Spiritual Growth

Saving God's Creation, A Heartwood Path Program For Church Groups

Photos by Don Pierce.

What does it mean to grow spiritually? How do we move from simply following rules to living from deep conviction? And how does caring for God’s creation fit into that journey? These questions have occupied psychologists, theologians, and educators for decades, and their answers reveal something profound about the path of faith.

Two groundbreaking researchers—Lawrence Kohlberg and Carol Gilligan—mapped the stages of moral development that humans move through as we mature. Their work shows that moral growth isn’t just about learning more rules or trying harder to be good. It’s about fundamental shifts in how we understand ourselves, our relationships, and our responsibilities. And remarkably, their frameworks illuminate exactly what happens when church communities engage in creation care through programs like the Heartwood Path’s Saving God’s Creation.

Kohlberg’s Stages: From Self-Interest to Universal Principles

Lawrence Kohlberg identified six stages of moral development, grouped into three levels. Understanding these stages helps us see why creation care isn’t just an environmental program—it’s a pathway to spiritual maturity.

Pre-Conventional Level (Stages 1-2): Self-Centered Morality

At the earliest stages, people make moral decisions based on avoiding punishment (Stage 1) or gaining personal benefit (Stage 2). A child shares toys to avoid timeout, or an adult follows rules to stay out of trouble. There’s nothing wrong with this—it’s a necessary starting point—but it’s limited. Morality is entirely about “What happens to me?”

In church contexts, this might look like: “I should care for creation because God will punish me if I don’t,” or “I’ll participate in the recycling program because it makes me look good.” The motivation is external and self-focused.

Conventional Level (Stages 3-4): Following the Group

As people mature, they begin making moral decisions based on what their community expects (Stage 3) or what the law and social order require (Stage 4). A teenager behaves well to be seen as a “good kid.” An adult follows workplace ethics because “that’s what professionals do.” Morality becomes about belonging and maintaining social structures.

In church settings, this looks like: “Our church teaches that we should be good stewards of creation, so I’ll participate in the green initiatives,” or “The Bible says to care for the earth, so that’s what Christians do.” The motivation is still external—following authority and fitting in—but it’s more sophisticated than pure self-interest.

Most church environmental programs operate at this level. They teach biblical stewardship principles, establish recycling programs, organize cleanup days, and encourage members to follow creation care guidelines. This is valuable and necessary work. But Kohlberg’s research shows there’s a higher level of moral development possible.

Post-Conventional Level (Stages 5-6): Principled Morality

At the highest stages, people make moral decisions based on universal ethical principles (Stage 5) or deeply internalized convictions about justice and human dignity (Stage 6). They can critique unjust laws, challenge harmful social norms, and act on principle even when it costs them personally. Morality becomes internal, principled, and sometimes countercultural.

This is where creation care becomes transformative rather than just dutiful. At Stage 5, someone might say: “I care for creation because all life has intrinsic value, regardless of its usefulness to humans. The current economic system that treats nature as mere resource is fundamentally unjust, and I’m called to live differently.” At Stage 6: “My direct experience of God’s presence in creation has shown me that harming the earth is harming the body of Christ. I can’t participate in that destruction and remain true to what I know.”

Notice the shift: from external motivation (punishment, reward, approval, rules) to internal conviction based on direct experience and universal principles. This is the journey Saving God’s Creation services facilitate.

Gilligan’s Ethics of Care: Relationship, Responsibility, and Interconnection

Carol Gilligan challenged Kohlberg’s framework, arguing it was biased toward masculine patterns of moral reasoning that emphasize justice, rights, and abstract principles. She proposed an alternative developmental path based on care, relationship, and responsibility—patterns she found more common (though not exclusive to) women.

Gilligan identified three levels in the development of care ethics:

Level 1: Care for Self

At the first level, the focus is on survival and self-care. Moral decisions center on “What do I need?” This isn’t selfish in a negative sense—it’s the necessary foundation. You can’t care for others if you’re depleted.

