#4 - Christian Spirituality is a Social Behaviour . . .

Faith in Jesus relationally connected us with the Trinity; we are connected not only relationally but socially. As Christian believers our prime social connecting to God is a social-spirituality. One to be explored, nurtured, and developed. Our social-spirituality engages in a relational faith development throughout the whole lifetime. The developing of a social-relationship with God as person and Trinity, oneself, significant others; includes “dynamic connection to identifiable Christian faith-community.” Christian spirituality is a social behaviour.

Christian spirituality’s social behaviors have both an internal and external sociality . . .

• Some formed and function operationally as internal interactions or social relationships with God as indwelling person and presence . . .

• Others as externally interactive relationships with others both within one’s Christian communities of contemporary experience and connectedness with broader society

Two Spiritual Disciples enabling holistic formation of Christian spirituality’s social behaviors . . .

“The Discipline of Christian Community” is the active and intentional practice of believers connecting with each other in authentic and loving ways that encourage growth in Christ; engaging in transparent relationships which cultivate, celebrate and make evident Christ's love for the entire world.

“Discipline of Christian Community” practice includes . . .

• Practicing the biblical "one anothers"  (see link below)
• Cultivating authentic relationships that connect you to God and His plan to serve and love this world
• Exercising your gifts in fellowship with others
• Engaging in hospitality that promotes honest sharing and caring
• Participating in a small group or covenant group
• Sharing life with an accountability partner or prayer partner
• Engaging in mission with others

“The Discipline of Spiritual Friendship” involves cultivating a covenant friendship where I can naturally share about my life with God. It is grounded in relationship to God and a commitment to support, encourage, and pray for one another.  

“Discipline of Spiritual Friendship” practice includes . . . 

• Journeying with another so you mutually grow in faith, hope and love
• Covenanting to pray for and receiving one another in love
• Playing together and praying together
• Knowing another well enough to be a support, encouragement and word of God to them
• Developing a healthy, interdependent friendship that encourages and grows the soul
• Inviting a friend into the journey of recognizing your blind spots

Click here for “THE BIBLICAL ONE ANOTHERS

Adele Ahlberg Calhoun, Spiritual Disciplines Handbook: Practices That Transform Us. Downers Grove, Ill.: InterVarsity Press, 2005, p.129-131,151-154.

John C. Douglas, "The Effectiveness of a Rule of Life as Growth Processing Framework in the Development of New Zealand Evangelical Church Leaders’ Spiritual Discipline Behaviors (Project Draft)." doctoral dissertation, Denver Seminary 2013, p.28-31.

From SSPP Seminar session #4

Ruminating on Temptation with Thomas A'Kempis . . .

Been reading, reflecting, and meditating in Thomas à Kempis’ “Imitation of Christ.” Here are three of the paragraphs from the seven in the section “chewed on” . . . so from “ruminating on temptation” I’ve put my considerations into a video-clip. JCD

Why not read Thomas’ thought; then engage the video rumination . . .  Thomas who lived from 1380 to 1471 writes with relevance to life in our 21^st century . . .

  

“Imitation of Christ”

Book 1: Thirteenth Chapter

ON RESISTING TEMPTATION

So long as we live in this world we cannot escape suffering and temptation. Whence it is written in Job: "The life of man upon earth is a warfare." Everyone, therefore, must guard against temptation and must watch in prayer lest the devil, who never sleeps but goes about seeking whom he may devour, find occasion to deceive him. No one is so perfect or so holy but he is sometimes tempted; man cannot be altogether free from temptation.

Many people try to escape temptations, only to fall more deeply. We cannot conquer simply by fleeing, but by patience and true humility we become stronger than all our enemies. The man who only shuns temptations outwardly and does not uproot them will make little progress; indeed they will quickly return, more violent than before.

