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Strengthening the Soul of Your Leadership Podcast Show Notes

We’ve reached the end of our Advent journey. Ruth, Scott, and Charity come together one last time to wonder where God is in the darkness, the unfolding, and the journey. Scott shares a story of God’s intimate revelation during his own pilgrimage, and the three ponder how we move from revelation to participation. They also…

Strengthening the Soul of Your Leadership Podcast Show Notes

Ruth, Scott, and Charity continue their journey through Advent with a conversation around Scott’s pieces, Sacred and Mighty. With these images, they explore where God is in our humanity, in our broken, imperfect bodies, and in the mightiness God displayed when he came to earth in the form of a tiny baby, choosing to go…

Strengthening the Soul of Your Leadership Podcast Show Notes

This week, as Ruth, Scott, and Charity examine Scott’s “cover” of Sister Grace Remington’s beautiful painting Mary and Eve, they delve into womanhood, mothering, and the invitation to embrace vulnerability this advent. Why is it so scandalous to talk about God as a mother? What does the vulnerability of God coming into the world as…

Strengthening the Soul of Your Leadership Podcast Show Notes

As we mark the first week of Advent we are examining the Annunciation. How do we define a revelation and what does it expose in us? What does a revelation do to our plans and certainty? Where is God in the midst of it all? Ruth, Charity and Scott discuss Mary’s response to the news…

Strengthening the Soul of Your Leadership Podcast Show Notes

Advent is upon us again. This season, we’ve invited artist, author, and speaker Scott Erickson to join us. Transforming Center team member Charity McClure is also on the microphone. Together with Ruth, the three will discuss how an honest Advent leads to honest hope. Using images from his book, Honest Advent, they will explore issues…

Honest Advent Artwork To learn more about Scott Erickson and his work, check out his website. All of these images come from his book, Honest Advent. Episode 1: Preparing for Advent Episode 2: Advent Week 1 Episode 2: Advent Week 1 Episode 3: Advent Week 2 Episode 3: Advent Week 2 Episode 4: Advent Week…

Strengthening the Soul of Your Leadership Podcast Show Notes

We find ourselves again beginning a new Christian year with Advent. This year the lectionary finds us in Cycle A. In this episode Ruth helps us prepare for advent with an invitation to use this season as actual space to practice sabbath keeping. She shares some of the greater themes we find in Advent and…

“God comes to us like the sun in the morning—when it is time.”—Carlo Carretto, The God Who Comes My favorite time of any day is the pre-dawn moments before the light comes. The world is dark and quiet, stretching out before me in a hopeful sort of way. Having just awakened from sleep, I am…

Strengthening the Soul of Your Leadership Podcast Show Notes

This season we invite you to walk through Advent by engaging with the lectionary Scripture readings and listening for what God might want to say through them. In each episode, Ruth and members of the Transforming Center staff will read and reflect on the themes of Cycle C of the Revised Common Lectionary for Advent…

Strengthening the Soul of Your Leadership Podcast Show Notes

This season we invite you to walk through Advent by engaging with the lectionary Scripture readings and listening for what God might want to say through them. In each episode, Ruth and members of the Transforming Center staff will read and reflect on the themes of Cycle C of the Revised Common Lectionary for Advent…

Strengthening the Soul of Your Leadership Podcast Show Notes

This season we invite you to walk through Advent by engaging with the lectionary Scripture readings and listening for what God might want to say through them. In each episode, Ruth and members of the Transforming Center staff will read and reflect on the themes of Cycle C of the Revised Common Lectionary for Advent…

Strengthening the Soul of Your Leadership Podcast Show Notes

This season we invite you to walk through Advent by engaging with the lectionary Scripture readings and listening for what God might want to say through them. In each episode, Ruth and members of the Transforming Center staff will read and reflect on the themes of Cycle C of the Revised Common Lectionary for Advent…

Advent resource written by Ruth Haley Barton

This beautiful 40 page Advent resource written by Ruth Haley Barton is designed to help individuals, spiritual friends, small groups and even congregations walk through the four Sundays of Advent together. A perfect tool to introduce people to the practice of following the lectionary through the seasons of the Church year, that begins with a longer…

