reflectingJesus

Soul Care

Gavin — Fri, 14 May 2010 20:05:18 +0000

If you have not become familiar with Mindy Caliguire’s site on Soul Care, it is worth a look. Soul care is a more focused area of spiritual formation that examines the heath of our inner life. She explains:

So what makes a soul healthy? Quite simply, a soul is healthy to the extent that it experiences a strong connection to and receptivity to God. Jesus was clear: “If you remain in me and I in you, you will bear much fruit; apart from me, you can do nothing” (John 15:5, TNIV). However, connecting this spiritual reality to how we actually live is another matter.

The Soul Care organization has developed to help you connect with your own spiritual reality, and give tools to change how you actually live – one step at a time. To do that, Mindy and the Soul Care team provide resources, events, and consulting with an aim to:

1. Foster authentic inner growth for individuals
2. Help organizations lead towards spiritual formation and
3. Mentor leaders to focusing on re-establishing their spiritual vitality as the primary step towards a lifestyle of sustainable ministry and leadership.

Go to Mindy’s site.

All the best for the Journey, Gavin.

City-based discipleship education

Gavin — Fri, 14 May 2010 08:09:58 +0000

The citySeminary is a city-based, multi-church, discipleship concept that we are developing in Dublin.

A discipleship curriculum based on John 15

Gavin — Wed, 12 May 2010 15:58:17 +0000

32 discipleship lessons for reflecting Jesus. Free to download.

Book: The Kingdom Life

Gavin — Fri, 07 May 2010 20:34:38 +0000

A couple of months ago, IVP published The Kingdom Life: A Practical Theology of Discipleship and Spiritual Formation (2010). This book provides a summary of 10 main concepts behind spiritual formation, with each chapter written by one of the leading thinkers in this field, including Dallas Willard, Bill Hull, and others. It’s a basic but solid biblical introduction to the subject.

The Mind Under Grace

Gavin — Fri, 07 May 2010 19:36:13 +0000

The 2010 March edition of Christianity Today has some interesting articles on the relationship of doctrine to spiritual formation. In The Mind Under Grace, Darren Marks urges us to base our theology solidly on Scripture rather than the experiences of faithful people in the past, and warns against the temptation to think that what we experience is more important than what we think. His article helps to allay the fears of those who believe that spiritual formation is somehow untethered from the word of God.

This edition has two further articles on the importance of doctrine, one on the relationship of doctrine to the daily life, and a fascinating short section on using catechisms today.

All the best for the Journey, Gavin.

Video: Updated Plans for citySeminary

Gavin — Wed, 17 Feb 2010 19:53:46 +0000

The citySeminary is a city-based, city-focused, discipleship training concept that we are trialling in Dublin among all of our churches. It is focused around the following vision:

as our greatest desire is to honour God by revealing the beauty of his character in our city…

we are learning how to be ever more closely re-formed in His image, becoming cross-cultural missionaries who are passionately searching to bring others into an intimate communion which we enjoy with Jesus

The Dublin citySeminary has the following objectives that are shaped by this vision:

Coordinates united city-focused mission.
Training for discipleship and mission.
Support and nurture of church departmental leaders.

Video: House of Prayer

Gavin — Wed, 17 Feb 2010 19:47:23 +0000

Jim Cymbala, pastor of the Brooklyn Tabernacle in New York, believes prayer is the barometer of the church’s success. It’s not how many people who show up to services that count, but how many come to pray. In this 50min video, Cymbala presents his vision of a praying church and tells the story of how the Brooklyn Tabernacle grew from literally a handful to having 1500 turn up at prayer meeting. Very inspiring.

Best wishes for the journey, Gavin.

Video: Don’t Run Alone

Gavin — Sun, 07 Feb 2010 20:18:00 +0000

Discipleship is not intended to be a private or individual affair. It is meant to be done together…

Video: New Believers

Gavin — Fri, 05 Feb 2010 16:46:44 +0000

What are the important things for new believers to learn? In the video clip below, Dallas Willard suggests what spiritual disciplines to teach at the beginning of their journey to set the right direction.

Best wishes for the Journey, Gavin.

Video: Discipling Young People

Gavin — Fri, 05 Feb 2010 16:28:37 +0000

If you are interested in discipling young people, this video gives an interesting overview of their world-view and provides a link to another website where you can get more resources.

All the best for the Journey, Gavin