Posts by Ruth Haley Barton
How Shall I Pray? Spiritual Guidance For When Words Fail
When words fail, let silence be your prayer. Lean into the ministry of the Holy Spirit, trusting that even when we don’t know how to pray, prayer is happening. The Holy Spirit knows how to pray and is constantly interceding for us before the throne of grace with groans too deep for words. When tears…
Read MorePart 2: Lament that Leads to Justice: Celebrating Martin Luther King Jr.’s Transforming Leadership
“Where do we go from here—chaos or community?” Martin Luther King, Jr. Lament is a spiritual practice that is more than mere catharsis; when practiced fully, it can be a powerful force for change—for so many reasons. First of all, we are addressing God directly with our complaint, even in our despair, and telling it…
Read MoreEpiphany: When the Star Beckons
Lectionary Readings for Epiphany: Isaiah 60:1-6; Psalm 72:1-7, 10-14; Ephesians 3:1-12; Matthew 2:1-12 “They set out; and there ahead of them, went the star they had seen at it’s rising, until it stopped over the place where the child was. When the wise men saw that the star had stopped, they were overwhelmed with joy.…
Read MoreYou are Made for More
We’re made for more. And yet, the road between where we are and where we want to go can feel long and uncertain and sometimes disillusioning. Many of us have become weary of the journey and impatient with the waiting, but the truth is that it is in the waiting that the unseen work of…
Read MoreAdvent: Waiting for the Light
“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…
Read MoreFinding Freedom Through Sabbath Resistance
“If you aren’t resting, you are a slave to something.” – Adele Calhoun We tend to think of sabbath as being mostly about rest and replenishment—and it is!—but if that’s all we emphasize, it can come across as being rather soft. For those who were first given the gift of sabbath, it was so much…
Read MoreWaking Up to the Gift of Sabbath
“God gave us the Sabbath. Jesus taught us that we weren’t made for the Sabbath but that Sabbath was made for us. Sabbath time is our time, our chance to rest, to worship God, to forgive each other, to taste a wee bit of heaven, and to be more in sympathy with all that is,…
Read MoreEven When the Doors are Shut: Encountering the Risen Christ
My favorite thing about the Easter story—aside from the resurrection itself—is reading the stories about Jesus’ post-resurrection appearances and how each one was different, uniquely suited to the person(s) he was encountering. In John 20 and 21* we witness story after story in which Jesus systematically sought out his loved ones to announce the good…
Read MoreThe Practice of Keeping Vigil
“Who can stay awake in this night of God? Who will not be as if paralyzed by it? Christ’s struggle was with God. This was his real agony. He overcame it through his self-surrender. That was his victory, and our hope.” –Jurgen Moltmann It is a custom of the Christian church to keep vigil with…
Read MoreLent for Leaders: With God in the Wilderness
“We have to fashion our own desert where we can withdraw every day, shake off our compulsions, and dwell in the gentle healing presence of our Lord. Without such a desert we will lose our own soul while preaching the gospel to others. But with such a spiritual abode, we will become increasingly conformed to…
Read MorePracticing Lent for Spiritual Leaders
Many of us as pastors and ministry leaders are at this very moment preparing to guide others into this most significant season of the church year. One of the great temptations of life in leadership is that we become so focused on leading others—it is our job, after all!—that we cease entering into these seasons of…
Read MoreDiscovering Transforming Worship: Our Journey in Community
Rory and I go way back. We met when we were both on staff at Willow Creek in the late 90s, early 2000s, but it was on a trip to Israel with fellow staff members that we first connected meaningfully around our shared interest in spiritual formation. I was serving as Associate Director of Spiritual…