We should not despair, therefore, when we are tempted, but pray to God the more fervently that He may see fit to help us, for according to the word of Paul, “God will make issue with temptation that we may be able to bear it.”  Let us humble our souls under the hand of God in every trial and temptation for He will save and exalt the humble in spirit.

Why not do some reading in à Kempis’ Imitation of Christ for yourself?

CLICK HERE FOR THE BOOK in PDF

#3 - Joining reading and prayer together in Christian devotional spirituality practice

“God invites us as we read the biblical text to reflect in our reading, respond in our hearing and seeing, rest by living in the text and expecting it to live out of us . . . simply to be progressively conformed to the Image of Christ for the sake of others”

Lectio Divina - Praying the Scriptures

The classical form of lectio divina has four components, but in his book Invitation to a Journey M. Robert Mulholland adds introductory and concluding elements that are very helpful. The following is an adaptation of Mulholland’s explanation of the components of lectio divina.

Lectio Divina, or “sacred readings,” is a form of praying texts

Although praying the Scriptures is the most common form of lectio divina, it is also possible to pray other texts, such as poetry or devotional writings. Lectio Divina is a Christian spiritual discipline; here is its sequence . . .

Reading and Praying “flow together” – they are like dancing-partners . . . 

• Some times prayer leads out
• Other times reading initiates
• Or they move in unison . . . 

One pattern of praying with which reading in a lectio divina framework flows is the practice of praying “The Prayer of Examen” . . .

• The Prayer of Examen is a daily spiritual exercise developed by Ignatius of Loyola.

The prayer’s practice seeks to grow followers of Jesus in their capacity to discern God’s will, find God in all things, and enhance their understanding of God’s good creation.

• It’s strength is as a guided examination through relational prayer with God and the Holy Spirit’s guidance . . .
• The prayer may take between ten and twenty minutes
• The majority of that time will be spent reviewing your day, often it is applied at the close of one’s day . . .
• Try not to dwell too long on thoughts. Instead, allow yourself to become aware and move on.

Like two sides of a door, the prayer of examen has two basic aspects . . .

It is an examen of Consciousness

• Through which we discover how God has been present to us throughout the day and how we have responded to His loving presence.

It is an examen of Conscience

• In which we uncover those areas that need cleansing, purifying and healing.

Both of these “journeys of prayerful examination” are taken with and in the company of the indwelling “Holy Spirit” – it is not a self guided tour, the “means of grace is our guide”

• The Spirit’s word is the last word, not a passing opinion
• The Spirit never speaks through condemnation, only conviction . . .
• Condemnation is generalised – Romans 8:1-2
• Conviction is always specific – John 16:8; Romans 8:12-17

The prayer of examen produces within us the priceless grace of self-knowledge.

Through faith, self-knowledge leads us to a self-acceptance and a self-love enabling us to further draw our life from God’s acceptance and love.

Click here for "THE PRAYER OF EXAMEN"

Anthony Campolo and Mary Albert Darling, The God of Intimacy and Action: Reconnecting Ancient Spiritual Practices, Evangelism, and Justice. 1st ed. San Francisco, CA: Jossey-Bass, 2007.
Richard J. Foster, Prayer: Finding the Heart's True Home. 1st ed. [San Francisco]: HarperSanFrancisco, 1992.
M. Robert. Mulholland, Invitation to a Journey: A Road Map for Spiritual Formation. Downers Grove, Ill.: InterVarsity, 1993.

From SSPP Seminar session #3

#2 - When Christian devotional practices follow “Rule of Life structures" spiritual disciplines enable discipleship development . . .

Christians are followers of God through their faith in Jesus Christ. Some describe themselves as evangelicals; so named from their claim, “Christian faith is known, and experienced through a direct personal encounter with Jesus Christ, as an active conversion.” By and large individual evangelicals exist and function in their Christian faith-witness within the range of protestant churches comprising evangelicalism; which as a movement in modern Christianity emphasizes the gospel of forgiveness and regeneration through personal faith in Jesus Christ, affirms orthodox doctrines, social responsibility, personal discipleship, and the importance of structured or regularized personal devotional life practices. The term “Devotional Life” indicates a generalized evangelical discipleship practice.

