1 SPIRITUAL FORMATION AND THE LEADER Doctor of Ministry Module June 2018 Instructor: Bishop Linda Lee CLASS DESCRIPTION AND SYLLABUS This class will explore the state of, and practices for, being a spiritual leader. Using various texts, articles, excerpts and sermon, the inner and outer lives of spiritual leaders will be explored. Academic study and participation in spiritual practices will be part of the class experience. We will look at servant leadership from both a sacred and secular perspective. We will examine spiritual practices from scriptural, traditional and mystical perspectives. Students will leave with a plan for how to enhance or incorporate spiritual practices in their daily life, and resources for teaching spiritual practices in their ministry settings. Grade requirements: 1 two-page reflection paper (1/3 of the grade) one student teaching session - expanding on one of the practices learned during the week of class, (1/3 of the grade) 1 ten page paper - describing the learnings of the students about spiritual practices, how they will apply what they have learned in their personal life, and a plan for teaching from the class resource they enjoyed most. (1/3 of the grade)
2 DAY 1 INTRODUCTIONS AND OVERVIEW OF THE CLASS, DEVOTIONS, CREATING A SACRED PLACE THE DESTINATION: UNION WITH THE DIVINE A review of the ways Christians seek union with God, historically and in contemporary times. Featured are transcendental, political, liberation, feminist, black, Hispanic, interreligious, and ecological theologies, ending with the particular Christian belief in the one God as Triune. TEXT FOR ALL SESSIONS: THE HOLY BIBLE Text: Quest for the Living God, Elizbeth A. Johnson An exploration of corporate/congregational quest for God. Excerpts: Joy Unspeakable, Barbara Holmes SERVANT LEADERSHIP Exploration will include discussion about servant leadership from a secular and a sacred perspective, focusing on ongoing personal transformation as a means to create systemic transformation. Text: Change the World, Robert Quinn Article: Stewardship, Peter Block The purpose of these sessions is for the students to gain greater clarity about their relationship with God as Creator and Sustainer of all life, and how this clarity impacts their role in leading others to their own relationships with God. A two page reflection paper describing new insights about Spiritual practices and where the student desires to be in their own spiritual practice is due at the beginning of class, day 3.
3 DAY 2 THE JOURNEY: SPIRITUAL PRACTICES Traditional and Wesleyan Spiritual Formation Practices will be explored, along with the stages of formation in a life of faith. These discussions will provide a foundation for creating or deepening the student s personal rule of life. Text: Celebration of Discipline, Richard Foster The Means of Grace, John Wesley Sermon # 16 Excerpts: The Critical Journey, Hagberg and Guelich Handouts: The Rule of Benedict, Joan Chittister DAY 3 THE VEHICLE: SABBATH The meaning of Sabbath from a Jewish and Christian perspective will be explored. Ways to create sacred space for God, within and without, will be considered. Sacred Sabbath rituals will be discussed and practiced. A personal plan for taking and keeping weekly (or consistent) Sabbath time will be developed for use on returning to home and context. Text: Sabbath: Restoring the Sacred Rhythm of Life, Wayne Muller Text: The Sabbath, Abraham Heschel Excerpts: Keeping the Sabbath Wholly, Marva Dawn Handouts: Ritual, Maladoma Some
4 DAY 4 MAINTAINENCE: PRACTICAL LIFE PRACTICES FOR MIND, BODY AND SOUL Ways to create a life-style that provides hope, health and happiness with be explored. Creating a life of practical mysticism, in the real world, will be discussed, with participation in a few practices, as time allows. Texts: Journey to Freedom, Scott Reall Excerpts: Becoming a Practical Mystic, Jacquelyn Small DAY 5: BACK TO REALITY: EMBODYING THE DIVINE UNION Returning to a complex world will be discussed. The foci of this discussion will include; the relationship between activism and being a contemplative; what it means to love as God loves; how to find and lead others to common ground; how Sabbath can be resistance (to injustice). Students will teach on one spiritual practice that spoke most to them during the week. We will close with a short time of worship and communion. Text: The Search for Common Ground, Howard Thurman Excerpts: To Love as God Loves, Roberta Bondi Excerpts: Sabbath as Resistance, Walter Breuggeman REQUIRED READINGS: Change the World, Robert Quinn Celebration of Discipline, Richard Foster Sabbath: Restoring the Sacred Rhythm of Life, Wayne Muller The Search for Common Ground, Howard Thurman
5 CLASS SCHEDULE 8:00am 5:30pm Daily: Monday, June 25 Friday, June 29 4 Daily Sessions: 8:00am 10:00am 10:30am 12 Noon 1:30pm -- 3:30 pm 4:00pm -- 5:30pm