A Spiritual Service featuring Humility
I. The Four Pillars of the New Architecture
The philosophical foundations of the new Ekklesia.
1. Prioritize Authentic Community over Institutional Growth
The goal is not to increase attendance or fund a building. Many modern churches manufacture endless activities, turning the church into an isolated bubble. The ekklesia must be a community where people can share life's actual problems, repair relationships, and find advice without judgment.
2. Re-Center the Encounter with the Divine (The Mystical)
Mainstream services are often highly produced cognitive exercises. They lack space for a felt experience of God. The gathering must incorporate intentional space for the transcendent spiritual, integrating silence, contemplation, and the experiential realization of God's presence.
3. Address the "Meaning Crisis" Directly
In a world of rapid technological change, young adults are overwhelmed. The church often debates theological doctrines nobody is asking about. The gathering must address real questions: Who are we? How do we fit into the universe? How do we forgive?
4. The Law of Love in Action (Praxis)
Fundamentalist models retreat into rigid, literal interpretations of rules, creating an atmosphere of guilt. The new gathering must embody the "Law of Love," driven by hospitality, alleviating guilt through forgiveness, and empowering people to serve.
The Praxis Homily - Narrative Representation
The Full Spiritual Service
The approximate length of this spiritual service is ~70 minutes.
Step 1 & 2: Fellowship and Honest Sharing
Song Intro: Use the song Three Trees to set the spiritual mood for this Ekklesia (gathering). It emphasizes that our mistakes are expected and we are forgiven. It's part of spiritual growth. The Music Video is at Three Trees YouTube Music Video to introduce the service.
- 1. Fellowship (15 mins): Start with shared food, coffee, and casual connection. This immediately combats the isolation of the modern world and establishes that this is a family of mutual support.
- 2. Sharing the Good, Bad, and Ugly (15 mins): Dismantle the toxic "purity culture." Allowing people to share their struggles openly demonstrates that grace is real and that chata'ah (missing the mark) is a normal part of learning and spiritual growth. This grounds the meeting in real life. But our mistakes and misfortunes are balanced by the celebration of good things that happen in peopleâs lives, the God winks, the victories, the forward movement, etc.
To structure this time, ask: What is one thing you are carrying right now that feels too heavy?
Ask: Where did you feel most alive or connected this week?
Step 3: The Divine Encounter
Having recognized Godâs presence in daily struggles, the mind is primed for the superconscious (spiritual) space. This is facilitated through:
- The Auditory Transition: A single, resonant sound (like a chime) to mark the end of human conversation and the beginning of listening to the divine.
- The Potential of Silence: Framing 3 minutes of silence not as an absence of talking, but as a "potential space"* waiting to be filled by the Spirit.
- Tactile Release of Burdens: Engaging the sensorimotor connection through physical acts, like dissolving a written burden in water, lighting a candle, or throwing the thought away, to anchor the "felt meaning."
- Posture of Receptivity: Guiding participants to sit with open hands and take deep breaths (pneuma/Spirit) to lower sympathetic nervous system defenses.
- The Diasophic* Prompt: Offering a Socratic question to guide inward listening (e.g., "Where did you feel a lack of peace this week, and what is the quietest voice underneath that anxiety?").
Having recognized Godâs presence in daily struggles, the mind is primed for the superconscious (spiritual) space. This is facilitated through the next steps.
Step 4: Communion
Younger generations crave tangible spirituality. Communion serves as the physical symbol of the New Covenant. It is a tactile, physiological anchor that takes the abstract concept of forgiveness and turns it into felt meaning, reminding participants they are fully accepted without the need for legalistic sacrifice.
For a service that focuses strongly on a communion as a felt-meaning experience, see A Seder-Style Communion: A Lived Experience. Exploring what communion could be by revisiting its Passover roots.
Step 5: The Praxis Homily - Narrative Preaching in story format
Today's "positive" sermons often offer grand visions of responsibility without the tools to achieve them, generating guilt. The Praxis Homily changes this via four steps:
- The Anchor (The Verse): Presenting scripture as a lens or compass for the day's topic.
- The Shared Reality (Personal Story): The leader shares a vulnerable story of when they failed to live up to that verse, lowering psychological defenses and normalizing the struggle.
- A story as the theme for the entire service: Using a narrative story format of people or events from the Bible, who learned something on their faith journey. For example, Peter learns humility and its value in helping others.
- The Mechanics of Change (Tools): Breaking the desired behavior down into actionable, micro-steps based on social psychology (e.g., giving 4 practical steps to achieve forgiveness, rather than just commanding people to forgive).