Growing up, I remember the anticipation leading up to Christmas. I remember the surprise of gifts, I remember the joy of family, and maybe more than anything, I remember Christmas as Jesus’ birthday. Every single year I remember placing an ornament on the tree that said, “Jesus is the Reason for the Season” and without fail,…

Join Ruth Haley Barton and Steve Weins for spiritual encouragement based on this year’s Advent Reflections (Cycle B) with an episode for each week of Advent. This podcast season is designed to help leaders (and everyone) carve out time to make Advent a season of transformation. If you would like to make listening to the scriptures each day…

Join Ruth Haley Barton and Steve Weins are definitely keepin’ it real. Listen and discover what is so far in the rear view mirror for Ruth. Based on this year’s Advent Reflections (Cycle B), this podcast season is designed to help leaders (and everyone) carve out time to make Advent a season of transformation. If you would like to…

Join Ruth Haley Barton and Steve Weins for spiritual encouragement based on this year’s Advent Reflections (Cycle B) with an episode for each week of Advent. This podcast season is designed to help leaders (and everyone) carve out time to make Advent a season of transformation. If you would like to make listening to the scriptures each day…

Happy New Year! Advent marks the beginning of the church year. Join Ruth Haley Barton and Steve Weins for spiritual encouragement based on this year’s Advent Reflections (Cycle B) with an episode for each week of Advent. This podcast season is designed to help leaders (and everyone) carve out time to make Advent a season of transformation. If…

This week, we release our Advent podcast season of the Strengthening the Soul of Your Leadership podcast! If you’ve already signed up for our mailing list, you’ll get a notification for each episode. You can also watch for the episodes to be uploaded on our podcast page here: https://transformingcenter.org/strengthening-the-soul-of-your-leadership-podcast/. “Waiting is the hidden preparation through which…

Advent Year C Lectionary Calendar Read more about the practice of using the lectionary Advent Year C First reading Psalm Second reading Gospel First Sunday of Advent (December 2, 2018)Jeremiah 33:14-16Psalm 25:1-101 Thessalonians 3:9-13Luke 21:25-36Second Sunday of Advent (December 9, 2018)Malachi 3:1-4Luke 1:68-79Philippians 1:3-11Luke 3:1-6Third Sunday of Advent (December 16, 2018)Zephaniah 3:14-20Isaiah 12:2-6Philippians 4:4-7Luke 3:7-18Fourth…

Strengthening the Soul of Your Leadership Podcast Show Notes

The seasons of the church year are meant to teach us essential truths of the spiritual life, offering us an opportunity to practice some of the key disciplines of our Christian faith together – in community. The Advent season marks the beginning of the church year and while we have always provided reflections and gatherings…

Lectionary Readings for the first week of Advent: Isaiah 64:1-9; Psalm 80:1-7, 17-19; 1 Corinthians 1:3-9; Mark 13:24-37 Click for complete Advent calendar (CycleB) and guidance on using the lectionary. “No one has heard, no ear has perceived, no eye has seen any God besides you, who works for those who wait for him.” Isaiah…

Advent Week One

Lectionary readings for November 27, 2016: Isaiah 2:1-5; Psalm 122; Rom 13:11-14; Matt 24:36-44 Click for complete Advent calendar (Cycle A) and guidance on using the lectionary. “God comes to us like the sun in the morning—when it is time.”—Carlo Carretto, The God Who Comes My favorite time of any day is the pre-dawn moments before the…

Advent 2016

“Of all types of waiting, the waiting of pregnancy is most like the waiting that we do during Advent. The waiting of pregnancy is like the waiting we do for God.” – Wendy Wright For four years my wife and I were eager to have a baby. At first, naturally, we tried like everyone else. After…

Lectionary readings for November 29, 2015: Jeremiah 33: 14-16; Psalm 25: 1-10; 1 Thessalonians 3:9-13; Luke 21: 25-36 Click for complete Advent calendar (Cycle C) and guidance on using the lectionary. “Unto you, O Lord, I lift up my soul. O my God, in you I trust.” Ps 25:1, 2 “Hurry up and wait!” Usually this statement is laced with…

