CategoriesJesus' Way, Theology and Spirituality by

Jesus’ Way with Others

I have been inspired recently by Emily P. Freeman’s words when she writes,

“I have a vision of a generation of believers who understand that the goal of life is Jesus and all the ways he wants to offer himself both to us and through us to the world.”

Yes, yes, yes! 

Beginning with Jesus’ earliest words to the men and women who would become his disciples, “Follow me,” Christianity has understood itself to be a faith imparted by one to another. For in Jesus we discover not only a worthy model for the journey but also an intimate invitation to a life together. Jesus reaches out by his Spirit, speaking and sharing his stunning life with us. 

Over the last couple of months leading to Easter, I have been offering reflections upon Jesus’ distinctive way of being with others. One could even call it his mentoring way. He continues by his Spirit to develop his followers in this same mentoring way today, life upon life. 

We have put these short reflections into an easily accessible and downloadable format:

Reflections on Imitating Jesus’ Way with Others

Take a look and ponder: Where might Jesus be inviting you to a deeper relational life with himself and with others?

CategoriesFinding a Mentor, Theology and Spirituality by

Take a risk

God has ordained things that we grow in faith only through the frail instrumentality of one another.

St. John of the Cross

 

Our growth in Christ does not occur in isolation; it takes place within the company of others who provide presence and perspective along the journey.

One specific form of being “in the company of others” is called spiritual mentoring; that is, a relationship between two or more people and the Holy Spirit where we can discover who God is, who we are, and what God desires to do through us.

Finding a spiritual mentor or even being a spiritual mentor has been a proven way over the years of discovering more of what this life with God is all about.

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Craig had never thought about mentoring before. It was during his facilitator training retreat for The Journey that he first heard about walking with another person in an intentional spiritual friendship. “The more I thought about what I’ve read in the Scriptures,” Craig, 63, said, “it seemed to me that mentoring relationships have been lost in the church for decades.” Read More

CategoriesTheology and Spirituality by

The Great Mentor

God is already up to something good…

Helping others grow up into Christ rests on an understanding and conviction that the primary shaping work in a person’s life belongs to God. For we are God’s handiwork, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do (Ephesians 2:10, NIV). Our burden as people, and as mentors in particular, is to first be alert and receptive to God’s relentlessly creative handiwork in the world. All our best thinking and acting, listening and asking questions and praying, is secondary to and cooperative with the Spirit’s work.

This is such good news for us. Read More