Sharon and I were invited to a leadership training event at our church over the weekend. The theme was emotionally healthy spirituality. When I read the topic I immediately thought of heart work, but then in the instructions there was a note to bring a pen and paper, which left me concerned that it was going to be head work. I do find that evangelicals conflate the two. Both are important but they rarely share the same pedagogical space. I was happy that the event was more heart work, even though this set the tone for a difficult weekend.
Both heart work and head work involve a confrontation or challenge. In heart work the challenge is on an existential level – who are you? who do you imagine yourself to be? what ways do you sabotage your identity? why do you feel the way you do? or even why do you choose not to feel anything? On the other hand, head work challenges or confronts ideas that we hold to be true. These kinds of work can actually have a lot of overlap, such as teaching on what Scripture reveals about your identity. Despite this overlap, the head work emphasis is on gaining a better understanding from the tradition. Whereas, in heart work the emphasis is on what prevents head knowledge (understanding) from getting deep into our hearts. I use getting deep into our hearts as a metaphor for incorporating the understanding into our very sense of self. (I have a dear Baptist friend who calls one you thinker and the other your knower.)
In heart work you are deliberately giving space for deep emotional formation. This can be quite painful if not handled well. I tend to do a fair bit of heart work and still I found Saturday’s sessions emotionally taxing. The session brought up lots of emotions that I need to ponder. A friend asked me if I liked the session, which is absolutely the wrong question: one rarely likes heart work. But if it bears fruit in the long run then heart work is worthwhile. As a result I felt raw all day Sunday and still feel much tenderness today.
The other thing about heart work is that it builds on head work. If you do not have a different understanding of how you could see yourself, participating in the vulnerability of heart work can be irresponsible. I believe this is why they gathered leaders and former leaders for this day of heart work. Most of those gathered had at least a good understanding in their heads of who they are as Christians. The speaker, 
Doug Sprunt, shared stories of his own heart work journey which included the ways that his own self-understanding has been challenged over the years, usually through the trials he has endured. It was good to hear his story, I’ve known Doug just well enough to say hello and his vulnerability with us was helpful in shepherding this kind of process. I didn’t always agree with the insights he was bringing from his own heart work, but I really find that heart work is unique to everyone who bravely undertakes it, so consensus is never the goal of heart work, personal maturity is the goal.
Head work is what academics are most often concerned with. It is not that we do not appreciate the application of understanding, but the engagement with knowledge at a head level does not require heart application. I think this is why I tend to appreciate pastor-theologians, they tend to find ways to apply their head work to their own hearts. But head work does not require that extra step. One of my pet peeves about the Protestant influence on liturgy is that we have made teaching primary and left little room for the heart work that teaching is meant to support. As an academic I great value head work, but I do not want to confuse it as heart work. As an academic I regularly give my students tools to sharpen their critical thinking skills. As a pastor-theologian I also find space to encourage heart reflection on the head work we do in class. I am encouraged by how often students take up that challenge and share how they have grown spiritually from courses that can be highly theoretical and philosophical.
So while I didn’t feel very triumphal this Palm Sunday, I did feel that the heart work from Saturday was still doing its work in me. It is still working.
The picture is from a baptismal service we held at Freedom Vineyard way, way back. I have fond memories of the day when I baptized two people who came to faith in our community. What I loved about Freedom was our passion for balancing head and heart.
Let me know your thoughts...