An Unfiltered Faith Journey: The Apostle Peter Learns Humility
Overview
This is about the Apostle Peter shortly before and after Jesus' crucifixion. Peter brags he is the most loyal. Then he denies Jesus three times. Then after the crucifixion Jesus comes to them and Jesus asks him three times if he loves him and directs him to feed his sheep.
This translates the original ancient Greek which uses two words for love in the John 21 passage: "agape," a divine love that is sacrificial in nature, and "philo," which reflects the tight bond of love of brothers and close friends. Most Bibles simply translate these as love, which loses important nuances.
One individual can perform the Peter, James, and narrator parts, or two individuals can do the parts. Here are three ways to stage this script effectively:
- In limbo: where there is no set at all, and one actor simply shifts to right or left to deliver each character's lines.
- The "Two-Chair" Monologue (Single Actor): If one person delivers this, put two wooden stools on stage. When the speaker is Peter, they stand and mimic throwing the net or pushing the cart. When they switch to James, they sit on a stool, leaning forward analytically, perhaps carving a piece of wood or looking at a parchment.
- The Audio-Visual Backdrop: While the actors speak, project a simple, ambient looping video behind themâfirst a dark, moonlit lake, then a dusty road, and finally the low orange glow of a campfire. It pulls a modern audience directly into the spaces.
A narrator can also be used to read the not so personal parts. The presenter should feel free to use their own words. Reading aloud the parts is acceptable, especially if you can give a theatrical delivery.
In any of the three, the instrumental music from the song Peters Humility can be played quietly as a background, and then the full song played and sung at the end. The instrumentals and lyrics can be found at DorianScottCole.com/music. The Peter's Humility music video is at: Peter's Humility YouTube Video Link
Peter: âI want to tell you about James. Not the Sons of Thunder James and John, Jesus' Apostle James. But James, the brother of Jesus.
âThe two of us were out fishing on the Sea of Galilee one night after Jesus' crucifixion. Night fishing is special. The waves settle down and quietly lap against the sides of the boat. Itâs very relaxing and I was feeling a deep need to relax after Jesusâ death on the cross. If you set a lantern on the end of the boat, close to shore, it attracts the Sea Bass and you can catch them with a net.â
âJames watched me for a while and then he said, âYouâre working that net like youâre trying to get something off your chest. Youâve gone back to fishing like youâre running away from something, not like someone who just saw Jesus come back to us, now what, three times. Whatâs going on with you, Peter?â
Peter: âNow, James was spot on. But I didnât know what was going on with me. Iâm a fisherman. I donât have those special qualities that help you understand what happens inside your heart like James does. So I said back to James, âYouâre Jesusâ brother. Why didn't he ask you to be an apostle like the twelve of us?â
James: âMaybe he wanted me to be something else. You apostles go around the country drawing people to Jesus. You get groups of followers. But then someone has to lead them in a town. Iâm kind of drawn to that. Know what I mean?â
Peter: âOh, yeah. I know exactly what you mean. You know something. Iâm a risk-taker. When the Roman soldiers came to arrest Jesus that night in the Garden, I pulled my knife and whacked a soldierâs ear off. I worshiped the ground Jesus walked on. I would have done anything for him.â
James: âI hear you. Thatâs what brothers do for each other.â
Peter: âYou know what surprised me? I thought right then we were going to be the army that got rid of the Romans and Jesus was going to be a king. Thatâs what Judas said. But Jesus told me to stop. He wouldnât let me defend him. Maybe he was afraid we would all be killed right then and there. But some of the apostles say he wanted to be arrested. He wanted to die for us. But when they took him to kill him, that took all of the wind out of my sails. I couldnât understand what was happening. He could do miracles. Why couldnât he stop this? Why should I stand up for him?â
James: âI donât have the answers. But he told our mother, Mary this would happen.â
Peter: âSomething else I donât get. He told John to take care of Mary. Why him? Did I do something wrong?â
James: âI donât know. He never spoke against you.â
In frustration, Peter threw the net onto the bottom of the boat with a loud thud that scared all of the Sea Bass away.
Peter: âThis is what Iâm wrestling with and itâs driving me crazy. I mean, look at us. Youâre his brother, may God have Mercy! Iâm the bravest of the apostles who would do anything for him. But he treats us like weâre the least. I donât get it. Why shouldnât I go back to fishing?â
Peter: âA few days passed. James and I had decided to go to Magdala and sell fish in the market from our cart. At least we could get some money to live on so we could buy clothing and other things we badly needed. Magdala is a major trading center two hours walk from Capernaum. It would be teeming with Roman soldiers, foreigners, Greek merchants, and locals, and everyone would be selling fish. But it was hard work pushing a cart full of fish. Some of them had even begun to smell, but someone would still buy them for a few pennies.
