A largely online elective for the DMin program:
Course Description: Do you find it difficult to grow spiritually? If so, you are not alone. Understanding what is happening to us spiritually takes patience, discipline, self-awareness and grace. There are no shortcuts. God invites us to draw closer in a variety of ways, even in times of spiritual fatigue, confusion, temptation and over-stimulation. This class will explore these challenges and ways in which historical and contemporary writers on the spiritual life have responded to them.
This elective is an ongoing blend of reading, reflection, writing and practice. Each week you will engage in a pattern of academic and spiritual practices that will support online interactions. You will be expected to spend time praying daily and to share from your experience. Our readings will begin with reflections on the spiritualties found in the gospels. From there we will move into a diverse set of texts intended to stimulate our own thinking about what it means to have a spiritual life. We’ll be paying close attention how contemporary emphases on self-care and self-development intersect with perspectives found in the gospels.