Read MoreSane Rhythms of Work and Rest in Your Life as a Leader
“We are blessed with inner rhythms that tell us where we are, and where we are going. No matter, then, our fifty and sixty hour work weeks, the refusing to stop for lunch, the bypassing sleep and working deep into the darkness. If we stop, if we return to rest, our natural state reasserts itself.…
Read MoreEngaging a transforming conversation about policing in America
In this ongoing series we reflect on the spiritual truths and principles that undergird the fight for racial justice, the Spirit that animates the fight and the spiritual practices that sustain us in this very human struggle. One of those practices is the willingness to listen to one another and learn from each other’s differing…
Read MoreEastertide: Discerning the Presence of Christ
You can also read Part 1, Part 2, Part 3, and Part 4 of this series. They urged him strongly, saying, “Stay with us, because it is almost evening and the day is now nearly over.” So he went in to stay with them. When he was at the table with them, he took bread, blessed it and…
Read MoreEastertide: Women and Men in Transforming Community
“Moreover, some women of our group astounded us. They were at the tomb early this morning, and when they did not find his body there, they came back and told us that they had indeed seen a vision of angels who said he was alive.” —Luke 24:22-23 Some Women of Our Group Astounded Us To…
Read MoreJanuary 6, 2021: An Unexpected Epiphany
“A leader is a person who must take special responsibility for what’s going on inside him- or herself, inside his or her consciousness, lest the act of leadership create more harm than good.” –Parker Palmer Yesterday morning we published a Beyond Words blog post highlighting the beginning of Epiphany—the season of the church year in which we…
Read MoreEpiphany: A Season of Revelation
Lectionary Readings for Epiphany: Isaiah 60:1-6; Psalm 72:1-7, 10-14; Ephesians 3:1-12; Matthew 2:1-12 Arise, shine; for your light has come, and the glory of the Lord has risen upon you! Isaiah 60:1 Pay attention. Be astonished. Tell about it. – Mary Oliver Today, in the rhythm of the church year, we celebrate the feast of the…
Read MoreA Prayer on Election Day
O God, we acknowledge you today as Lord, Not only of individuals, but of nations and governments. We thank you for the privilege of voting that is ours– an opportunity to influence the direction our country will take by choosing those who will lead us. Lord, we thank you for your law of love and justice…
Read MorePart 1: Lament that Leads to Partnership in God’s Transforming Work
Note: In this ongoing series we reflect on the spiritual truths and principles that undergird the fight for racial justice, the Spirit that animates the fight and the spiritual practices that will sustain us in this very human struggle. No one post will be the full word or the last word, but taken together, diverse voices will…
Read MoreBring rhythms of fixed-hour prayer to your family
“Fixed-hour prayer gives us a way to anchor our daily lives in rhythms of prayer, Scripture reading, and silence, ensuring that we do not get too far into any day without orienting or reorienting ourselves to the presence of God in our lives.” – Ruth Haley Barton The Transforming Center began when a few intrepid…
Read MoreReflecting on COVID-19 through the Lens of John 9
“Surely we are not blind, are we?” John 9:40 That the Works of God Might be Revealed Here at the Transforming Center, we are John 9 people. What I mean by that is that this story has shaped us profoundly over time. So much so that it has become a lens through which we look at…
Read MoreLent and the Human Struggle
“Lent is a spiritual season which calls for greater openness to the word of God and conversion in every area of our lives. It is a time to face the darkness within and expose it to the light. Lent is the season to confront our demons and expel them.” Michael Ford, Eternal Seasons “Jesus, full…
Read MoreHolding Fast to Love and Justice—In Celebration of Martin Luther King, Jr.
