t want to be like those four Duke students trying to shirk their responsibilities after a weekend of carousing. Truth is, if they had gotten their stories right and held together, they might have pulled off their little deception. They were a stunning example of Ben Franklin’s observation: “We must indeed all hang together, or most assuredly we shall all hang separately.” And they did hang separately – figuratively, of course.

The church has its sights on far loftier goals than trying to evade a university exam. All the more reason to remember that we’re a work in progress; to drive in the carpool lane; to avoid spiritual elitism; and to model Christ.

These things are the primary tools in the Lord’s tire shop, so that we can get back on the road together, heading in the right direction. Happy motoring!