DESCRIPTION:

The image of the Christian Life as a goal-oriented pilgrimage is used to explore the nature of wholeness in six areas: the cognitive, the affective, the behavioral, the relational, the physical, and the spiritual. The two-fold emphasis will be on personal experience of growth in each area and on the process of structuring growth-oriented experiences in a church context that will produce growth in others. In addition to the various types of growth discussed in class, special attention will be given to the art of spiritual journaling and the process of spiritual autobiography.

Nurturing Christian growth is a central task of ministry. However, at times our view of growth is too constricted. The kind of growth envisioned in the Bible is wholistic in nature, impacting all of one's life. It is important, therefore, that we have a clear understanding of how growth is understood in the Bible and how it takes place, and that we have the skills needed to guide others in their growth. The aim of this course is to help students learn how to develop effective growth-producing programs that reflect a biblical understanding of the dynamics of growth.

A mixture of lecture, interactive discussion, reflective exercises, in-depth small group experiences, and journal exercises. Class will meet weekly for three-hour sessions.

Read in each area for a total of 1000 pages including required books which are in bold.

1. Workbooks: Edwards, Tilden. Living in the Presence. Harper & Row, 1987; Peace, Richard. Pilgrimage. Baker, 1976; Postema, Don. Space for God.

2. Spiritual Disciplines: Peace, Richard. Spiritual Journaling. NavPress, 1995; AND Spiritual Autobiography.

3. Health: Hart, Arch. Adrenaline and Stress. Word, 1986.

4. Behavior: Zimbardo, Philip. Shyness. Addison-Wesley, 1978.

5. Journals: Nouwen, Henri. The Genesee Diary. Doubleday, 1976. OR Gracias! Harper & Row, 1983; Merton, Thomas. The Journals of Thomas Merton. HarperSanFrancisco, 1995-1998; OR Norris, Kathleen. The Cloister Walk. Riverhead Books, 1996.

6. Prayer: Bockmuehl, Klaus. Listening to God. Collins, Kenneth. Soul Care. Victor Books, 1995. Foster, Richard. Prayer. HarperSanFrancisco, 1992. Hansen, David. Soul Care: A Little Handbook on Having a Soul. InterVarsity Press, 1997 OR Kaisch, Ken. Finding God. Paulist Press, 1994. Louf, André. Teach us to Pray. Cowley Publications, 1992; Rumford, Douglas. Soul Shaping. Tyndale House Publishers, 1996; Willard, Dallas. In Search of Guidance. Regal Books, 1983; Willard, Dallas. The Divine Conspiracy. HarperSanFrancisco, 1998.

1. Regular attendance and participation in all aspects of the course including the small group.

2. Completion of the assigned exercises (journaling, spiritual autobiography, genogram, stress log).

3. Various reflection papers (15 pages total).

None.

Meets the M.A. in Theology core requirement in Spirituality (SPIR); required for Spirituality/Spiritual Direction concentration.

None.