I know I tend to live in my head, and that an overcompensation in worshipping God with my mind does not make up for my lack of worship with my emotions; and vice versa for those of you who are particularly strong in your emotional worship of God. With those of you in mind, I wondered what you would expect of me as a “heart” Christian, and what I expect of you as a “head” Christian, and I wondered what those who primarily put their faith in action, “hand” Christians, would say to the both of us.

Furthermore, after studying the evolution of evangelicalism and the social gospel, I noticed a similar imbalance in evangelism: either an overemphasis in meeting physical needs to the neglect of the others, or vice versa. The goal is not to swing the pendulum into the opposite error, but to increase competency in all three areas. But what does increased competency look like?

I drew three columns with “mind” (head), “body” (hands), and “soul” (heart) at the top, and began to list my expectations for what I considered to be Core Christian Competencies in the Christian use of the mind. After I listed the first few, I realized that they were directly related to mental health. This realization led me to apply all of the elements of Maslow’s hierarchy of needs to these three columns. I just threw them all up there and would later go back and rank them in order of importance; which I admit is rather subjective.

It was here that I began to realize a connection between our needs and our worship. Tony Walter, claims that “Idols are neutral in meaning until they meet a basic human need.” Thus,

> Our need + (whatever meets that need) = worship.
> Our need + God = Christian worship
> Our need + anything else = Idolatry

Since these needs are common to everyone, I saw a connection between worship and evangelism. Piper said, “Missions exists because worship doesn’t.” While I would challenge his word choice—because man is incurably religious, and is thus a worshipper—his insight led me to the idea that missions, as well as spiritual formation, should be focused on breaking the pre-existing, idolatrous connections and establishing the fulfillment of our needs in God. Since Myspace won’t let me draw tables, I’ll have to list each area linearly. They are ranked in order of importance with 1 being most important and the CCC signaling the conclusion of the Core Christian Competencies.

In the mind column:
8-Creativity
7-Spontaneity
CCC
6-Problem solving
5-Lack of prejudice
4-Acceptance of facts
3-Morality
2-Meaning
1-Knowledge of God

In the Body column:
3-Exercise
CCC
2-Safety/shelter
1-Food

In the Soul/Spirit Column:
12-Spontaneity
11-Achievement/pleasure
10-Intimacy
9-Confidence
8-Respect
7-Self-esteem
CCC
6-Fellowship/friends/family
5-Security
4-Morality
3-Meaning
2-Identity
1-Knowledge of God

I hope this concept of Core Christian Competency will help us focus on the developmental elements that will enhance our personal walk with God and our evangelism; as Christians and non-Christians alike are constantly moving either closer or further from God at any given moment. This analysis does not determine one’s salvation, but provides a way of ensuring proper stewardship of our lives for God. Ideally, we’re making more strides and more connections to God, having our needs more fully met in Him. The glory of God is man fully alive…

Obviously it’s a work in progress and is helplessly framed from a “mind” perspective, but I hope to get some feedback on how to improve it. Thanks.