Abstract
Early reviewers of Chris Kiesling’s Discipleship for Every Stage of Life agree that his command of recent psychological literature on lifespan development is impressive and that his years of congregational and seminary ministry provide important insights into the application of that literature to spiritual formation. The book’s sixteen-page bibliography reflects this commitment. Writing mainly for well-educated pastors and academics, Kiesling (and his editor) keep the book clear and engaging. His occasional stories enliven each chapter while offering practical applications of his reflections.
The book’s organization follows the lifecycle, with separate chapters on each major developmental phase—womb and infancy, early and middle childhood, adolescence, and early, middle, and late adulthood. Each chapter’s subtitle indicates its direction: “origins of faith and belief” for early childhood, “parenting as image bearing” for early childhood, and so on. The book thus spotlights a large number of specific characteristics for multiple life-phases—as many general characteristics as one would expect from 70 or 80 years of living.
The chapter on emerging adulthood exemplifies Kiesling’s approach. Its title, “Young Adulthood: The Script to Narrate One’s Life,” starts with a short vignette about James, a college student seeking success by grafting together Jesus and the American dream. Kiesling writes, “James illustrates what this chapter seeks to convey. Developmentally young adults acquire the ability to author their own lives, reconstructing their past and imagining a future. Often this occurs by identifying with characters in social media or seeing something favorable in someone they have met, and trying to emulate characteristics and outcomes associated with their lives. Critical for our consideration are the social visions offered to young adults and whether the compass of their internal lives get pointed to true north” (p. 106).
There follow sections on “Narrating One’s Life,” which treats narratives of love, work, and vocation; “The Process Model,” which emphasizes mental health concerns; and “Narrating the Broader Christian Journey,” which briefly treats several types of specifically Christian stories that aim toward “the reformation of desire, persuading a person to act in a different manner. This may come about most profoundly when people begin to enact a different story for their lives” (p. 128).
The section on “Narratives of Love” draws on Robert J. Sternberg’s theory of love triangles and the love stories underpinning his schema. Kiesling recommends the examination of “spiritual stories that have shaped Christians over the last few centuries” (p. 109). He then recounts the early lives of two adults, Daisy and Jalen, using their upbringing and family experiences to introduce Sternberg’s typology of love stories. This exploration leads to a consideration of biblical concepts that complement Sternberg’s psychological findings, including covenant, sacrificial love, and faithfulness.
With variations, Kiesling replicates this basic pattern throughout the book. Whether readers find the elements of this pattern sufficient—identify the basic theme for each chapter as correct, or agree with the selection and use of a particular psychological theory, or think adequate the allusions to specific biblical principles, or accept the application of ideas and practices from figures in Christian history—will differ significantly. Sometimes these elements fit in well; at other times they do not. For example, Kiesling’s allusions to biblical concepts that complement Sternberg’s conclusions fit coherently in the explication of love stories. A few pages later, however, Kiesling’s introduction of Augustine’s treatment of fallen desire, will, and reason may strike readers as forced and superficial, without an adequate accounting for the limited understanding ancient writers had of the brain or for late Roman social conditions (pp. 125–26).
Equally noticeable is the book’s lack of extended, regular attention to the cultural and social forces that currently influence lifespan development. For example, Charles Taylor’s description of the “immanent frame” of contemporary secularity and its “fragilizing” of all beliefs would provide useful contexts for Kiesling’s treatment of young adult development (A Secular Age, Belknap Press, 2007). Similarly, Hartmut Rosa’s analysis of how the acceleration of modern life creates collective cultural depression could frame Kiesling’s emphasis on narrative with a description of the spiritual and cultural locales in which story must operate (Social Acceleration: A New Theory of Modernity, Columbia University Press, 2015).
It is wrong, however, to assess a book based on its omissions, especially one that reflects the writer’s deep study and rich experiences over a career of pastoral and academic service. Kiesling’s book is indeed a readable and applicable compendium and summary of current insights into lifespan development. I will certainly use it in my own work.