To mark and celebrate the life and work of Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. is to mark and celebrate something that is very important to the God who created us all—love and justice held together in beautiful, creative, messy tension. “He has told you, O mortal, what is good; and what does the Lord…
Read MoreEpiphany: A Dangerous Journey
Originally published in 2020 this reflection feels as timely as ever. “A good journey begins with knowing where we are and being willing to go someplace else.” —Richard Rohr Lectionary Calendar and guidance for using the lectionary Today marks the end of the Christmas season and the beginning of the season of Epiphany—the “showing forth” or…
Read MoreInvitation to Advent: Leaders in Liminal Space
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…
Read MoreFinding God’s Will in Community: Exploring a process for corporate leadership discernment
“If we’re not discerning God’s will together in fairly intentional ways, what are we doing?” —Ruth Haley Barton It was a conversation similar to many I’ve had with Christian leaders. A pastor from a large church in Colorado was telling me his church was going through a major transition as it tried to respond to…
Read MoreSpiritual Direction (Part 2): A Space for Rigorous Honesty
Click here to read “Spiritual Direction (Part 1): A Vital Practice for Discerning Leaders.” “The whole purpose of spiritual direction is to penetrate beneath the surface of a [person’s] life, to get behind the façade of conventional gestures and attitudes which he presents to the world, and to bring out his inner spiritual freedom, his…
Read MoreSpiritual Direction (Part 1): A Vital Practice for Discerning Leaders
“A spiritual director is one who helps another to recognize and to follow the inspirations of grace in his life, in order to arrive at the end to which God is leading him.” —Thomas Merton It was over 20 years ago now when, as a young leader, I crept into a spiritual director’s office desperate…
Read MoreLectio Divina: Engaging the Scriptures for Spiritual Transformation
Lectio Divina (translated “divine [or sacred] reading”) is an approach to the Scriptures that sets us up to listen for the word of God spoken to us in this present moment. Lectio divina refers to the ancient practice of divine reading that dates back to the early mothers and fathers of the Christian faith. Referring…
Read MoreAre You Longing for More in Church?
Eventually, someone looking for a church home will ask some variation of this question: “So, what kind of church are you?” —Kent Carlson While signing books at a conference on spiritual formation a few years ago, a sharply-dressed, middle-aged woman approached who seemed to have no interest in purchasing a book. She marched right up…
Read MoreTransformed Nonconformist: Celebrating Martin Luther King, Jr.
The Transforming Center is closed today in honor of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. and his courageous leadership in championing racial justice and equality through the use of non-violent resistance. In particular, we celebrate the fact that he provided this leadership, not merely as a social activist, but as a minister of the Gospel, proclaiming the…
Read MoreEpiphany: Celebrating the Imperfect Journey
“After Jesus was born in Bethlehem, wise men from the East came to Jerusalem, asking, ‘Where is the child who has been born king of the Jews? For we observed his star at its rising, and have come to pay him homage.’” Matthew 2:1 Tomorrow we celebrate the feast of Epiphany—the beginning of a season…
Read MoreChampioning a new reality for the body of Christ and its leaders
Your gift creates “ripples of transformation” in our communities and beyond. When people allow God to work in and through their lives ‘from the center out’ they are leading from the strength and wisdom of a transforming soul. One way to reflect on the impact of Jesus’ birth during the season of Advent is to…
Read MorePracticing Relinquishment: The Enneagram Goes on Retreat
“Every movement toward the humiliation of the false self, if we accept it, is a step toward freedom and inner resurrection.” – Fr. Thomas Keating Many of us have no idea how addicted we are to human striving, hard work, and performance-oriented drivenness until we actually stop. This may be one of the most shocking…
Read MoreRetreat: Invitation to a Counter-Cultural Practice
“I have lived too long where I am reachable.”–Rumi It is a wonderful thing to be invited—especially when the invitation is particularly well-suited to our needs, our desires, our delights. A gifted communicator receives a significant invitation to speak on a topic that is important to them. An artist is commissioned to create banners for…
Read MoreRetreat: The Gift and Necessity of Time Away with God
