Along the Way: Stirring the Pot

by

UMC Future

Oboedire | May 13, 2026

The best way to prevent food from burning on the stove is to stir the pot. In some ways, that is what I was doing in last week’s post, “What-If Questions We Must Ask.” But stirring the pot is the surest way to invite pushback at both the progressive and conservative ends of the spectrum.

At the progressive extreme, there are those for whom religion has become irretrievable; it is time to leave it behind and move on to something else.  At the conservative extreme, religion (i.e. Christianity) is a “light and glory” reality blessed by none other than God Himself, and thus rejecting any critique of it as absolute disloyalty, even a satanic attack.

I believe we are called to stir the pot, not throw the food away or idolize it. The way forward is in between the extremes. It is a stirring-the-pot enterprise.

I reject both criticisms. I believe we are called to stir the pot, not throw the food away or idolize it. The way forward is in between the extremes. It is a stirring-the-pot enterprise. Here are some key motions in it.

First, it is a prophetic task. We find a wooden spoon and start stirring. Walter Brueggemann wrote about this for decades, beginning with his book, The Prophetic Imagination (1980) until he died in 2025. When God is doing a new thing (Isaiah 43:19), the question always is, “do you see it?” Prophets are the ones who help us do so, calling out the movement from an old order, through disorder, into a new order. [1]

Second, it is a formative movement. There is a culinary finesse. Richard Foster has written about the V.I.M. paradigm which is a movement in response to a vision, with intention, using a variety of means to bring the new order into being. [2] This formative paradigm reminds us that we are not making it up as we go along, that we are moving with purpose and pattern.

Third, it is an experimental effort. We learn how to stir by stirring. We can stir too fast or too slow; we only find the rhythm by doing it. We are blessed to have a host of good cooks teaching us the motions, rhythms, and pace. [3] They give us a best-practices picture without a one-size-fits-all mandate. Stirring the pot is a creative and joyful thing.

Fourth, it is an interfaith experience. We taste the pot and season accordingly. The ingredients blend together in ways suited to our taste.  Over time, we discover that every nutritious meal can be made in more than one way. Variety is the spice of the spiritual life too. The World Wisdom Bible is one source for seeing this in relation to selected themes.

There is a paradox in pot stirring. It is the means for blending ingredients that would otherwise be separate. It is an enriching motion that refraining from stirring (i.e. accepting the status quo) cannot provide. We desire that the spiritual life in general and ecclesial life in particular be the best it can be.  It is only so when we keep stirring the pot.

[1] Walter Brueggemann, Reality, Grief, Hope: Three Urgent Prophetic Tasks.

[2] Richard Foster and Kathryn Helmers, Life With God.

[3] Fresh Expressions, 5Q Central, 100 Movements, etc.

The Rev. Dr. Steve Harper is retired seminary professor who taught for 32 years in the disciplines of Spiritual Formation and Wesley Studies. Author and co-author of more than fifty books.. He is also a retired elder in The Florida Annual Conference of The United Methodist Church.