Beruflich Dokumente
Kultur Dokumente
Objectives
Drawing from the Bible and church history this class explores the lived reality of Christian faith
as commanded in Mark 12:29-31.
Jesus answered him, “The first of all the commandments is: ‘Hear, O Israel, the LORD
our God, the LORD is one. 30 And you shall love the LORD your God with all your
heart, with all your soul, with all your mind, and with all your strength.’ This is the first
commandment. 31 And the second, like it, is this: ‘You shall love your neighbor as your-
self.’ There is no other commandment greater than these.”
Mark 12:29-31
Requirements
Participants are expected to attend classes, participate in class exercises, and keep a journal. For
those taking the course for credit, a paper examining a particular aspect of spiritual formation
will be required (see me for details).
Suggested Text
The Celebration of the Disciplines by Richard Foster will provide a grounding text for the
course. Additionally, we’ll discuss a variety of texts that explore various aspects of spiritual
formation including articles that will be circulated to each person and various optional books.
Class Outline
In six classes, we’ll explore the implications of loving God (heart, soul, mind and strength) and
loving our neighbor as ourselves.
1. The Call of God
2. Waiting on God
3. Responding to God
4. Listening to the People of God
5. Offering a Living Sacrifice
6. Long Obedience
Class Descriptions
While following a basic structure, each class will be adapted to the needs of participants. A sum-
mary of class notes will be provided at the beginning of each class.
The Holy Spirit is integrating our whole person in these four directions through the love of God
in Christ.
Silence/Breathing
Solitude
Fasting
Meditation (God’s Word, Creation)
Worship
Retreat
Sabbath
Repentance
Lamentation
Adoration
Contemplation
Imprecation
Intercession
Breath prayers
6. Long Obedience
“They shall still bear fruit in old age.”
Eugene Peterson speaks of our faith as a long obedience in the same direction. From the pilgrim
Psalms to the peregrini, we see the model of faith as an extended pilgrimage. The challenge of
the disciplines is not to grow weary in well doing (like those fallen in the wilderness). In the final
class, we will discuss what a lifelong dedication to the spiritual discipline looks like.
Two contrasting examples might be the woman at the well and the conversion of St. Paul.
Exercise: Can you share your story, using these four elements? Write in your journal. Discussion.
I live in four directions: future, inward, past, and outward. The Holy Spirit is integrating my
whole person in these four directions through the love of God in Christ. Each of the spiritual dis-
ciplines might correspond to the four directions. While the Word of God, Prayer and Worship are
fundamental in all directions, they take different forms based on the direction.
Future (Inspiration)
Inward (Resonation)
This is about responding to God. His Spirit resounds in me through prayer.
Past (Remembrance)
As I respond to the call, the Spirit takes me beyond myself to teach me that I am grafted into the
people of God. The Lord’s community of memory shapes me and my imagination by integrating
my story into the story of the saints from the Patriarchs through the two Witnesses.
Outward (Incarnation)
The call of God must be expressed or translated through my life. Like Paul, I am compelled to
reconcile all things to God.
Discussion.
Exercise for class 2: Apply the four directions to characters in the Bible, the psalms, and other
stories in church history.
From now on, each week we will practice the disciplines introduced in class and keep a journal
about experience, including questions and frustrations. Each week we will discuss the exercises
from the previous week.
Repentance
Lamentation
Adoration
Contemplation
Imprecation
Intercession
Breath prayers
Psalms are songs for the lyre, and therefore lyric poems in the strictest sense.
(from Keil & Delitzsch Commentary on the Old Testament: New Updated Edition, Electronic
The book of Psalms is a Liturgical Book of prayers sung by the community of faith.
Who wrote the psalms? Many different people over a long range of time.
Poetry plays a role in the birth and ongoing sage of the nation. It becomes a way of rallying all
the people behind a common theme and vision.