Lectionary readings for the first Sunday of Advent (Cycle B). Isaiah 64:1-9; Psalm 80:1-7, 17-19; 1 Corinthians 1:3-9; Mark 13:24-37 Click for complete Advent calendar (Cycle B) and guidance on using the lectionary. “O that you would tear open the heavens and come down!”—Isaiah 64:1 Waiting is one of God’s immensely sweeping invitations. To wait expectantly…

Joseph and his walk of faith

Lectionary Readings for December 22, 2013: Isaiah 7:10-16; Psalm 80:1-7,17-19; Romans 1:1-7; Matthew 1:18-25 Advent Calendar (Cycle A) and guidance for using the lectionary “Sooner or later, if we follow Christ we have to risk everything in order to gain everything. We have to gamble on the invisible and risk all that we see and…

Desert Sand

Lectionary Readings for December 15, 2013: Isaiah 35:1-10; Psalm 146:5-10; James 5:7-10; Matthew 11:2-11 Advent Calendar (Cycle A) and guidance for using the lectionary “The desert of which I speak is a desert of the spirit: a place of revelation, conversion, and transformation… It involves being ‘made over’, being made new, being ‘born again’… In…

Baby Jesus

If you are joining us for week 2, you might want to also access other eReflections in this Advent series: Read Advent 1—The Importance of Waking up Lectionary readings for Dec 08, 2013: Is 11:1-10; Psalm 72:1-7, 18-19; Rom 15:4-13; Matt 3:1-12 Click for complete Advent calendar (Cycle A) and guidance on using the lectionary. “Our spiritual life depends…

Daybreak

Lectionary readings for Dec 01, 2013. Isaiah 2:1-5; Psalm 122; Rom 13:11-14; Matt 24:36-44 Click for complete Advent calendar (Cycle A) and guidance on using the lectionary. “God comes to us like the sun in the morning—when it is time.”—Carlo Carretto, The God Who Comes My favorite time of any day is the pre-dawn moments before the…

Lectionary Readings for December 22, 2012: Micah 5:2-5a; Psalm 80:1-7; Hebrews 10:5-10; Luke 1:39-55 Advent Calendar (Cycle C) and guidance for using the lectionary In the fourth week of Advent we begin to move beyond waiting and preparation to a deeper sense of the immanency of Christ’s coming. Anticipation is high. The fourth Sunday of…

Lectionary Readings: Zephaniah 3:14-20; Isaiah 12:2-6; Philippians 4:4-7; Luke 3:7-18 Advent Calendar (Cycle C) and guidance for using the lectionary In The Voyage of the Dawn Treader by C. S. Lewis the Pevenzie children undertake a harrowing sail into darkness –“smooth, solid blackness.” The hungering dark sapped hope, flooding hearts with fear. There was no future,…

Lectionary Readings for December 9, 2012: Malachi 3:1-4; Luke 1:68-79; Philippians 1:3-11; Luke 3:1-6 Advent Calendar (Cycle C) and guidance for using the lectionary The lectionary readings for this second Sunday in Advent tell the story of John the Baptist. The prophet Malachi describes him as the “messenger of the covenant,” the one sent to prepare…

Lectionary Readings for December 2, 2012: Jeremiah 33:14-16; Psalm 25:1-10; I Thessalonians 3:9-13; Luke 21:25-36 Advent Calendar (Cycle C) and guidance for using the lectionary Apparently American consumerism has reached a new low. As one news article described it, “The gravy was still warm. The Dallas Cowboys were still in uniform. Thanks were still being given across the…

The seasons of the church year are meant to teach us something about the spiritual life we need to learn. Beyond mere information about the spiritual life, they offer us the opportunity to practice some of the key disciplines of the Christian life and to do it together as a community of faith. The Advent season,…