The term “DEVOTIONAL LIFE” refers to . . .

• The practice of regular Bible reading, prayer, reflection/meditation, and personal worship which may include the spiritual discipline of journaling; the Bible reading element is frequently supported by published Bible reading notes.

Evangelicalism’s common expectation is the timing of a person’s daily devotions are observed in the morning is often before breakfast, employment, or other larger responsibilities. The practice is also known as; “daily devotions” or “quiet time” is a devotional “rule of life.”

One’s “DEVOTIONAL RULE OF LIFE” is the structured routine of  . . .

Self-chosen and intentionally undertaken

• Christian spiritual disciplines

Which one pursues as either personal or communal life-practices in

• maintaining and deepening one’s relationship with God, and
• Effective engagement within broader-life public life.

Note: While Rule of Life structures provide a “centering for devotional practices and the integration of a range of spiritual disciplines” they are not limited to merely enabling devotional spirituality; they hold invaluable relevance in the whole-of-life or holistic formation, and integration of one’s inner, outer and corporate worlds.

CHRISTIAN SPIRITUAL DISCIPLINES are . . .

Devotional spiritual formation practices disciples apply consistently that help maintain and nurture faith, grow spirituality, and build up Christ-conformity.

While there is a significant range of Christian spiritual discipline practices, evangelical spirituality author Richard Foster provides a “helpful threefold starting framework” . . .

• Inward - Disciplines practiced in the privacy of our intimate walk with Jesus
• Meditation, prayer, fasting, and Bible study
• Outward - Disciplines that affect how we interface with the world
• Simplicity, solitude, submission, and service
• Corporate - Disciplines that are practiced with others
• Confession, worship, guidance, and celebration

Practicing Spiritual Disciplines . . .

• Spiritual discipline practices help to put us in a place where we can begin to notice God and respond to His word to us
•  Spiritual disciplines give the Holy Spirit space to brood over our souls
•  Spiritual transformation, “recovering your life,” comes from partnering with the Trinity for change
•  Keeping company with Jesus in the space between wanting to change and not being able to change through effort alone can be a difficult thing to do.
• Disciplines are intentional ways we open space in our lives for the worship of God
• They are not harsh but grace-filled ways of responding to the presence of Christ with our bodies. Worship happens in our bodies, not just our heads. In Romans 12:1 Paul exhorts us to; “Offer your bodies as living sacrifices, holy and pleasing to God-this is your spiritual act of worship”

SPIRITUAL DISCIPLINES OPEN US TO GOD (aka “Worship”)

 Worship is not something we work up or go to on Sunday morning. Worship is every discipline's end game! We miss the point and endanger our souls when we think of spiritual disciplines as ends in themselves.

Spiritual practices exist to open us into God.

They are never the "be all and end all" of discipleship. The "be all and end all" is a loving trust of and obedience to the God who is within us yet beyond us and our very best efforts.

Clickhere for a link to the PowerPoint slides used in Session #2

Adele Ahlberg Calhoun, Spiritual Disciplines Handbook: Practices That Transform Us. Downers Grove, Ill.: InterVarsity Press, 2005, p.17-21.

John C. Douglas, "The Effectiveness of a Rule of Life as Growth Processing Framework in the Development of New Zealand Evangelical Church Leaders’ Spiritual Discipline Behaviors (Project Draft)." doctoral dissertation, Denver Seminary 2013, p.110-112.

Richard J. Foster, Celebration of Discipline: The Path to Spiritual Growth. 20th anniversary ed. [San Francisco]: HarperSanFrancisco, 1998, p.1-9.

Dallas Willard, The Divine Conspiracy: Rediscovering Our Hidden Life in God. 1st ed. London: Fount, 1998, p. 386-398.

From SSPP Seminar session #2