âYou know, all the apostles are jealous of each other. We even begged to sit at Jesus right hand in Heaven, the most important position. Ha! Jesus shut that down. You know, when we saw Jesus last, why did he let John follow us? Huh? I wanted to talk privately. But no, he rubs my face in it saying John would get to live and I would get nailed to a cross. He basically said itâs none of my business. Whatâs that all about, James?
âAs they crested a hill and the cart wheel sank into a hole then struck a flat rock, James nearly fell from the exertion. He stopped and wiped his brow in the early morning sun as it bore down.
James: âYou apostles are constantly comparing yourselves to each other. Did you ever stop to think maybe Jesus selected you just for who you are and not for how you might be better than someone else? Maybe your mind would be more at ease if you stopped comparing and jockeying for position.â
Peter: âOh, what difference does it make now. Heâs gone!â
James: âAnd he didnât leave you with any final instructions?â
Peter: âI donât think so. As usual he was very vague.â
James: âMaybe each of you need to find your own path.â
Peter: âSo Iâm telling you about James. We all kind of felt he was smarter than the rest of us. He didnât get angry, didnât try to be more than us, the apostles. He just was someone good to talk to even if he didnât know all of the answers. I mean, he was a down-to-earth guy. We all liked him.
âAnd then there was the night under the stars. Apparently neither one of us could sleep and we bumped into each other in the moonlight. Looking out over the Sea of Galilee with the moon and stars reflecting off of it is beautiful, and the cool, quiet helps you think. Of course I was still wrestling with my confusion. We got down to the nitty-gritty of it that night.
âThe dying embers from a nearby cook fire gave off smoke that took me back to the night I was accused of being one of Jesusâ followers while they held him for trial. I donât want to think about it.â
James: âYou think youâre confused? weak? I feel led to build an Ekklesia, some kind of new gathering, in the middle of a hornets' nest in Jerusalem. The exact people who executed Jesus are watching us. I have the strategies, Peter, but I don't have the courage. I feel completely hollow.â
Peter: âGod be with us! Youâre so even tempered, no one can shake you. But, youâre afraid?â
James: âIf they take me, what will happen to my mother, Mary? And my siblings? They might take them, too. And if they kill me, will that kill her, too? But Jesus came back. All he said must be true. But still I shake in fear.â
Peter: âI have to tell you something. Even after I faced off the Roman soldiers with my blade, I, I, kind of lost faith in Jesus. You know, because he let them take him. I just felt so lost and confused. Where were the miracles? Where was the leadership? And I âŚ. James, I did just what Jesus said I would do. I denied I knew him three times! I wasnât brave any longer without him present. I was just ⌠a fisherman caught in an angry crowd.
James: âI understand. Who could stand up in that moment knowing they could seize you and kill you on the spot.â
Peter: âIâm glad you understand. And then what happened next really confuses me. You know, he knows everything. He knows our hearts. But that day we were out fishing really close to shore and he appeared on the beach. He was so gracious to me ⌠to all of us. Our nets were coming up empty and he told us where to throw them and we got ⌠Ha! We got our net completely full.
âAnd I was stripped down for fishing, and I threw my clothes back on.
[Pause, shamefully]
âYeah, I put my clothes back on because I was ashamed of myself and wanted to cover myself just like Adam and Eve. And he was gracious, just like God. And I jumped into the water to beat everyone to shore. Because, you know, Iâm just trying to outdo everyone. And when we got on shore, he has breakfast in his hand, bread for us, and has started a fire for us to cook our fish. I can't believe how humble our risen deliverer is.â
James: âMakes you think, doesnât it. Itâs just the gracious, humble, kind of person he is, and he expects us to be like him. Thatâs hard, isnât it.â
Peter: âAnd I didnât deserve that. He knows what I did. But it didnât seem to bother him that I failed him like that, denying I even knew him.â
âAnd he talked to me that last time. He said to me, do you have the divine love for me more than for the other apostles? Agape love? Thatâs a love that will sacrifice for others. More than I have for the other apostles. I was confused. And I knew I denied knowing him three times so I wouldnât have to sacrifice myself. So, how could I say yest to the agape love. And So I said, I love you like a brother. And he just said, âTend my lambs.ââ
âWhat does that even mean? And he asks me again if I have this sacrificial love for him. And I said, you know I love you like a brother. I wasnât going to lie to him. He knows my heart and that I denied him three times. And then he said, âBe the shepherd to my sheep.â And again Iâm confused.