Some Psalms in OT
Moses (Ex. 15; Deut 32)
Deborah (Judges 5)
Hannah (1 Samuel 2)
David (represents the golden age—poet king) – David suggests the poetic gift is from
God (2 Sam 23:2 - "The Spirit of the LORD spoke by me, and His word was on my
tongue.”
Isaiah (Book of Isaiah)
Hezekiah (Is. 38:9-20)
Habbakuk (Hab 3:2-19)
Jonah (Jonah 2:1-9)
Job (Throughout book of Job)
Jeremiah (Book of Jeremiah and Lamentations)
Psalmody is central to David’s life and rule. We see him writing songs long before his road to
kingship as a shepherd and then later to soothe King Saul, and even on the run from Saul.
In one sense, it may have been part of the glue which brought the twelve tribes together as one
Psalmody is revived during and after exile. Many believe that after the exile, possibly during
the time of Ezra, various books of Psalms were collected and edited into the books we have
now. There are five books of Psalms.
Five different books. These books are marked off by doxologies consisting of priestly
benedictions, “Praise be to the LORD,” and the congregation's responses, “Amen,” at the end
of Ps 41, 72, 89, 106.
In the Psalms, our history becomes intertwined with the history of the Covenant people of God. I
begin to identify with their story. Their story becomes my story.
In a sense, the Psalms tell the spiritual history of Israel or the spiritual history of the Soul in the
covenant community.
The psalms are man’s response to the initiative of God. It is God who draws the psalms forth
from his people. The psalms are songs for the journey, the pilgrimage of faith. The psalms
represent theology at work in real life and enable later readers to use them more appropriately
in corresponding specific situations
The psalms were crafted for use by the community. So even when David or another psalmist is
reflecting on a very personal experience, they write giving voice for the whole community.
While influenced by the poetry of surrounding culture, the psalms are distinct because they are
grounded in historical reality.
The psalm is often a vehicle for the community to remember the action of God in history on
behalf of the covenant people. There is a sense in remembering that the people of God reenter
into the reality and dramatic energy of the event remembered. (Think of communion.)
As we focus on God’s action, we realize that ritual is not a magical way to change our world
but a form of remembering the action of God.
Types of Psalms
1 Chron 16:4
“Then he appointed some of the Levites as ministers before the ark of the LORD, to
invoke, to thank, and to praise the LORD, the God of Israel.”
A. The Father speaks to us through the Son in the power of the Holy Spirit. A triune ap-
proach recognizes that all our meditating and study of the Psalms is always dependent
upon the action of God. Plus every person has a unique relationship with God and will be
guided in specific ways and through specific “methods.” The Holy Spirit is working in
the Psalms to draw us to Jesus. So pay attention to Jesus. Augustine and other Church
Fathers read all the Psalms as revealing Jesus.
B. Studying the Psalms is devotional. While knowledge plays a role, it is about developing
companionship with God and thus is always bathed in prayer, flowing out from prayer
and back to prayer.
C. Let the Bible reveal the Bible. Study how Psalms are quoted and understood by other
Biblical authors.
D. Listen for key words or ideas. Meditate upon those words. (Lecta Divina)
E. Read in the company of the Saints, Church Fathers, Reformers, Mystics.
2. Celtic Prayers
A culture of prayer was forged in the monastic world of Celtic Christianity. Prayer was a part
of life—not a separate discipline from the activities of daily living. In some ways, the whole
monastic Celtic world revolved around the rhythms of prayer.
St Patrick’s Breastplate
May Christ be with me, Christ before me, Christ behind me, Christ within me, Christ beneath
me, Christ above me, Christ to my right, Christ to my left, Christ where I lie down, Christ
where I sit, Christ where I stand, Christ in the heart of everyone who thinks of me, Christ in the
mouth of everyone who speaks to me, Christ in every eye which looks on me, Christ in every
ear which hears me.
A. Man is created in the image of God. From the creation story (Gen. 1:26-29; 2:7-25), we
learn
• That God creates a place for man to dwell
• That man is created in God’s image
• That man has dominion over all the earth
• That man must subdue and take dominion over all the earth
• That it is not good for man to be alone
• That man is subject to the law of God
Our memories are stored in through, stories, images, activities, songs, genealogies, events and
more.
