Yesterday I tweeted that I had written a 2000 word essay for no apparent reason. And later mentioned that I was working on a series of posts on what I call World/Church Development Theory. In my counseling studies I have been digging deeper into psychosocial developmental models, the likes of Erik Erikson and Jean Piaget. In some of the lesser known developmental theorists I have found striking similarities to the psychosocial growth of the world at large and the place of the church in it.
By this I mean to explain my theory that we (primarily western culture) are following the developmental patterns as explained by theorists such as Lawrence Kohlberg, Carol Gilligan, Robert Kegan, William Perry, and James Fowler. Each focusing on his or her niche expression of development in both children and adults.
I will attempt to examine the theories in light of world and church history, examining not individual persons, but societies as a whole. I would like to illuminate philosophic and theological underpinnings during the major societal shifts as occurred in western society, through the lens of psychosocial growth. I would also like to include the work of Gregg Braden as a source outside the traditional discussions of philosophy, psychology and theology, who brings to the study a source of mathematics on growth and change.
I am not sure how long this will take, but I am committing to at least one post on the subject each week until I believe I have exhausted the subject.
Comments and suggestions would be greatly appreciated through this process. Thank you.
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