Co-authoring spiritual ways of being : a narrative group approach to Christian spirituality

Abstract

This qualitatively oriented Practical Theology research project was based on a narrative enquiry into the spiritualities of five Christ-followers. These conversations occurred within a small group context, and were aimed at enabling the participants to co-author preferred spiritual ways of being. Because of my commitment to reflexive research practice, other voices and perspectives were invited into the research process. Besides sharing in numerous reflexive conversations with my supervisors, I brought into the group three 'outside voices'. By sharing their stories, these 'outside voices' challenged privatised expressions of spirituality, introducing a 'hermeneutic of suspicion' into the research process and enabling the research participants to wrestle with the challenges of a compassionate and ethical spirituality. In this conversational journey I was able to engage the central research question of whether a group narrative approach can facilitate the intention of Practical Theology to transform human life.