Our vision comes to us through dreams and longings expressed in words, songs, stories and
more.
This time has a far greater impact on our lives than the time on a clock.
The past without the future (memory without vision) can become decadence.
The future without the past (vision without memory) can become revolution.
Our times can be understood on a personal level, a family level, a community level and even a
national level. Traditions, ceremonies, special costumes (like Police uniform), buildings,
stories, art and more all tell the story of our past: our memory.
When our vision for the future and our memory of the past is united, our times come into
harmony, and we have the power to transform the world.
The flowering of God’s purposes would reveal a people living in harmony with God, one
another and all creation. But man violates God’s command and the harmony is shattered. The
uniqueness of each person becomes a curse and we all act like little gods seeking to shape the
world into our own image.
Sin damages our memory and our vision resulting in actions the damage our inward life (heart)
and our outward life (the world around us).
Sin causes dis-eases of memory (causing our reason to twist our stories)
• We remember wrong thoughts.
• We see memories from the wrong perspective.
• We notice the wrong patterns.
Then our vision is corrupted, twisting the divine dreams from God into dreams of self-worship.
We worship the creature rather than the Creator.
II. Jesus restores all time and space, making a way for us to reveal the image and likeness of
• That God creates a place for man to dwell (the glory of God cover the whole earth)
• That man is created in God’s image. God is three persons and one God. He is “Being in
communion.” In His unchanging essence, God is a loving communion of Father, Son and
Spirit. Man is “being in communion.” In other words, man is not fully human outside of
loving communion (facilitated by the Spirit of God).
• That man has dominion over all the earth (we are given authority as priests, kings and
prophets)
• That man must subdue and take dominion over all the earth (we are commanded to walk
in the reality of our calling as priests, kings and prophets in our relation with God, other
humans, and all creation)
• That it is not good for man to be alone (we are created to give and receive love)
• That man is subject to the law of God (we live in God’s grace, yet the command to love
and live in love remains God’s fundamental command)
B. We are called into the communion of saints, the ekklesia (called out ones).
This loving communion with God, His people and all creation is characterized by the ancient
word, perechoresis (a dance of love). The discipline of relationship might be considered
through
1. Partaking in the Eucharist (faith, hope and love)
2. Listening to Church History (Acts 7)
3. Assembling with the people of God. (Heb 10:23-25; 11:2; 11:40; 1 Tim. 5:1-25; John 17;
1 Thes 3:12-13; Eph 2:4-7; 1 Cor 13)
4. Developing of soul friends
These notes were developed from studying Peter Brown’s ideas on Augustine, friendship and
society. Peter Brown says of Augustine, “(He) hardly ever spent a moment of his life without
some friend, even some blood-relative, close by him. No thinker in the Early Church was so
preoccupied with the nature of human relationships.”
What is friendship?
B. Yet, we keep open the hope for universal friendship. “It (friendship) must include all
those to whom love and affection are due. It may go out more readily to some, more
slowly to others, but it must reach even to our enemies for whom we are commanded
to pray. The conclusion is simply this: there is no member of the human species to
whom love is not due, either because they return our love or at least because we are
united to them through our common nature as human beings.” – Letter – This reality
to which Augustine refers is ultimately only possible in the new heaven and new earth
because we cannot physically become friends with every person on earth: there are
multiple limitations. As Burt says, “We will not meet every human in a lifetime but we
anyone who offers to be our friend. At the very least we can deem them worthy
of our
friendship and try to bring them to a point where mutual, truthful, frank and
trusting
but because we hold out the hope of possibility. This ultimately has to do with
hope or
C. Augustine also applies his ideas to the family suggesting that it also might be a society
of friends. Thus a marriage is first and foremost, a union of friends. This union is
exclusive.
