In Today’s Conversation, Rich Villodas, lead pastor of New Life Fellowship and author of “The Deeply Formed Life: Five Transformative Values to Root Us in the Way of Jesus,” talks with Walter Kim, NAE president, and challenges the notion that deep spiritual formation and prayer is out of reach or impractical.
Rich shares:
Walter: This slowing down makes me think of a quote from your book that’s so striking. You write, “The speed we live at does violence against our souls.” What do you mean by that, and how does this idea work in an urban context — in a city known for fast living and a city that never sleeps?
Rich: The reason speed does violence against our souls is because our souls were meant to be tended to. There’s a preciousness, a tenderness to our souls that require a slow observation. And so when we’re living at this chaotic pace, we don’t give our souls the opportunity to rest, to breathe, to receive the nutrients from God that we desperately need. When I think about that in my city here in New York City, in many ways while I do think that New York is particularly prone to this kind of pace I think New Yorkers have exported this pace to the rest of the world.
I was recently in Indiana, and even in Indiana there is a pace of life with some pastors I was with that just seems frenetic. So yes, we might have more car honking and more cars on Queens Boulevard around here, but I do think the human condition is often marked by — especially in this age — efficiency, marked by speed, getting things done. So whether in New York or Indiana or Florida or wherever we might be, I think the challenge before us in this age is ubiquitous. That being said, the contemplative life in New York becomes in some ways a prophetic, countercultural act of discipleship where I refuse to be dominated by the speed, by the pace, by the values of this society. The contemplative life gives kind of an open door to that kind of resistance.
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Today’s Conversation is brought to you by Gordon Conwell Theological Seminary.
Rich Villodas is the lead pastor of New Life Fellowship, a multiracial church in Elmhurst, Queens. His first book titled “The Deeply Formed Life” was released in September 2020. Villodas is a key speaker for Emotionally Healthy Discipleship. He is seen as an expert in contemplative spirituality, justice-related issues and the art of preaching. Villodas graduated with a B.A. in pastoral ministry and theology from Nyack College, and earned his M.Div. from Alliance Theological Seminary.
Walter Kim became the president of the National Association of Evangelicals in January 2020. He previously served as a pastor at Boston’s historic Park Street Church and at churches in Vancouver, Canada and Charlottesville, Virginia, as well as a campus chaplain at Yale University. He preaches, writes and engages in collaborative leadership to connect the Bible to the intellectual and cultural issues of the day. He regularly teaches in conferences and classrooms; addresses faith concerns with elected officials and public institutions; and provides theological and cultural commentary to leading news outlets. He serves on the boards of Christianity Today and World Relief and consults with a wide range of organizations. Kim received his Ph.D. from Harvard University in Near Eastern Languages and Civilizations, his M.Div. from Regent College in Vancouver, and his B.A. from Northwestern University.
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