I’ve had to write a spiritual biography on many occasions, most recently when I did some extended units of Clinical Pastoral Education. In my younger years, I felt I had to explain why I was searching. Today, I don’t think that’s necessary. Spiritual quests are part of living in this postmodern age. Old answers don’t…
I’m going to a training tomorrow for spiritual directors. And saying so, I have to acknowledge that some folks view the term, “spiritual direction,” with great suspicion. Somehow my name was added to a list that delivers daily missives condemning “spiritual direction,” “spiritual formation,” and “spirituality.” The basic problem with these jeremiads is that they…
Herb is writing about the New Spirituality Movement in evangelicalism (and Adventism) at Adventist Today. He suggests “Seeker-friendly churches, such as Willow Creek and Saddleback, will join the New Spirituality wave or fade”–and the same for those Adventist churches that have modeled themselves on Willow Creek. He links to several Christianity Today articles and says,…
Seventh-day Adventists are starting to show an interest in spirituality. At least, that’s what you might get from articles like that by Rachel Davies announcing a new Spectrum series. But as I’ve written elsewhere, Adventism has a rich heritage of well-grounded Biblical spirituality–even if we haven’t often used that word to define it. How should…
[I posted these reflections on this blog on March 2, 2007. I knew at that point that I had to return to my roots. It would be another two months before I would quit my job, but I had put that in God’s hands and was praying for his guidance and wisdom as I made…
The evangelical world is all abuzz about “spiritual formation” these days, thanks primarily to the work of Quaker writer Richard Foster. Courses in “spiritual formation” are taught in many evangelical seminaries. Books and articles abound, some suggesting that we haven’t paid enough attention to “spirituality.” Some act as if the traditions of the Reformation have…
National Catholic Reporter carries an interview with Ron Rolheiser–“Spirituality: Infinite Spirits in a Finite World.” He’s asked to define spirituality. We humans are infinite spirits in a finite situation, and that’s a sure formula for restlessness: You want to make love to the whole human race, you want to consume the planet but you’re confined…
Christian spirituality, at the simplest level, is the lived experience of a personal relationship with God. It includes the day to day things we do to express and nourish that relationship, including prayer and the reading of Scripture. It includes the inspiration we find to keep us going, to help us make choices. It’s about…
Pax et bonum 