This fall members of Greenhill United Methodist Church in Bowling Green, Kentucky will begin what I hope will be a transformative spiritual formation journey. The journey is one that is essential for us to begin. A casual read of the powerful stories in Scripture of Jesus' teachings, life, death and resurrection and the deeds of the early New Testament Church, lead one to wonder why the Church today does not look like Christ. Why do its members not look like Christ? Have we made the conscious decision to follow Christ but then failed to enter into the disciplines required to change our habits, our thoughts, our life-style so that they conform to Christ and the life that he lived? The spiritual formation journey will take those who embark upon it into a period of examen, a period of learning about what the spiritual life is, and a period of practicing the disciplines that lead us into the powerful, joyful life in the Spirit that Christ lived and Christ promised for us.
The books and authors that we will use in our periods of examen, learning and practice are the following:
September – October
“Exploring the Way: An Introduction to the Spiritual Journey” by Marjorie Thompson
November – December
“As If the Heart Mattered: A Wesleyan Spirituality” by Gregory Clapper
January – February
“Rediscovering Our Spiritual Gifts” by Charles Bryant (includes a spiritual gifts inventory)
March
Lenten Spiritual Formation
April - June
“The Spirit of the Disciplines: Understanding How God Changes Lives” by Dallas Willard
The books are great reading for the journey, and we will study them in depth. I encourage all members and attenders at Greenhill and anyone else interested in a deeper, more authentic walk with Christ to join us in this transformative journey. As Dallas Willard has said, "Salvation is not an event; Salvation is a life." Let us start living a life of salvation.
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