Spiritual Formation by Mickey E. Cox INVITATION It took me about 15 minutes to hike up to the top of the camp s hill, called Inspiration Point. It always held an interest for me, probably because of the large cross and seating that overlooked the beautiful Rocky Mountains. I was drawn to do this hike every day while at camp because I sensed I needed to spend some time with God by myself. I started my short hike at 5:30 a.m. so I could get to the top and have some quality time with God. While sitting there, I was able to watch the sun come up over the rugged mountains with bursts of istock red, yellow and gold over the ranges. 14 www.ccca.org December 2016/January 2017
CONNECTING WITH GOD THROUGH SPIRITUAL DISCIPLINES December 2016/January 2017 www.ccca.org 15
THAT TIME ALONE WITH GOD LAID SOME FOUNDATIONAL GROUNDWORK THAT I WOULD NOT TRADE FOR ANYTHING. And my time with God was incredible! I would not only feel God s presence with me, but in the short time I was on top of Inspiration Point I listened for God to speak to me through reading Scripture, looking at the beauty of God s creation, journaling, quietness and silence. Looking back on the experience, I m reminded of Elijah and his encounter with God. First Kings 19:11 12 tells what happened: The LORD said, Go out and stand on the mountain in the presence of the LORD, for the LORD is about to pass by. Then a great and powerful wind tore the mountains apart and shattered the rocks before the LORD, but the LORD was not in the wind. After the wind there was an earthquake, but the LORD was not in the earthquake. After the earthquake came a fire, but the LORD was not in the fire. And after the fire came a gentle whisper. Had I not done that hike at camp during the summers of my junior and senior years in high school, I probably would not have felt nor been open to a call into youth ministry while I was in college. That time alone with God laid some foundational groundwork that I would not trade for anything. But I had to do that hike intentionally to build the strong connection I felt with God while there even if I missed some sleep (and you know what that s like at camp!). I really believe I was responding to an invitation from God through the Holy Spirit, which sounded like this: You have received an invitation an invitation to sit with God for a while. This invitation is not for anything further than to sit in silence with God in order to listen to what He might be wanting to say to you in the busyness of your life that is full of distractions. He wants your undivided attention in order to speak to your soul and your spirit. In order for us to become the people we are meant to be, we need the gifts that come to us in solitude. Solitude is not just a time and place where we can escape once in a while in order not to be bothered by others, or to think our own thoughts. It is not a private therapeutic place. Rather it is the place of conversion, the place where the old self dies and the true, new self is born and grows. Mark tells us that after Jesus is baptized, He is driven by the Spirit into the wilderness not for some peace and quiet, but into that place of emptiness and silence to encounter God, to hear the voice of God. Connecting with God at a camp or conference center is a major experience that needs to happen to students during their teen years. It will set foundations for the rest of their lives. I believe it can set a pattern for spiritual formation if properly implemented. And this kind of camp experience is not just for youth, but for adults as well. All of us are in this formation process. Here s my definition for this: Spiritual formation is to allow the transformation process to occur in me as a disciple of Jesus Christ now, in order to tell God s story through my life to affect others positively in their own journey with God. Working on this in my own life, I ve come to appreciate what M. Robert Mulholland, Jr, has said in his book Invitation to a Journey. We fail to realize that the process of spiritual shaping is a primal reality of human existence. Everyone is in a process of spiritual formation! Every thought we hold, every decision we make, every action we take, every emotion we allow to shape our behavior, every response we make to the world around us, every relationship we enter into, every reaction we have toward 16 www.ccca.org December 2016/January 2017
EXTRA INFO DEEP CALLS TO DEEP (PSALM 42:7) An exercise in hearing and responding to the cry of God s heart by Maggie Robbins We lead such busy lives. We need to stop and come away for a bit in silence and solitude. Jesus embodied a balanced rhythm of life. When His heart was set on being with and ministering to the masses, He was right there. But, He was also just as intentional in removing himself from the activity and finding a place where He could be alone and where the quiet allowed Him to be with God to listen more deeply to God s word, to God s own heart. What would it be like for you to take some time right now to slow down and allow the silence and solitude to envelop you? As you take a couple of deep breaths, settle your body into a comfortable position. Invite the Holy Spirit to join you here. Consider the following questions slowly, deliberately. Feel free to choose one question