Category Archives: Contemplative Spirituality

Hiddenness, Obscurity, Contemplation and the Active Life

The following are a few of my recent questions, puzzles, and reflections around the working out of my active life as a Christian leader with a commitment to serve out of a foundation of a deep, interior, contemplative life. Much like Dag Hammarskjold’s Markings, some of this is disjointed as it comes out of my journal reflections, my puzzles in prayer with god, along with my readings over the past couple of months (This includes: Bernard of Clairvaux’s sermons on the Song of Songs, the Desert Fathers, Merton on St. Bernard, and Alicia Britt Chole’s little book Anonymous: Jesus’ Hidden Years and Yours.) 90% percent of Jesus’ ministry, 29 years, was spent in obscurity, hiddenness, and the unseen. This was as important as his 3 active years. They provided the character foundation for Him to walk through the temptations of the wilderness and the pressures from the people around him. These years also empowered Him to live an eternally fruitful. Read more.

Neuroplasticity and Spiritual Formation

Geri and I have only recently begun to integrate into EHS and our leadership the enormous amount of research that has been done on the neuroplasticity of the brain. (I recommend The Mindful Brain and Parenting from the Inside Out by Daniel Siegel for starters). The implications for our spirituality and formation seem far-reaching. The following are a few insights that I have been considering as a I seek to build a healthy community at NLF and deepen EHS: Interactions with our primary caregivers directly shape our neural circuitry.Betweenbirth and five years old, millions of messages are encoded into our circuitry. Our brains are innately structured to ATTACH to human beings. God created us emotionally, spiritually and physiologically to bond with others. We also need ATTUNEMENT in order to thrive. At the heart of attunement is the sharing of non-verbal signals – enables us to “feel” each other (eyes, face, tone of voice, gestures, body. Read more.

Fast for Lent: Receive the Gift of Sabbath

At New Life Fellowship Church we have launched a church-wide initiative to keep Sabbath during the seven weeks of Lent. We asked people to choose a 24 hour period –either from Saturday night, 6 p.m.,to Sunday night, 6 p.m., or from Friday night, 6 p.m., to Saturday night, 6 p.m. We also asked them to mark the beginning and end of their Sabbath by lighting a candle. To listen to the sermon and see further resources , go to www.newlifefellowship.org. One larger goal of Sabbath, I believe, is that the qualities of biblical Sabbath (STOP, REST, DELIGHT, CONTEMPLATE) infuse our other six days. John Freeman’s book, The Tyranny of E-Mail: The Four-Thousand-Year Journey to Your Inbox has been a gift to me these last few months as I seek creative ways to eliminate hurry and multitasking from my daily routine. The following are the suggestions that I found most helpful that I am adding to my “fast” this Lent: 1. Don’t Send. E-mail only . Read more.

Our Ache for Happiness and God!

Joseph Pieper (1904-1997), German philosopher and theologian, wrote Happiness and Contemplation in 1958. In this short work, he summarizes much of the theology of Thomas Aquinas. If you are willing to read slowly and thoughtfully, you will encounter rich, life-transforming spiritual food on these pages. The following are a few of the quotes I noted in my journal: Every human being, without exception, is called to eternal contemplative happiness with God. The human craving for happiness may be distracted by a 1000 small gratifications but “one sweet fruit is sought” (Dante). The ultimate satiation of man’s deepest thirst takes place in contemplation. Many joys in the course of everyday life come to us. They are a foretaste and beginning of perfect joy. The whole good cannot be quenched by anything less than God! It cannot be found in realm of created things. What then is the drink known as happiness that can ultimately suffice. Read more.

Contemplative Leadership — of Yourself and Others

As the Father has loved me, so have I loved you. Now remain in my love (John 15:9). I have just concluded an active season, more active than I would have liked. I am sobered how easily, through one or two new commitments, the pace of my life quickened. Rushing increased. My anxiety level heightened. I struggled to remain thoughtful. Contemplative Leadership of ourselves, out of which we lead others, is challenging. I have to remind myself of the following four guidelines that are indispensable if I am “to remain in His love.” 1. Do One Thing At A Time— For me this means being present in every meeting, whether it is in worship, a one-on-one mentoring time, answering an e-mail, or watching my daughter’s track meet. This means limiting e-mail to fixed times during the day and not trying to squeeze more into the day than God intends. 2. Honor Transitions– Taking time between meetings at church is very difficult but key. Read more.

Loving Your Neighbor is More Important than Prayer

How can this be true? The answer is simple: If I pray and spend large amounts of time and energy meditating on Scripture, fasting, silence, solitude, along with other spiritual disciplines, but do not love my enemies, it is not worth much. I think I am finally connecting the dots that the degree to which I love my enemies really does indicate the measure of my spiritual maturity. I have some growth to do! I attempted to summarize my learnings on this in my sermon last Sunday on Isaiah 58 called “Love Your Enemies, the ‘Saint Makers.” I began by asking: “Who is your enemy today (someone who drives you crazy, irritates you, you avoid or resent, or simply have a hard time loving)? The following are a few of the themes I continue to meditate on this week as I ask God to help me connect what I so often disconnect: 1. Nothing is more. Read more.

Equipos emocionalmente sanos: 5 prácticas no negociables para equipos exitosos

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