I requested Becoming Sage for review knowing it was a nonfiction title, but that fact somehow slipped my mind while it waited on my Kindle. As a result, I assumed it was a novel when I picked it up. Hey, Becoming Sage is a great title for a women’s fiction story!
Once I got over my “oops!” moment, I found Becoming Sage was a book I needed to read.
It’s also a book I suspect many of my friends who have been Christians a long time will benefit from reading.
Becoming Sage walks readers through the life of King David, showing how he went through six distinct stages of life and faith. Van Loon points out that we go through the same six stages as Christians. Unfortunately, most churches focus on the first three stages, which can leave many of us feeling lost and unfulfilled in our church lives because we feel we don’t fit in.
A 2005 study by Willow Creek Community Church in Chicago showed this is common:
The Reveal study highlighted the fact that the more a person grew in their faith, the less they fit into the life of the church.
This may be a case of Job’s comforters, but I find it comforting to know that I am not alone. I’m not the only person who feels out of place in church. I’m not the only person with a weary soul. And it’s not selfish to want to attend a church that meets our spiritual needs … which might mean changing churches, to find one that ministers to my stage in life.
Van Loon’s six stages are:
- Stage One: God, I believe in you (childhood)
- Stage Two: God, I belong to you (adolescence)
- Stage Three: God, I’m working for you (early adulthood)
- Stage Four: God, where are you? (dismantling)
- Stage Five: God, I’m ready to pass on what You’ve given me (maturity)
- Stage Six: God, I’m coming home (completion)
Van Loon points out that our society emphasises the first three stages.
That’s not entirely a surprise: living long enough to get to the later stages is a privilege of our modern lifestyles. But many people “drop out” of Christian life at Stage Four, which Van Loon refers to the “dark night of the soul” in our faith journey.
(That’s a term fiction writers will know well: it’s the moment in a novel where all seems lost, where we doubt the main character ever achieving their goal. It’s taken from St John of the Cross.)
If you’re feeling a bit “blah” about church and that blah feeling is impacting your faith walk, then I’d recommend checking out Becoming Sage. If you’re feeling burned out in your Christian walk but feeling condemned at the idea of wanting rest, then I’d recommend checking out Becoming Sage. Or if you’re a woman of a certain age who wonders what is next in your spiritual life, then I’d recommend checking out Becoming Sage.
Because you might see yourself in the pages. Because Becoming Sage might answer your unasked question the way it answered mine.
Thanks to Moody Publishers and NetGalley for providing a free ebook for review.
About Michelle Van Loon
Since coming to faith in Christ at the tail end of the Jesus Movement, MICHELLE VAN LOON’S Jewish heritage, spiritual hunger, and storyteller’s sensibilities have shaped her faith journey and informed her writing. She is the author of five books, including If Only: Letting Go of Regret, Moments & Days: How Our Holy Celebrations Shape Our Faith and the forthcoming Born to Wander: Recovering the Value of Our Pilgrim Identity. Michelle is a regular contributor to Christianity Today’s women’s blog, In Touch magazine, and is the co-founder of www.ThePerennialGen.com, a website for midlife women and men. She’s married to Bill, and is mother of three and grandmother of two.
Find Michelle Van Loon online at:
About Becoming Sage
Why Do We Act Like There Is An Age Restriction on Spiritual Growth?
For the last several decades, Western churches have focused the bulk of their resources on the early stages of discipleship—children’s Sunday school, youth group, college ministry. While these are all important, we have neglected the spiritual growth of those in the second half of life. In fact, an outside observer might think that after the growth of the college years, the goal is simply to coast through the rest of your Christian life.
Michelle Van Loon has a different idea. In Becoming Sage, she challenges those in midlife and beyond to continue pursuing radical spiritual growth, and she’ll help you get started. She explores what the unique challenges of midlife can teach us about Jesus and how to think about everything from church, friends, and family, to money, bodies, and meaning. Don’t settle for a life of coasting. Revitalize your spiritual growth today.
Thank you so much for this review Iola. I’m going to read this book because it reminds me of Richard Rohr’s Falling Upwards and I have found that enlightening. It’s comforting to know that my struggle with church attendance may have a legitimate reason and that in itself is quite liberating. It removes the shadow of guilt.
I can feel a flicker of excitement in my soul at the prospect of a thought provoking and spiritually enlightening book. Thank you 🙏🏻
Sally, I think you’ll enjoy it. As you say, there is liberation in knowing we’re not alone in how we feel – that we’re normal 🙂