Course Description: 

Here I am! I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears my voice and opens the door, I will come in and eat with that person, and they with me.  Revelation 3:20 (NIV)

Just as Jesus called out to the Laodicean church, He is inviting you to a deeper journey with Him through this course. As He called the Laodiceans to move from a lukewarm to a vibrant relationship with Him, He is inviting you to explore in your own life where waters run lukewarm, where there are blocks to His Living Water, and where there are broken places that need healing, so that you may be filled with His Living Water.

Spiritual Formation is essential in order to remain vital in ministry for years to come. This course is core to your effectiveness as a Christian leader, whether in ministry or in the secular marketplace. While there are required activities, the course emphasis in on internal change of heart and mind, or transformation. This transformation can only take place when we slow down to attend to our inner stirrings (cries of the soul), which are evidence of the Holy Spirit’s invitations to follow in the ways of Jesus, the Living Word.

Transformation happens best when we slow down to make space to hear the still, small voice of God, to place attention on our inner stirrings, and to allow Him to work in and through us to conform us to the image and lifestyle of Jesus. The means of making this space are through each Unit’s devotional practices (spiritual disciplines), readings, and journaling about your thoughts, feelings, and experiences in response.

Spiritual Formation is designed for Christian leaders who have settled many of the basic issues of Christian discipleship, but who find themselves longing for increased depth and authenticity in their relationship with Christ. It is for those who are willing to take costly steps to open themselves up to God’s work in new ways and to allow Him to transform them. Course units are designed to engage the learners by involving thoughtful performance in written and audio materials and the intentional practice of spiritual exercises. Together with a weekly written journal, periodic writing activities will enable the student to explore and express new learning and commitments.

At the end of this course, you will devise an action plan based on your personal experience with the spiritual disciplines. The purpose of the plan is to move you forward into a lifetime of continued spiritual formation.

We assure you that every effort will be undertaken to ensure confidentiality during the duration of this course. Therefore, be encouraged to be open and honest as you complete your assignments. Your facilitator understands the intense struggles of the spiritual life. Feel free to be candid when you respond to your assignments. Your facilitator is the only person who will see the assignments you submit.

It is my prayer as your facilitator that you will wholeheartedly accept this invitation to be transformed as you participate in this four-month long journey.