A. Friendship is the highest expression of a person’s social nature. The more a society
becomes a society of friends, the more perfect it becomes as a society. (Augustine
applies his vision of friendship to society and sees how our culture might actually be a
society of friends. He discusses how authority and other aspects of regulated power
might function within this society but this is beyond the scope of our study.)
B. The ultimate goal of family: to be forever friends with one’s spouse, children and
Lord.
C. The true love found in the union of hearts (concordia) cannot be broken—even at
1. If you wish not to fall away from the love of God, do not let your brother go to be
feeling angry with you, and do not got to bed yourself feeling irritated with him. Reconcile
yourself with your brother, and then come to Christ with a clear conscience and offer him your
gift of love in earnest prayer. (53, First Century)
2. Silence the man who utters slander in your hearing. Otherwise you sin twice over;
you accustom yourself to this deadly passion and, second you fail to prevent him from
gossiping against his neighbor. (60, First Century)
3. Men love one another, commendably or reprehensibly, for the following five reason:
either for the sake of God, as the virtuous man loves everyone and as the man not yet virtuous
loves the virtuous; or by nature, as parents love their children and children their parents; or
because of self esteem, as he who is praised love the man who praises him; or because of
avarice, as with on who loves a rich man for what he can get out of him; or because of self
indulgence, as with the man who serves his belly and his genitals. The first of these is
commendable, the second is of an intermediate kind, and the rest are dominated by passion. (9,
Second Century)
4. Passion is an impulse of the soul contrary to nature, as in the case of mindless love or
mindless hatred for someone or for some sensible thing. In the case of love, it may be for
needless food, or for a woman, or for money, or for transient glory, or for other sensible objects
or on their account. In the case of hatred, it may be for any of the things mentioned, or for
someone on account of these things. (16, Second Century)
5. If you totally fulfill the command to love your neighbor, you will feel no bitterness or
resentment against him whatever he does. If this is not the case, then the reason you why you
fight against your brother is clearly because you seek after transitory things and prefer them to
the commandment of love. (15, Third Century)
6. Watch yourself, lest the vice which separates you from your brother lies not in him
but in yourself. Be reconciled with him without delay, so that you do not lapse from the
commandment of love. (19, Fourth Century)
7. What separates us from the love of friends is envying or being envied, causing or
receiving harm, insulting or being insulted, and suspicious thoughts. Would that you had never
done or experienced anything of this sort and in this way separated yourself from the love of a
friend. (21, Fourth Century)
8. Has a brother been the occasion of some trial for you and has your resentment led
I. Charismatic Movement
“A life immersed in, empowered by, and under the direction of the Spirit of God.” - Richard
Foster
The Charismatic movement reminds us that the Holy Spirit empowers us to fulfill God’s
calling upon our lives and to demonstrate God’s life upon the earth. “Frankly there are no non-
Charismatic Christians.” The very essence of the Christian life is defined by the presence of
the Spirit in our lives.
Richard Foster says that, “the contemplative stream is characterized by deeper inner hunger for
the presence of God and a state of ongoing prayer.”
Contemplation is a work of grace. The Holy Spirit awakens the seeking heart with His call of
love. We respond with hunger for God’s face. The Holy Spirit works in that hunger through
Jesus to prepare us and lead us into the presence of the Father. The Father through the Holy
Spirit reveals Jesus, the revealed Word of God, to us and through us.
The Evangelical Tradition focuses upon the proclamation of the gospel as follows:
1. The historical reality of Jesus’ life, death, burial, and resurrection.
2. The interpretation of this event in Scripture. The written Word of God serves as a wit-
ness to Jesus the true and living Word of God.
3. And the word of Jesus in the confession from the community of the faithful.
Holiness is being prepared to act, as the present moment requires. Holiness is the manifest ex-
pression of the divine flow of live.
Discipline is the human spirit training the body and soul to manifest the Rule of God as it
yields to the Spirit of God. When our spirit yields to God and directs our thoughts and actions,
we manifest God’s kingdom on the earth.
