Posts Tagged ‘spiritual discipline’
Spiritual 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 MoreSolitude: In God for the World
“Wherever there is something in our life that is not conformed to the image of Christ, there is a place where we are incapable of being all God wants us to be with others … a place where our life with others is hindered and limited and restricted in its effectiveness and in its fullness…
Read MoreSpiritual Direction with Pastoral and Corporate 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 almost twenty years ago now when, as a young leader, I crept into a spiritual director’s office…
Read MoreArranging Our Lives for Spiritual Transformation
I remember the first time I noticed that some people arrange their lives to see sunsets. It was summertime in the Gulf of Florida when the days were hot and the nights were balmy. During the day, crowds of people were lying in the sun and playing noisily on the beach, but in the early…
Read MoreMake a Joyful Silence
“On the day I called, you answered me, you increased my strength of soul.” Psalm 138:3 Long ago, a wise spiritual director said to me, “Ruth, you are like a jar of river water all shaken up. What you need is to sit still long enough so that the sediment can settle and the water…
Read MoreReleasing Ourselves to God: A Leader’s Invitation to Solitude and Silence
Editor’s note: The following article is adapted from Dallas Willard’s forward to Invitation to Solitude and Silence (Ruth Haley Barton, 2004). In it he identifies solitude and silence as the most radical disciplines of the Christian life because they require us to release ourselves into God’s hands in very concrete ways. Knowing the particular challenges…
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