Season 6: Episode 1 | Following Jesus is a Practice, Not a Belief

Season 6: Episode 3 | Active Practice

Jesus was a practical guy, and his practical approach to spirituality seems to easily lost in the midst of contemporary theological and theoretical debates. This episode invites you to take a very practical approach to your spiritual life by asking the question, "What should I do?" And rather than take the 'just try harder' approach, we can become wise and skillful at choosing the kinds of active practices - real life stuff - that will teach us how to trust and partner with God in the everyday mess of life.

Season 6: Episode 2 | Contemplative Practice

This season we are discussing three main areas of Christian practice. First stop: Contemplative Practice- what is it and why does it matter? What's the difference between meditation and contemplation? Who was Guigo II and why should you care? Is there still a case to be made for regular bible reading and prayer?  I hope this little talk inspires you to try some new/old ways of connecting with and receiving from God. For more reading, check out Guigo's book "The Ladder of Monks". For daily guided contemplative practices, check out the "Pray as You Go" app, or their website.

Season 6: Episode 1 | Following Jesus is a Practice, Not a Belief

Many of us with evangelical "roots" were handed a belief system called Christianity, and much of that system has been called into question in recent years. The current crisis of faith that many are experiencing could rightly be called a crisis of the failure of belief systems to deliver the promises found and hoped for in the gospels. It has also created a crisis of identity - what does it mean to be a Jesus follower, a Christian, a believer, etc? This next season of episodes will explore practices, rather than beliefs, as the sphere in which we "work out our faith." The challenge is that so few of us emerging from the evangelical milieu have a comprehensive picture of what constitutes Christian practice and why. So let's explore that! Find us online here: https://community-circles.circle.so

Season 5: Episode 5| Some Questions and Difficulties

I wish I heard more people talk about the spiritual life in such plain language! Evelyn, in her final chapter of the book "The Spiritual Life" addresses some of the biggest and most common challenges presented to those pursuing the spiritual life (at least in the early stages) in the shortest chapter of her book. I offer a brief summary of each, and a practice at the end that I think wraps things up nicely :) Come visit our our online community: https://community-circles.circle.so/home

Season 5: Episode 4| Cooperation with God

In this episode we are looking at the active life - all the things we do in a day - and asking, "How can we cooperate with God in the middle of all this?" What does my mundane life have to do with divine reality? Is spirituality simply seeking contemplative experiences and disregarding everything in between? Evelyn Underhill's book "The Spiritual Life" helps us address the need to learn how to live in cooperation with God as we do all that we do, and gives us (through St. John of the Cross) a simple test we can use to know if we are cooperating with God. Join our online community: https://community-circles.circle.so