Lectionary readings for December 18, 2011: 2 Samuel 7: 1-11,16; Luke 1:46b-55; Romans 16:25-27; Luke 1:26-38 Then Mary said, “Here am I, the servant of the Lord; let it be with me according to your word.” Luke 1:38 Most of us don’t think of indifference as being very positive. In fact, we tend to identify…

Lectionary readings for December 11, 2011: Isaiah 61:1-4, 8-11; Psalm 126; 1 Thessalonians 5:16-24; John 1:6-8, 19-28 There was a man sent from God, whose name was John…he himself was not the light, but he came to testify to the light. The true light, which enlightens everyone, was coming into the world. John 1:6-9 In…

Lectionary readings for December 4, 2011: Isaiah 40:1-11; Psalm 85:1-2, 8-13; 2 Peter 3:8-15a; Mark 1:1-8 “See, I am sending my messenger ahead of you, who will prepare your way; the voice of one crying out in the wilderness: ‘Prepare the way of the Lord, make his paths straight.’” John the baptizer appeared in the wilderness,…

Read these Lectionary readings for November 27, 2011: Isaiah 64:1-9; Psalm 80:1-7, 17-19; 1 Corinthians 1: 3-9; Mark 13:24-37 “But in those days, after that suffering, the sun will be darkened, and the moon will not give its light, and the stars will be falling from heaven, and the powers in the heavens will be…

During Advent we wait for the coming of Christ not only in the ancient world of the Biblical story, but in our own lives now. As is our tradition, we will offer a special eReflections series entitled Poems and Prayers for Advent to help you watch and wait for Christ’s presence where you need it…

Lectionary readings for December 19, 2010: Isaiah 7:10-16; Psalm 80:1-7; 17-19; Romans 1:1-7; Matthew 1:18-25 “Sooner or later, if we follow Christ we have to risk everything in order to gain everything. We have to gamble on the invisible and risk all that we see and taste and feel. But we know the risk is…

For December 12, 2010 Ruth Haley Barton “The desert of which I speak is a desert of the spirit: a place of revelation, conversion, and transformation. A true revelation is a very disturbing event because it demands a response; and to respond means some kind of inner revolution. It involves being ‘made over,’ being made…

For December 12, 2010 Ruth Haley Barton “Our spiritual life depends on His perpetual coming to us, far more than our going to him. Every time a channel is made for Him He comes; every time our hearts are open to him He enters, bringing a fresh gift of His very life, and on that…

“You will find the living God in the pages of the Bible. You will find him also just exactly where you are.” Mother Frances Dominica Guidance for your Lectionary reading, November 28, 2010 Print off the following Scriptures so that you can move away from your desk and settle into a place that is conducive…

When we submit our lives to what we read in Scripture, we find that we are not being led to see God in our stories but our stories in God’s. God is the larger context and plot in which our stories find themselves.” – Eugene Peterson I can still remember the first time I heard…

“We are all meant to be mothers of God, for God is always needing to be born.” Meister Eckhart In the fourth week of Advent we begin to move beyond waiting and preparation to a deeper sense of joyful anticipation. We are moving closer to the birth of our Lord and the Old and New…

“The house of my soul is too narrow for Thee to come in; let it be enlarged by Thee. It is in ruins. Do Thou restore it.” -Augustine In this week’s Gospel reading (Luke 3:7-18), John the Baptist is on a rant. I guess we could describe it more delicately by calling it a prophetic…

“The word of God came to John in the wilderness. He went into all the region around the Jordan, proclaiming a baptism of repentance for the forgiveness of sins. As it is written in the book of Isaiah, “Prepare the way of the Lord.” ~from Luke 3:1-6 Recently I started writing a new book which…

“God comes to us like the sun in the morning…when it is time. We must assume an attitude of waiting, accepting the fact that we are creatures and not the creator. We must do this because it is not our right to do anything else. The initiative is God’s, not ours. We are able to…

“No one has heard, no ear has perceived, no eye has seen any God besides you, who works for those who wait for him.” Isaiah 64:4 The seasons of the church year are meant to teach us something about the spiritual life that we need to learn. Beyond mere information about the spiritual life, they…