V. Definition of Incarnation
The Incarnation tradition says that “God is manifest to us through material means.”
God created the world and blessed it and said that it was good. God meets man in the midst of
the world. The Incarnational tradition suggests that the infinite God meets man in finite reality.
There are two dimensions to this tradition: the religious and the secular.
Social Justice is responding to God’s love by seeking to restore and reconcile all things to Him.
Social Justice seeks to bring people, social structures, and even the earth into harmony with the
kingdom of God.
While the expressions are varied, the disciplines of outward action might include:
Serving
Giving
Sharing (burdens)
Proclaiming
The gospel transform our memories and vision into harmony with God. At the same, God is
working through us to transform the memories and vision of others into harmony with God in
Christ Jesus.
Paul tells us in Ephesians that in the “fullness of time” the Father will “unite all things in [Jesus
Christ], things in heaven and things on earth” (Eph 1:10). John writes in his gospel that “(a)ll
things were made through [Jesus Christ], and without him was not any thing made that was
made” (John 1:3).
Based on John’s account and the Genesis story, we can say that when God created the world,
the Father created through the Son by the power of the Holy Spirit. Out from the harmony
between the Father, the Son and the Spirit, our world was created. But then Scripture tells a
These broken relations ripple through space and time, leaving all creation groaning for God’s
redemption. Jesus comes to restore the harmony of this world by reconciling humans to God
and to one another in his own body. In and through Jesus Christ will all things about restored to
harmony.
Yet in the mystery of His grace, the Lord has caught us up into this reconciling work. His Spirit
works in and through each of us, reconciling the world. This call to reconciliation might be
understood as the way in which we translate the “good news” of Jesus’ absolute victory.
This translation is not limited to our words, but to our actions, our attitudes, our eating, our
drinking, and every aspect of living. The Holy Spirit is revealing the strength of God in our
weaknesses, in our frailties, in our incomplete obedience. In spite of our weakness and failure,
He is working and keeps working and will bring all things to completion (perfection) in Christ.
So when we begin to ask questions about “How can we serve?” “How can we proclaim?” We
don’t look to a single specific method, but we ask the Spirit to work in and through our
particularities to reveal His glorious Gospel.
Luther encountered the great grace of God while teaching from the book of Romans. He
translated his encounter into sermons, theological treatise, and liturgy. Johann Sebastian Bach
translated his encounter with God’s grace in the theology of Luther into music.
Over the centuries, the good news has been translated by persons into sermons, poetry,
painting, movies, music, and more. Every area of human creativity can become a focal point
for proclaiming reconciliation.
And yet, the primary way we translate the gospel in through our lives in relationships. Martin
Luther didn’t write theology in a void. Rather, he was responding in relationship. The Apostle
Paul doesn’t proclaim the gospel in a void, but he speaks to real people in real situations. His
“good news” is uniquely translated in two ways.
One, he is a unique person. Paul is a Pharisee, a student and teacher of Torah. His encounter
with Jesus will carry the unique resonance of Paul’s life. The message is not different but it will
Secondly, Paul addresses unique people. His translation of the good news will be impact by the
people with whom he relates. In Acts, we behold Paul speaking to both Jews and Greeks with
different language. Once again the message is the same but the translation is particular based
on the audience.
So each of us is called to proclaim this word of reconciliation in and through Jesus Christ. We
are called to translate outwardly the faith that has called us forward, inward and backward.
We are exhorted to become living, holy and acceptable sacrifices to God. Our bodies, our
thoughts, our dreams, our interests, our emotions, and our skills are now offered to God as
means to serving His body and revealing His good news.
We translate the good news within the community of believers. And as Paul writer in Romans,
Corinthians, and Ephesians each of us brings different gifts to serve one another. We do not
rank the gifts as better or worse. The gifts are not for us or for our ego. The gifts are expression
of God’s reconciling grace in and through us.
