The Priesthood of All Believers and Centring Prayer Towards a Contemplative Evangelism

Abstract

This article argues that Centring Prayer helps mitigate the individualism often associated with the Baptist doctrine of the priesthood of all believers (priesthood) by rebalancing personal devotion with the believer’s call to mediate God to others. It also proposes that Centring Prayer offers a promising point of evangelistic connection with New Age practitioners in Estonia. To establish the negative effect of individualism on priesthood, this article traces the historical and biblical development of the doctrine, and critiques nineteenth- and twentieth-century shifts that overemphasised personal spirituality at the expense of community. It then introduces Centring Prayer as capable of strengthening the communal dimensions of priesthood and serving as a point of connection with New Age adherents in Estonia. To assess the viability of applying Centring Prayer evangelistically, the article proposes a four week convergent mixed methods study examining Centring Prayer’s impact on community formation among Christians and New Age practitioners, positioning the practice as a promising model for evangelism.