âAnd he asks me again, but this time he just says do you love me like a friend and brother? He kind of let me off the hook. He is so full of grace. He didnât think badly of me. He just gave me this responsibility that I still donât understand. He said, âTend my sheep.â He thinks of his followers as sheep because they follow him. But what is he talking about? As an apostle I walked all over the country. I canât lead sheep.â
James: âYou know, if I start an ekklesia, kind of like a Jewish synagogue, then I will be a shepherd tending sheep. Do you think he wanted you to settle down and lead an ekklesia, or maybe go around starting them?â
Peter: âWell. I donât know. If we went around the country like Jesus did talking about forgiveness like he did, how would we do that? How can we spread his message of love if we settle down in a town?â
James: âDidnât he say to you that one day others would dress you and take you? Do you suppose you can keep hiking everywhere forever? Wonât you have to settle down some day?â
Peter: âI donât know. I donât have any idea how this is going to work out. And why did he give me such a responsibility? I denied him. I showed my weakness. I showed Iâm not reliable. I showed Iâm just a poor fisherman who on some days canât even catch a net of fish! Why me? What does he want from me? If I was at the Temple, they would see that Iâm not perfect and reject me. Thatâs the law of Judaism. Imperfection is something God rejects. Iâm unfit!â
James: âI think I understand! Donât you see. Jesus went to all the imperfect people. The tax collectors. People others thought were sick because of their sin: Thieves. Prostitutes. Roman soldiers. He brought them all to him.
âThey are broken people. He understood them. And because weâre broken, we understand them, too. Weâre not high and mighty and looking down on others like the Sadducees and Pharisees. Weâre them! And we can help them heal and find their way back to God. Weâre just like Moses. He couldnât speak plainly but he faced down Pharoah and led the nation to safety and a new land. God uses people whoâve been broken to help others. Your fear doesn't disqualify you, Peter. It makes you exactly what God needs.â
Peter: âJames was right. I never thought of it that way. I thought I had to become just like Jesus. But thatâs wrong. Jesus went through all the suffering and pain and fear that we all go through. He was one of us. He understood us. He could see into our souls and help us heal. And you know what, James. That goes for you to. If you feel God has called you to start an ekklesia, then you should march right into Jerusalem and do it.â
James: âIâm glad we had this talk.â
Peter: âI think I learned something about humility. Weâre not to look down on others. Thereâs something beautiful in being transparent about our scars. They make us who we are. Experienced, forgiven, and understanding of others. Itâs not about being high and mighty and looking down on others. Itâs about being humble and helping others.â
James: "This gives me an entirely new perspective on the Psalms where it says, 'The LORD is close to the brokenhearted and rescues those who are crushed in spirit.'
Peter: "I can relate to that. It took Jesus being on a cross to break me. But somehow in that I was made whole. It's changed who I am. Jesus changes everyone."
Four practical steps to increase humility
Allow ten minutes total (2.5 minutes each) for people to experience these.
Speaker: âThe goal is not to think less of ourselves, but rather to experience what C.S. Lewis called âthinking of ourselves less.â True humility is built on a foundation of secure self-worth, allowing us to drop our defense mechanisms and competitive bravado. Here are four evidence-based methods and exercises from social psychology that help increase personal humility while keeping self-esteem intact. Please take a few minutes to personally consider them as we go through them individually:â
1. Secure Self-Affirmation Exercise
Speaker: âThe Psychology: When people feel threatened, their ego activates defense mechanisms like bragging, perfectionism, or overcompensatingâexactly like Peter claiming he was better than everyone else. Self-Affirmation Theory (Claude Steele) proves that when you affirm your core value before looking at your flaws, your ego drops its defenses because your base self-worth is secure.
The Exercise: Before addressing a personal failure, write down three core values or character traits you possess that cannot be taken away by external performance (e.g., "I am kind," "I value honesty," "I am a loyal friend"). By anchoring your identity in baseline virtues first, you create a psychological safety net. This allows you to look honestly at your mistakes and blind spots without crashing into shame or low self-esteem.â
2. Person-to-Process Reframing (Dweckâs Growth Mindset)
Speaker: âThe Psychology: In social and developmental psychology, Carol Dweckâs research shows that linking your identity to a fixed status (e.g., Peter labeling himself "The Best Disciple" or "The Bravest") creates extreme performance anxiety and fragile self-esteem. When a "perfect" person fails, their whole identity shatters. Humility grows safely when we view our character as a continuous process rather than a fixed verdict.
The Exercise: Actively audit your internal monologue and catch fixed-identity statements, replacing them with process-oriented language.