And we offer ourselves to one another in serve, in prayer, in praise, in bearing true witness, in
exhorting, in serving, and so on. Yet, we also see the disciples offering the gifts beyond the
community to the world around them in teaching, healing and ministering grace.
So translating the good news is obeying and offering our skills, our words, our actions, our
comfort, our love to those in the community of faith and also to those beyond with an invitation
to come and join the community of the Beloved. Even as we are learning to translate in word
and deed, the Spirit in translating through us individually and collectively.
The members of Christ extend beyond us to our community of faith and beyond out local
community to the community of faith that extends across space and time. And the Father holds
us His community for all powers to behold the wonder and glory of His unspeakable grace.
How do we survive? How do we adjust to changing seasons? The rhythm of moving in four directions
(inward, outward, forward and backward) may be a resource to help us as we learn to trust in the Lord
who is leading us on this extended journey.
Jude ends his letter of exhortation with an exclamation of praise to the God who is completely
trustworthy, completely faithful. In so doing, he reminds us that the Lord Jesus Christ is able to
keep us from stumbling and present us blameless before the Father. Again and again in Scripture,
we are reminded that the Lord directs our path, keep us on the path, leads us to victory and
brings us into glory (Proverbs 3:6, Proverbs 4:18, Isaiah 30:21, 1 Corinthians 15:57, Philippians
1:6, 2 Corinthians 3:18).
For the ancient Hebrews, this path was understood as the path or way of Torah. By meditating
upon the 10 Commandments and living in light of the law, they walked along the path of the
righteous (Deuteronomy 5:32-33). When Jesus comes, he enfleshes Torah (Word made Flesh)
and fulfills the way. He is the way (the truth and the life). So in Christ, we are rooted in the path
of the righteous. And by His grace, we are walking and learning to walk in the light of His right-
eousness.
And yet, this path of righteousness is not a state or a condition of perfect equilibrium. There are
times of heightened emotion and times of dark emptiness. There are places of feasting and val-
leys of death. These shifts are not necessarily indicative of strong faith vs. lack of faith; or true
devotion vs lack of devotion. The Apostle Paul describes times of despair and times of joy, times
of abounding and times of lacking (2 Corinthians 1:8 ; Philippians 4:12).
The four directions discussed in these notes (inward/outward and backward/forward) are simply
the four directions of man living in time and space. Yet as simple as it seems, we often find
ourselves focusing on only one direction or stuck in one area. Sometimes spiritual disciplines are
focused completely inwardly through contemplation, prayer, repentance and so on. But for other
people, their spirituality is focused completely outwardly in service and evangelism and ministry.
Each of the four directions are vital directions in our own lives, and the changing landscape of
our lives will require us to adjust and move and adapt in these four directions.
By learning and considering these four ways of applying spiritual discipline, we might be ready
to move and adjust in the changing seasons.
Within these four directions, there are six pairs and twelve possible movements:
Future - Inward/Inward - Future
Future - Backward/Backward - Future
Future - Outward/Outward - Future
Inward - Backward/Backward - Inward
Inward - Outward/Outward - Inward
Backward - Outward/Outward - Backward
Now think about the four sets of disciplines (and note these lists are not exhaustive):
Forward
Silence/Breathing
Solitude
Fasting
Meditation (God’s Word, Creation)
Worship
Retreat
Sabbath
Inward
Repentance
Lamentation
Adoration
Contemplation
Backward
Fellowship/Assembling with other believers
Cultivating soul friends
Confession
Baptism and Communion
Learning and remembering the history of God’s people
Outward
Serving
Giving
Sharing (burdens)
Proclaiming
By considering this list disciplines in each directions alongside the six pairs I listed above, we
might see how disciplines might develop in each of our particular lives. Listening to a sermon
(forward) might provoke me to prayer and repentance (inward). But it also might provoke me to
action and service (outward). Partaking of the communion meal (backward) may bring me to a
place of inner healing (inward). It also may stir me to lay down my life for the people around me
(outward).