In creation care contexts, this might look like: “I need clean air and water to survive, so I support environmental protection.” Or “Spending time in nature makes me feel better, so I want to preserve green spaces.” The motivation is personal wellbeing, which is legitimate but limited.

Level 2: Care for Others

At the second level, the focus shifts to caring for others, often at the expense of self. Moral decisions center on “What do they need?” and “How can I help?” This is the classic caregiver stance—nurturing, self-sacrificing, relationship-focused.

In creation care, this looks like: “Future generations need a healthy planet, so I’ll make sacrifices now to preserve it for them,” or “The poor are most affected by environmental degradation, so I’ll advocate for climate justice.” The motivation is compassion and responsibility for others.

Many church creation care programs operate here, emphasizing our responsibility to care for “the least of these” who suffer most from environmental harm, or our duty to future generations. This is beautiful and important work. But Gilligan shows there’s a more mature level.

Level 3: Care for Self and Others in Relationship

At the highest level, the false dichotomy between self and others dissolves. Moral decisions are based on recognizing interconnection—that my wellbeing and others’ wellbeing are inseparable, that we’re all part of a web of relationships, that care flows in all directions.

In creation care, this sounds like: “I am part of creation, not separate from it. When I care for the earth, I’m caring for myself and all beings simultaneously. There’s no sacrifice because there’s no real separation—we’re one living system.” Or “My relationship with this forest, this watershed, these creatures is mutual. They sustain me; I sustain them. We’re in this together.”

This is the wisdom of Christian mystics like Hildegard of Bingen, Francis of Assisi, and Thomas Merton—the recognition that all creation is one body, that harming any part harms the whole, that love and care naturally flow when we experience our deep interconnection.

How Saving God’s Creation Services Facilitate Development

Understanding these developmental frameworks helps us see why Saving God’s Creation services are designed the way they are. They’re not just teaching environmental practices—they’re creating conditions for moral and spiritual growth through three integrated pathways.

1. Learning from Christian Mystics: Direct Experience Over Doctrine

The mystics—Hildegard, Meister Eckhart, Julian of Norwich, the Desert Fathers and Mothers, Thomas Merton—all share something crucial: they moved beyond conventional religious morality (Kohlberg’s Stage 4) to principled conviction based on direct experience (Stages 5-6). And they embodied Gilligan’s highest level of care ethics, experiencing themselves as inseparable from all creation.

When Saving God’s Creation services introduce participants to mystical writings and practices, they’re not just adding interesting content to the curriculum. They’re providing models of post-conventional moral development and mature care ethics. They’re showing what it looks like to move from “I should care for creation because the Bible says so” to “I care for creation because I’ve experienced my unity with it.”

The practices matter as much as the teachings. Contemplative prayer in nature, lectio divina with creation-focused scriptures, silence and solitude in wild places, journaling about direct encounters with the sacred in the natural world—these aren’t just nice activities. They’re the laboratory where conventional morality transforms into principled conviction, where care for others expands into recognition of interconnection.

Participants often report a shift: “I used to recycle because I was supposed to. Now I can’t throw things away carelessly because I feel my connection to the whole system.” That’s the movement from Stage 4 to Stage 5-6, from Level 2 to Level 3 care ethics. It’s not just behavioral change—it’s developmental transformation.

2. Greening Churches: From Individual to Systemic Change

Kohlberg noted that people at conventional stages (3-4) are deeply influenced by their communities and institutions. If your church doesn’t care about creation, it’s hard to sustain individual commitment. But if your church embodies creation care in its practices and priorities, it supports and accelerates individual development.

Greening churches—installing solar panels, creating pollinator gardens, eliminating single-use plastics, conducting energy audits, choosing sustainable building materials, composting, using green cleaning products—does several things simultaneously:

First, it provides Stage 3-4 support. It says “This is what our community values. This is what faithful people do.” For those operating at conventional levels, this institutional endorsement is crucial. It makes creation care normal, expected, part of Christian identity.

