Given all that is facing leaders these days, I am sure that you have been given many opportunities to practice discernment—the theme of our last retreat. I pray you have been practicing and growing in your capacity to recognize and respond to the presence of Christ, both personally and in your ministry.
Looking forward to seeing you, in person, in just a few weeks!
Grace and peace,
REFLECTING ON THE LAST RETREAT
As this quarter draws to a close, please remember to carve out time to prepare for our time together. You are invited to reflect on the questions found below or in your During the Quarter document
and prepare your 2–3-page paper related to the themes from the last retreat. This written reflection will form the basis of your sharing with community members over dinner on Sunday night.
Even if you are not handing in a paper for the certificate program, we would encourage you to write down a few of your reflections as a way of pulling your thoughts together in preparation for sharing with community members over dinner.
Where did you find yourself in the story of the healing of the blind man in John 9? What is the nature of your own spiritual
blindness? How is Jesus healing that blindness and guiding you to true spiritual sight?
How has reflecting on Deuteronomy 30 impacted your decision-making? How have you engaged in the habit of discernment and what have you noticed in paying attentionto
consolation and desolation?
What decision(s) have you faced in the last season that warranted the spiritual practice of discernment? Describe how you utilized the different aspects of discernment and found it to be different than mere decision-making.
What have been the outcomes of a greater attention to discernment in your life?
Please email your paper to TC18papers@transformingcenter.orgby the Friday before the retreat. If you missed the last retreat, please check the requirements for making up a retreat on theTC18 webpage.
PREPARING FOR THE UPCOMING RETREAT
All Christian spiritual
formation is For the Sake of Others—which is the topic of our upcoming retreat, October 22-24. Spiritual transformation increases our capacity to discern and do the will of God which must always involve loving engagement with the world Jesus loves and gave his life for.
Dr. Robert Mulholland describes cruciform love as the very essence of God’s nature—looking at the
cross not only as something God “did” but as the deepest revelation of God’s very essence. We will explore theological and practical reflections on Christian spirituality through the lens of cruciform love. Together we will reflect on the Christian life and Christian ministry in and for the world as one of cruciform love—an essential truth about being conformed to the image of Christ.