All this explanation is to help us understand how the Spirit can uniquely lead and guide each of
us in specific disciplines depending on His purposes and our current situation. We may go from a
season of great activity (outward) to complete silence and stillness (forward). It may seem to us
as though God has forsaken us when really He is calling us forward into something new.
The path of spiritual formation is a path of learning to move and change as the Breath of God
blows where He will. Sadly, we often resist change. Harsh resistance in any direction can lead to
dis-eases of bitterness, ritualism, rebellion, complacency, blindness and more.
The long obedience of faith requires some flexibility to yield to the Spirit as He guides us
through His Word, through His community, through His inner voice and through His cross.
During times of crisis, we look to the Lord and the community of faith for strength.
In the context of submitting ourselves to God and one another in humility, here are some sugges-
tions for ways of thinking and re-framing our thoughts when we experience seasons of crisis.
We maybe facing obstacles that make it difficult for us to see or expect the possibility of positive
change. Here are exercises normally applied in creative problem solving, but seem applicable to
thinking about seasons of crisis or problems we face in our long term spiritual journey.
We normally face multiple obstacles related to our perception, our emotions, our intelligence and
our culture. These questions/exercises might help us to re-think our challenges. And we might
learn to open our eyes and ears to new possibilities, new patterns of action and greater trust in
God’s provision in the midst of our challenges.
B. Emotional
1. For complex problems we need to develop a systematic approach. Break down complex prob-
lems into manageable units and only work on one unit at a time.
2. Recognize that failure sometimes comes before success and growth comes from learning about
our failures.
3. Keep an open mind about possible criticism of your ideas, remembering that all our ideas
value because of our uniqueness.
4. "To hope is to risk frustration." Thomas Merton. Be prepared to give up a little by weighing
the probable negative consequences of any risk-taking action against no action at all.
5. Practice being patient in problem solving, realizing that you are not just looking for any solu-
tion, but for the best solution for your needs.
6. We must be open to many solutions to the same problem. Defer judgment when you begin
work on a problem, perhaps by rapidly listing possible solutions and corresponding weaknesses
of each. Throw away the list and begin again by redefining the problem.
7. Take time to allow the problem to incubate after a period of intense concentration.
5. Always ask, "What's good about it?" when you consider a new idea, and never reject it out-
C. Intellectual/Expressive
1. Instead of always relying on verbal explanations of problems (which tend to limit us to left-
brain definitions) we might consider using diagrams, pictures, or metaphors.
2. Use several problem-solving strategies, not limiting yourself to only one approach.
3. Continually collect information throughout the problem-solving process; ascertain the validity
of all information, and separate facts from opinions.
D. Cultural
1. Recognizing the cultural taboos that restrict your view, consider if your rejection is taboo in-
spired or due to a solution's lack of merit.
2. Sometimes we must be willing to challenge traditions in order to rediscover their meaning. We
don’t have to abandon the tradition, but we might ask questions that may offer new insights.
3. We could learn something from children. Maybe we could start asking questions again–espe-
cially if we think we know the answer. Maybe our answers are so logical that we fail to stimulate
the right-brain and perceive the questions from a new perspective. Ask as many questions you
can think of about the problem not fearing to ask "Why?" or "why not?"
4. Help insure that the group problem-solving retains a problem orientation without undue em-
phasis on competition or cooperation.
5. Explore all solutions based on intuition and feeling. And don't be afraid to jump to conclusions
after the problem has been defined.
6. Allow yourself the freedom to fantasize and daydream about the problem; try to relate these
activities to achieving a feasible solution.
7. Humor is a tension releaser; and an endomorphin releaser which encouragers creativity in the
mind. Exaggerating the problem may be humorous and may lead to new solutions.
E. Environmental
1. Use problem-solving procedures to gain more time to work on your problems.
2. Actively solicit support for your efforts by showing others how they might benefit from the
solution.
3. Use distractions to suggest possible solutions and then search for ways of eliminating, redu-
cing, or accepting the distractions.
4. Learn to live with autocratic bosses, change their behavior or leave the situation, and evaluate
the negative consequence of each possible action.