Second, it creates cognitive dissonance that can catalyze development. When someone sees their church investing significant resources in solar panels or native plant gardens, they start asking deeper questions: “Why does this matter so much? What are the principles behind these choices?” This questioning can move people from conventional to post-conventional reasoning.

Third, it embodies Gilligan’s care ethics at an institutional level. A church that cares for creation is modeling relationship and responsibility. It’s saying “We’re not separate from the earth—we’re part of it, and we care for it as we care for ourselves and our neighbors.”

Fourth, it creates visible, tangible change that inspires and educates the wider community. When neighbors see a church’s solar panels or pollinator garden, when they attend events in a green-certified building, the church becomes a witness to different values and priorities. This is Stage 5-6 morality in action—living by principles even when it’s countercultural or costly.

3. Active Engagement: From Belief to Embodied Practice

Both Kohlberg and Gilligan emphasized that moral development happens through action, not just reflection. You don’t think your way to higher stages—you practice your way there. Saving God’s Creation services don’t just teach about creation care—they engage participants in actual restoration work, advocacy, and community organizing.

This might include:

- Habitat restoration projects: removing invasive species, planting natives, creating wildlife corridors

- Water quality monitoring and watershed protection

- Community gardens that provide food while building soil health

- Advocacy for environmental justice in communities affected by pollution

- Educational programs for children and youth

- Partnerships with environmental organizations

- Sustainable agriculture initiatives

- Climate action campaigns

When you’re on your knees planting native grasses, or testing stream water quality, or teaching children about pollinators, or advocating for clean air regulations—you’re not operating from abstract principles. You’re in relationship. You’re caring for specific places, specific creatures, specific communities. This is how Gilligan’s Level 3 care ethics develops—through actual, embodied, relational practice.

And when you’re doing this work as a church community, you’re also developing Kohlberg’s higher stages. You’re asking: What are the systemic causes of environmental degradation? How do economic structures harm creation? What would justice look like? How do we live by kingdom values in an empire economy? These are Stage 5-6 questions, and they emerge naturally from engaged practice.

The Developmental Journey in Practice

Let’s trace what this journey might look like for someone participating in Saving God’s Creation services:

Beginning (Conventional Morality, Care for Others):

Sarah joins her church’s creation care team because the pastor preached about stewardship and she wants to be a good Christian. She participates in the recycling program and attends a workshop on reducing household waste. Her motivation is primarily conventional—following church teaching, being a responsible member.

She’s operating at Kohlberg’s Stage 4 (following religious authority and social order) and Gilligan’s Level 2 (caring for others—future generations, the poor affected by pollution—sometimes at her own expense).

Deepening (Transitional):

Through the program, Sarah is introduced to writings by Thomas Merton and Hildegard of Bingen. She begins a practice of contemplative prayer walks in a nearby nature preserve. During one walk, she has a profound experience of connection—a moment where the boundary between herself and the forest seems to dissolve, where she feels held by something vast and loving.

This direct experience begins to shift her motivation. She’s still following church teachings, but now she’s also following an inner knowing. She starts asking questions: Why does our economic system treat nature as disposable? How did we get so disconnected from the earth? What would it mean to live differently?

She’s beginning to move toward Stage 5 (questioning social norms, developing principled convictions) and Level 3 (recognizing interconnection, experiencing care as mutual rather than one-directional).

Transformation (Post-Conventional Morality, Mature Care Ethics):

Sarah joins a church team working to install solar panels and create a native plant garden on church property. She gets her hands in the soil, learns plant names, watches butterflies and bees arrive. She attends city council meetings to advocate for pesticide-free parks. She changes her career to work in environmental education.

Her motivation has fundamentally shifted. She’s not following rules or trying to be good—she’s living from conviction. She knows, from direct experience, that she’s part of creation, not separate from it. She can’t harm the earth without harming herself. She can’t stand by while others harm it without betraying what she knows to be true.

She’s operating at Stage 5-6 (principled morality based on universal ethics and direct experience) and Level 3 (care based on experienced interconnection). Her faith hasn’t been abandoned—it’s been deepened, expanded, made real through embodied practice and mystical encounter.