“If we don’t come apart for while, we will come apart after awhile.” –Dallas Willard Brad is a pastor whose church is going well. Attendance at weekend services is growing steadily, and they have just completed a building project that is enabling them to grow and provide a variety of ministries to meet needs within…
Read MorePart Four: Reenvisioning the Promised Land
“We are workers, not master builders; ministers, not messiahs. We are prophets of a future not our own.” —Bishop Ken Untener Strengthening the soul of your leadership is a journey that begins, continues and ends with a tenacious seeking after God in the crucible of ministry. It is an invitation to stay connected with your…
Read MorePart Three: The Conundrum of Calling
“Calling is a much abused word today. In the church it can be little more than a pious euphemism for doing what we feel like doing. Such abuse is brought to celebration in the secular culture, when doing what we feel like doing, attained by any way we feel like doing it, seems often to…
Read MorePart Two: The Power of a Well-Timed Pause
“Spiritual leadership springs forth in grace from our very desire for God’s presence. This does not take effort or striving. It takes courage, a kind of showing up, attentiveness.” –Gerald May Moses remained in a solitary, non-public existence for a long time. It was as if—in some deep and fundamental way—he just let go. He…
Read MorePart One: Coming Home to Ourselves in God’s Presence
“When I want to do good, evil is close at hand.” ~the apostle Paul Moses was destined to be a leader. When you are raised as the son of a princess, you are groomed to lead. You are scrutinized and evaluated regarding your capacity to lead. Expectations are high. But Moses was not just expected…
Read MoreWhen Leaders Lose Their Souls
“For what do you benefit if you gain the whole world but lose your own soul? Is anything worth more than your soul?” Matthew 16:26 (NLT) I want to talk to you about the soul—your soul, my soul, and the soul of our leadership. When I refer to the soul, I am not talking about…
Read MoreStaying Awake During Holy Week
Lectionary readings and guidance on using the lectionary Good Friday: Isaiah 52:13-53:12; Psalm 22; Hebrews 10:16-25; John 18:1-19:42 “Stay together, friends, don’t scatter and sleep. Our friendship is made of being awake.” Rumi In her book Cloister Walk, Kathleen Norris comments that in a monastery, Holy Week is “a total surrender to worship.” This surrender allows for a greater…
Read MoreJoin a worldwide prayer vigil on Good Friday 2018
For many years we have hosted a Stations of the Cross prayer service on Good Friday as a way of joining Jesus on his journey to the cross. Sadly, the beautiful chapel we have used is no longer in existence so this year we are inviting you to join us virtually. When we have invited people…
Read MoreLent: Dying That We Might Live
Lectionary readings and guidance on using the lectionary “For those who want to save their life will lose it, and those who lose their life for my sake, and for the sake of the gospel, will save it. For what will it profit a person to gain the whole world and forfeit their life? Indeed, what can…
Read MoreLove, Lent, and Leadership: Fashioning Your Own Wilderness
Lectionary readings and guidance on using the lectionary Ash Wednesday: Joel 2:1-2, 12-17; Psalm 51:1-17; 2 Corinthians 5:20b-6:10; Matthew 6:1-6, 16-21 First Sunday in Lent: Genesis 9:8-17; Psalm 25:1-10; 1 Peter 3:18-22; Mark 1:9-15 “Jesus, full of the Holy Spirit, returned from the Jordan and was led by the Spirit into the wilderness where for forty days he was…
Read MoreEquipping and Empowering the Next Generation of Leaders
Dear Friend, When a few of us started meeting together fifteen years ago to attend to our own spiritual formation as leaders, it would have been impossible to imagine all the Lord would eventually do. We began gathering on retreat not to start a ministry—but to survive and thrive ourselves. Now I can hardly believe…
Read MoreAdvent: Leaders in Waiting
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…
Read MoreFall Garden
In fall the garden is spent having given its all. Cucumber vines lie exhausted on the ground Tomato plants list to one side Cornstalks stand dignified and empty Sunflower faces droop earthward, shades of their former selves. All that has not been claimed lies moldering in the dirt— a bruised tomato, a forsaken pepper… a…
Read MoreSpiritual Direction (Part 2): A Key Practice for Transforming Leaders
Part One of this eReflections series can be found here. “There is a temptation to think that spiritual direction is the guidance of one’s spiritual activities, considered a small part or department of one’s life. This is completely false. Spiritual direction is concerned with the whole person not simply as an individual human being, but…
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