5. Avoid over dependence on experts, testing the rationale or knowledge behind an opinion, seek-
ing to understand "why" and daring to seek second opinions.
Suggested Rut, Role, and Rule Breakers to Stimulate Creativity -from Darlene Graves and
Doug Floyd
• Subscribe to an unusual magazine, perhaps one from the opposite political, denominational
view.
• Spend a morning at an elementary school, watching, talking, getting involved.
• Spend an afternoon at a senior citizen center of nursing home.
• Go to work or church an hour early and watch and listen.
Jim Borst, Coming to God: In the Stillness, Gilford, Surrey: Eagle, 1979. A
helpful little guide on developing contemplative prayer.
Bernard of Clairvoux, St. Bernard on the Love of God, New York: Spiritual
Book Associates, 1937. This deeply enriching work introduces his key ideas
on love. (Available http://www.cistercianpublications.org/).
Michael, Chester P., and Marie C. Norrisey. Prayer and Temperament Different
Prayer Forms for Different Personality Types. Chicago: Open Door, 1991.
Foster, Richard J. Celebration of discipline the path to spiritual growth. [San Fran-
cisco]: HarperSanFrancisco, 1998. This is a foundational text for studying the dis-
ciplines.
Foster, Richard J. Prayer finding the heart's true home. [San Francisco]: Harp-
erSanFrancisco, 1992.
Eugen, Rosenstock-Huessy,. Origin of speech. Norwich, Vt: Argo Books, 1981. The
inspiration for the four directions of spiritual formation came from Eugen Rosen-
stock Huessy’s “Cross of Reality.” While he didn’t specifically apply this to spiritu-
ality, I think it fits. For more information of Rosenstock-Huessy, see http://www.ar-
gobooks.org.
W. Paul Jones, A Season in the Desert: Making Time Holy, Brewster, Mas-
sachusetts: Paraclete Press, 2000. This is thoughtful, almost devotional book
about the nature of time. Part of his discussion involves the liturgy and the
nature of the liturgical year. (UMC professor turned Trappist monk)
Jean Leclercq, OSB, The Love of Learning and the Desire for God: A Study of
Monastic Culture, New York: Fordham University Press, 1961.
George A. Maloney SJ, Invaded by God: Mysticism and the Indwelling Trinity,
Denville, NJ: Dimension Books, 1979. Not many people have written on Trinit-
arian mysticism, so Maloney’s book is a treasure. Unfortunately, this volume
is difficult to find, but he has written several other books along the same
theme.
Bernard McGinn, The Growth of Mysticism: Gregory the Great through the 12 th
Century (Volume II, The Presence of God: A History of Western Christian Mys-
ticism), New York: The Crossroad Publishing Company, 1999. This is part of
an exhaustive four volume history of Christian western mysticism.
Thomas Merton, Love and Living, New York, Harcourt Brace Jovanovich, 1979.
More Excellent essays.
Alexander Schmemann, For the Life of the World: Sacraments and Ortho-
doxy, Crestwood, NY: SVS Press, 1997. Interesting meditations on the Euchar-
ist. (Orthodox)
Robert Benson (editor), Venite: A Book of Daily Prayer, J. P. Tarcher, 2000. You
might be able to find this prayer book at a discount bookstore.
Esther DeWaal, The Celtic Vision – Prayers, Blessings, Songs, and Invocations
from the Gaelic Tradition, Liguori: Liguori Publications, 2001. Offers the flavor
of Celtic prayers collected in the 19 Century in the Scottish Highlands.
th
J. Philip Newell, Celtic Benediction – Morning and Night Prayer, Grand Rapids:
Eerdmans, 2000. Daily prayer guide.
Phyllis Tickle (editor), The Divine Hours: Prayers for Summertime, Doubleday,
2000. This is one of three prayer books Phyllis Tickle has edited for different
seasons of the year. This is a helpful book for orienting our life the cycle of
daily offices.