Therapeutic Christianity
by Monty Keeling
January 2010

The last thing Christians in the United States need is another category to describe our divisions. We already have Catholicism and Protestantism, and within Protestantism, Evangelicals, Fundamentalists, numerous mainline denominations, and, of course the Anabaptist. Somewhere in that mix exists progressives (liberals) and conservatives.

Now make room for Therapeutic Christianity. Not to be confused with Moralistic Therapeutic Deism, made popular by the 2005 book Soul Searching: The Religious and Spiritual Lives of American Teenagers, Therapeutic Christianity embodies the the spirit of the 12-Step movement replacing the higher power with the God of the New Testament.

Therapeutic Christianity, in fact, has evolved out of small support groups that value openness, humility (the realization that we will always be habitual sinners) and close personal relationships with others. Not surprisingly, this kind of Christianity makes many Worship Christians, those who see faith as centered around Sunday morning worship and casual relationships with other believers, nervous.

Therapeutic Christianity has not arisen out of revelation, but from human need. As traditional family structures have weakened society has seen a rise in health and emotional problems. That has given rise to the support group movement, and that, in turn, is transforming some worship centered congregations into a Therapeutic Christian faith. Just as a college education once gave worshipers a different world view than other faithful within the congregation, Therapeutic Christianity, can divide believers from one another. Those existing in Therapeutic Christianity tend to be more honest about their personal lives than average folks feel comfortable with. Also, Therapeutic believers tend to be more interested in an experiential faith where Worship Christianity encourages faith through formula (or ritual).

Often these differences exist around the individual believer's faith conception of themselves. Perfectionist Christians order faith around living sinless lives, recovering Christians around the 12-Step principle that our problems (sins) never really go away, Therefore recovering Christians feel a need for constant support. And perhaps, because of this, are more aware of the sin in their lives. Which probably explains why some churches do not have support groups. Other reasons congregations may not have support groups could be of a lack of resources, or trained leaders within the church.

It would be a mistake, however, to see Therapeutic Christianity as only a faith for folks with very serious problems. In truth, most if not all small groups are a form of Therapeutic faith. Spiritual growth just happens best in the small group environment. Even the largest, fastest growing, congregations, have turned to small groups to disciple and assist members in spiritual growth. For spiritual growth itself is a therapeutic process. Some have criticized Therapeutic Christianity for replacing the Gospel message and methods with modern psychology. Having experience in both I tend to believe that modern psychology has been a replacement for Christianity for at least the last 50 years. When broken down from the symbolism and language of both, the concepts of modern psychology and the Christian Gospel are not all that different. Modern psychology, however, does not always offer connection to God. Christianity can become so consumed with ritual that it worries more about method than how useful traditions are now as a means to connect with God. As Jesus pointed out the Sabbath was made for man not man for the Sabbath.

About 20 years ago Christian author J. Keith Miller compared sin to a disease. Two books, Hope In the Fast Lane, and A Hunger For Healing, drew upon his own personal experiences to question and provide an answer as to why so many Christians are two-faced. Doing things their own personal faith was against. Miller believed it was because churches had mainly done away with the Christian focus on repentance. The practice recognizing, seeking forgiveness, and dealing with their own sin. Worse, still, so many believers had become faith protectionist that they could no longer recognize the sinfulness of their own behavior. And if that weren't bad enough, these believers would be indignantly angry when their sin was pointed out to them, or when they became aware of the same sinful behavior, that they denied in themselves, in others. Does the excuse that faith is a personal thing ring a bell here?.

Miller proposed that one way the Church could deal with the “sin disease” was for congregations to borrow 12-Step methods of recovery and implement them in the church. The 12-Steps by the way, is basically old time religion broken down into a system that secular folks can understand. The problem with Miller's suggestion is that the program requires the kind of self examination and dedication few

Christians today would tolerate.

Could it be that the present breakdown of families, ethics, and even our economy, is the hidden hand of God pushing folks back towards a more deliberate and 12-step kind of spiritual faith? If so, Therapeutic Christianity may be one of the results of God's actions.