that you may feel most drawn to explore. After all, sacred space is really an opportunity to be ourselves with God and to listen for God s response. What am I feeling in my body at this time? Allow your awareness to go to whatever place is calling (a tight back, sore throat, unsettled stomach). Focus on that feeling and let Jesus meet you there. How am I feeling about myself, my life and my relationships? What most interferes with me simply being with myself, with God and with others? Am I noticing other voices that are entering into my awareness? Whether they are the demands of your job, the felt needs of your heart, voices from your past or even the actual sounds you are hearing as you sit there, name these voices. What response, if any, do the voices seem to invite or demand? What do I need? What is God s invitation to me? Amid your wanting let there be stillness and in your desiring let there be silence. Let there be release and the simple grace of breath, of peace, of rest. Jan Richardson Maggie Robbins is a spiritual director, earning her certification through Kairos: School of Spiritual Formation in 2005, where she serves as a member of the faculty. She has provided spiritual direction and facilitated retreats for events and groups around the world. Maggie maintains a private practice from her istock home in Valley Forge, Penn., and is the co-author of Enjoy the Silence. December 2016/January 2017 www.ccca.org 17
JESUS REMAINS OUR MODEL ON UNPLUGGING. HE TOOK TIME IN THE MORNING, EVEN WHILE IT WAS STILL DARK, TO UNPLUG, GET AWAY TO A DESERTED PLACE AND PRAY. Rev. Mickey Cox has been involved in youth ministry for over 49 years. Currently working out of the Colorado District Office in Denver, Colo., he is an ordained minister in the Church of the Nazarene. He speaks and writes on how spiritual formation is an important focus in youth ministry at national conferences and retreats. Mickey s also the author of No Limits Discipleship Journal and Sacred Life. the things that surround us and impinge upon our lives all of these things, little by little, are shaping us into some kind of being. We are being shaped into either the wholeness of the image of Christ, or a horrible destructive caricature of that image destructive not only to ourselves but also to others, for we inflict our brokenness upon them. This wholeness or destructiveness radically conditions our relationship with God, ourselves and others, as well as our involvement in the dehumanizing structures and dynamics of the broken world around us. We become either agents of God s healing and liberating grace or carriers of the sickness of the world. The direction of our spiritual growth infuses all we do with intimations of either Life or Death. When Jesus says in Luke 17:21, Behold, the kingdom of God is within you, how does this relate to spiritual formation? Through both Jewish and Christian history, various spiritual principles, rules of order, disciplines and practices have helped believers in their journey for deeper understandings of God. Liturgies, lectionaries, prayer books and guides, lectio divina and devotionals were available for those who wanted to walk this spiritual journey. These tools of spirituality were recognized as necessary for the rooting and deepening of one s spiritual relationship with God. However, we often attempt to make these ventures into a deeper walk with the Lord without using the counsel and wisdom of others who have over the years made similar journeys fruitfully and victoriously. As camp staff, it would be good to build strong disciplines into our life in order to find God s vision, intention and means of grace in being a part of the Kingdom within you now. In the sidebar on the previous page, you ll find Maggie Robbins has shared a practice that can help you enter into silence and solitude in order to hear God s voice in life. One main emphasis I want to leave you with is this: From both Jewish and Christian practices, we find fasting as a way of spiritual cleansing and renewal, symbolizing the need for repentance and change in direction. I find today that many people feel the need to fast from social media and the internet for a while. In order to better center their lives, they make a concerted effort to temporarily pull the plug on TV, internet, email, text messaging and the urge to always be plugged in. Jesus remains our model on unplugging. He took time in the morning, even while it was still dark, to unplug and get away to a deserted place and pray. He was connecting to Someone else for guidance for that day. Here are some ideas for each of us to do that: Set aside one day a week to be as media-free as possible to listen to God speak about how our spiritual lives can affect our camps. Create a physical space where you put aside high-tech devices as a way of saying to one another, I am present with you. Listen to the silence as you drive in the car rather than loud music, news or a talk radio station. Don t turn on the radio or TV when you get up in the morning or when you arrive home from work or an event. Listen for God instead. Go for a walk; read a poem; talk to your friends or family members; sit. So now you have an invitation before you. How will you connect with God? l 18 www.ccca.org December 2016/January 2017