Peter Pan Spirituality

January 19, 2026

Once upon a time, in a cozy suburban church, there lived a man named Pete who embodied the Peter Pan Spirituality. Pete loved the fluffy Bible stories from his childhood Sunday school days, like David slinging stones and Jonah in the whale’s belly. One Sunday, when the pastor announced an in-depth study on suffering in Romans, Pete panicked. He thought, “I’m not ready to grow up in my faith,” as he clutched his illustrated kids’ Bible. Instead, he started a “Peter Pan Prayer Group” where members only prayed for fun things like winning the lottery or eternal youth. One day, during a deep discussion on forgiveness, Pete interrupted, “Can’t we just fly to Neverland and skip this adulting stuff?” The group chuckled, but the pastor sighed, knowing Pete’s faith was stuck in pixie dust, refusing the meat of maturity that could make him soar for real.

Paul wrote in Hebrews 5:12-14, “In fact, though by this time you ought to be teachers, you need someone to teach you the elementary truths of God’s word all over again. You need milk, not solid food! Anyone who lives on milk, being still an infant, is not acquainted with the teaching about righteousness. But solid food is for the mature, who by constant use have trained themselves to distinguish good from evil.” Paul is disappointed with those Christians who have experienced salvation, but have chosen not to grow in their faith. They continue to drink milk like an infant, when the world needs mature Christians who are trained in the meat of the Bible truths, and can help the world distinguish between good and evil.

Spiritual growth isn’t automatic. It is a choice between milk and meat. Paula was the queen of Peter Pan Spirituality, forever young in her spiritual playground. She adored feel-good worship songs that made her feel like she was floating on clouds, but when it came to committing to a discipleship class on dying to self, she balked. She reasoned, “Peter Pan didn’t have to deal with bills or bosses, why should I wrestle with sin?” One Sunday, the sermon on Hebrews, “Solid Food for the Mature,” hit home. Paula imagined herself as Wendy, but instead of adventuring to deeper waters, she stayed in the nursery, reciting childhood prayers. Her friends urged her to grow, but Paula replied, “If faith means giving up my happy thoughts, count me out; second star to the right, and straight on till morning!” Laughter echoed, yet her faith remained a childish game, never facing the crocodiles of real growth.

James 3:1 has a curious statement. We read, “Not many of you should become teachers, my fellow believers, because you know that we who teach will be judged more strictly.” When you read that verse do you think, “See, I should never be a teacher, I could never quite measure up?” That is the Peter Pan Spirituality way of thinking. What would it take for you to think, “I have work to do? I don’t think I would make a very good teacher right now. I need to grow up, and dig into the meat of the scriptures.”

In I Corinthians 13:11, Paul writes, “When I was a child, I talked like a child, I thought like a child, I reasoned like a child. When I became a man, I put the ways of childhood behind me.” Have you? Have you put the ways of childhood behind you, or do you relate too well with Pete and Paula and their Peter Pan Spirituality?

The story of Peter Pan grew out of the tragedies of J.M. Barrie’s youth, as he watched siblings die in the 1800’s. When his mother’s favorite son, David, died in a skating accident, Barrie would dress in his brother’s clothes and act like his brother to comfort his mother. In 1904 Barrie wrote the play “Peter Pan, or The Boy Who Wouldn’t Grow Up,” set in the magical Neverland, which grew out of that experience. The 1911 novel “Peter and Wendy” expanded it, blending whimsy with darker undertones of Peter’s forgetfulness, the violence of pirates, and the inevitability of growing up (underline is mine).

Life is hard, and it is not always fair. It is possible to have the victory in these difficult times when we choose to grow up in our faith. How mature do you think your faith is? This week, how will you “train yourself” with Scripture to discern good from evil? Do you think you could be a teacher on the Christian faith? It is my hope that if you struggle with Peter Pan Spirituality you will prepare to defend yourself against some terrible pirates, and your life will reveal the power of a mature faith, built on the meat of God’s word! (To learn more about Al Earley or read previous articles, see www.lagrangepres.org. You can purchase my book, My Faith Journal, at Amazon.com, a compilation of 366 articles as a daily devotional. Check out my podcast on YouTube, called “My Faith Journey”).