Instead of: "I am an unreliable person because I messed up."
Refracted to: "I handled that specific situation poorly, and I am learning how to navigate that pressure better next time."
This decouples your core value as a human from your temporary behavior, protecting self-esteem while allowing for radical accountability.â
3. The "Un-Centering" Perspective Take (The Averill Method)
Speaker: âThe Psychology: High ego often comes from an error in social cognition called the egocentric biasâthe psychological tendency to assume everyone is looking at us, judging us, or comparing themselves to us. Humility increases when we zoom out the lens, shrinking our perceived "central role" in the universe without diminishing our personal significance.
The Exercise: Spend 5â10 minutes practicing an environmental "zoom-out." List a personal problem or pressure you are currently facing. Next, mentally expand the room: think of the hidden struggles of the person sitting across from you, then the thousands in your town, then the billions on the planet facing the messy realities of the human condition. This "un-centering" lowers defense mechanisms, sparks empathy, and reminds us that we are part of a shared, beautifully flawed collective rather than solo performers on a stage.â
4. Radical Transparency Inventory (The Johari Window)
The Psychology: True humility involves aligning your public persona with your internal reality. High-pressure presentation or "hustle culture" causes people to hide their blind spots, which fuels imposter syndrome and damages genuine self-esteem. Social psychologists use relational disclosure exercises to show that sharing vulnerability actually increases social bonding, respect, and deep internal confidence.
The Exercise: Identify one trustworthy friend, mentor, or small-group peer (a "James" figure in your life). Intentionally share one specific area where you do not have it all figured out, or a past failure you normally try to hide. Experiencing acceptance from someone else while being completely honest about a flaw is the ultimate psychological antidote to ego. It teaches the brain that you do not have to be perfect to be valued.â
Step 6 & 7: Praise and The Charge
- 6. Songs of Praise: Allowing the community to sing in a style that resonates with them natively. Music taps directly into felt meaning and emotion, cultivating a shared expression of joy. Sing the song, Peter's Humility. It can be found on DorianScottCole.com/songs
- 7. The Charge: The final act of the church is to send its people back out into the physical world. It is an invitational dismissal to act as co-creators with God, tasked with showing compassion, advocating for justice, and loving the world.
God invites us all to become more like his example, Jesus. In the Bible passages we drew from today, Jesus met his apostles on the beach, told them where to catch fish, gave them bread for them and a fire to cook their fish for breakfast. In John Chapter 14 Jesus washed the feet of his disciples. In 1 Timothy 5:9-10, Timothy describes a Cultural Standard of Humble Service practiced by Jesus' followers. He said, A person must be "well known for her good deeds, such as bringing up children, showing hospitality, washing the feet of the Lordâs people, helping those in trouble and devoting herself to all kinds of good deeds."
As we leave today for our week, let's remember who we are as children of God and those who follow in Jesus' footsteps. We aren't above them. We are not below them. We are helpers who walk with others and are not too good to do whatever service is necessary for them.
Notes & Definitions
*Potential Space: A potential space is a new space created by pushing the limits of what we know, believe, and how we behave into entirely new areas. For example, AI creativity and much of human creativity has its roots in what already exists. A potential space is a place to develop new insight and entirely new things.
Probability Space
*Probability Space: A probability space is where all the elements necessary for something to happen are present and itâs almost inevitable. All it takes is intention.
Diasophic
*Diasophic Definition:
diasophic: adjective.
1. Characteristic of an open system of thought that cuts across available ideas. <Their diasophic thought let the sunshine through.>
2. Characteristic of thinking that is informed, incisive, perceptive, discerning, luminary, and resulting from sound judgment. <A diasophic idea.>
3. Relating to an idea that would productively expand the framework of sectional theory. <A diasophic approach to the problem.>
4. Characteristic of a system with people who are open to fresh thinking, and opposed to rigid ideologies. <A diasophic system.>
5. Characteristic of thinking in a system that is constantly improving. <A system in diasophic evolution, finding new effective solutions.>
6. Characteristic of a system that evolves, becoming fresh and relevant. <Hope emanating from diasophic discussions.> <Diasophic fertility.>
Etymology:
dia: across, through.
soph: from the Ancient Greek, sophia (skilled in handicraft and art; sound judgment, intelligence, practical wisdom; wisdom, philosophy) and sophos (skilled in the sciences, learned, profound, wise).
ic: relating to, or characteristic of; having the character or form of.
- in, crat, and ic etymology © Merriam Webster | Ancient Greek -sophia, sophos - Liddell and Scott's Greek-English Lexicon.