Why This Matters for Churches

Understanding moral development theory helps churches see creation care not as one program among many, but as a pathway to spiritual maturity. When we engage in creation care through the integrated approach of Saving God’s Creation services—learning from mystics, greening our institutions, and actively engaging in restoration and advocacy—we’re not just helping the environment. We’re facilitating the moral and spiritual development of our members.

We’re helping people move from external motivation to internal conviction, from following rules to living by principles, from seeing themselves as separate from creation to experiencing their deep interconnection with all life. We’re helping them grow up spiritually, morally, and relationally.

This is why creation care can’t be reduced to a few recycling bins and an Earth Day sermon. Real transformation requires the full integration: mystical practice that provides direct experience, institutional change that embodies new values, and active engagement that makes it all concrete and relational.

Churches that embrace this integrated approach often find that creation care becomes a catalyst for broader renewal. People who develop post-conventional morality and mature care ethics through environmental work often bring that same consciousness to other areas—racial justice, economic fairness, peacemaking, community building. The developmental growth that happens through creation care spills over into every aspect of faith and life.

The Invitation

Saving God’s Creation services offer churches a structured pathway for this developmental journey. We provide:

- Curriculum and practices drawn from Christian mystical tradition

- Consultation and support for greening church facilities and operations

- Opportunities for active engagement in restoration, advocacy, and education

- Community with other churches on the same journey

- Resources for all ages and stages of development

The goal isn’t to make everyone into environmental activists (though some will be called in that direction). The goal is to facilitate the moral and spiritual growth that happens when we take seriously our relationship with all creation, when we move from dutiful stewardship to experienced interconnection, when we let the earth be our teacher and the mystics be our guides.

This is the journey from conventional to post-conventional faith, from care that depletes to care that flows from fullness, from following rules to living from the heart of love. It’s the journey that Kohlberg and Gilligan mapped, that the mystics walked, and that Saving God’s Creation services is designed to support.

The earth is waiting. The mystics are calling. The path is open. The question is whether we’re ready to grow—not just in knowledge, but in moral maturity, spiritual depth, and lived connection with all of God’s creation.

For more information, text Don Pierce at 618-632-5600.

HumaNatureConnect Activity

“Sacred Walk & Share” - A Contemplative Nature Experience

Time needed: 60-90 minutes
Group size: 5-30 people
Location: Any park, trail, or natural area near your church

How it works:

Part 1: Silent Solo Walk (20-30 minutes)

• Gather the group and explain: “We’re going to walk silently for 20 minutes. As you walk, pay attention to what catches your eye, what you’re drawn to, what speaks to you. It might be a tree, a stone, a bird, a pattern of light—anything. When something really captures your attention, spend time with it. Observe it closely. Ask yourself: What might God be saying to me through this?”

• Send people out in different directions with a specific return time

• Encourage them to use their senses: look closely, listen deeply, touch (respectfully), smell, notice

Part 2: Gathering & Sharing (30-40 minutes)

• Reconvene in a circle (sitting on the ground if possible)

• Invite each person to share:

  • What they noticed or were drawn to

  • What it might mean or what they sensed God saying through it

  • How it connects to their life right now

• No cross-talk or advice—just listening and witnessing

• Leader might close each share with “Thanks be to God” or “We receive this gift”

Part 3: Closing Prayer (5-10 minutes)

• Invite people to offer one-word prayers based on their experience

• Or sing a simple song/hymn together

• Close with a blessing for the land and all creatures

Why it works:

• Simple enough for anyone, no special skills needed

• Combines solitude and community

• Moves people from talking about God to experiencing God’s presence

• Builds relationship with creation

• Creates space for the Spirit to work

• Develops contemplative awareness

Variations:

• Have people collect a small natural object (fallen leaf, stone, stick) to bring back and share

• Do it at different times of day (dawn, sunset) for different energy

• Make it seasonal—what’s changing right now?

• Add journaling time before sharing

• For larger groups, break into smaller circles of 5-6 for sharing

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For additional readings, visit Heartwood Path Beat.