In all developmental theories of humanity, they all include this one idea of “transcend and include.” From Piaget, to Kohlberg, to Maslow, to Spiral Dynamics, all of them build upon the previous stages of growth.

So here is a thought I had while driving my jeep today.

“Transcend and Include, Everything, All the Time.”

Looking at My Own Lifetime…

What does it mean to “transcend and include?”

You know, to transcend above yet include the best of what it means to be a toddler.

A high school student.

A skateboarder.

A college student.

A Lutheran.

A camp counselor and director.

A Presbyterian.

A Reformed theologian.

A youth director.

An AT hiker.

A professor.

A writer.

A speaker.

None of these things were or are my ceiling, the totality of who I am. If I were to anchor myself into any one of these things, I might be holding myself back from who I could possibly be tomorrow.

Looking at the World…

In an era when there is mass church dropout…

What does it mean to possible “transcend above yet include the best of…”

Conservatism.

Liberalism.

Evangelicalism/Protestantism.

Catholicism.

Eastern Orthodoxy.

Republican.

Democrat.

American.

African.

European.

Brazilian.

Russian.

iGen.

Millenial.

Gen Z.

Boomer.

Scientist.

Poet.

Artist.

Schoolteacher.

All of these things can become traps that hold us back and keep us from further developing, if we are not able to sacrifice or consecrate them as potential idols. None of these titles define the totality of any human person, so why not “Transcend and Include, Everything, All the Time”?

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