Personal Spiritual Formation Development Plan:
Objective: For one to intentionally cooperate with God in His ongoing transformation in spiritual formation, it is important to develop an annual plan for one’s growth, in context of where one is spiritually and where one feels God’s calling to grow. To facilitate this effort, we have developed a template that includes a process of discernment, resources, disciplines, plan format, etc.
Plan: This work is being pursued as part of the Spiritual Formation Coaching Project
Spiritual Formation Discovery for Leaders:
Objective: We have learned personally and historically that the spiritual formation of church leaders must precede the spiritual formation of the church itself. We have also learned that the most effective way for leaders to make a paradigm shift in their leadership is through an intensive experiential group process resulting in a shift in understanding of one’s spiritual formation. We have therefore, developed (and are still perfecting) a group retreat process using a “spiritual timeline” and comparing it to the Teresian Paradigm and planning for ongoing personal spiritual formation. The Discovery process includes looking at one's view of God, personal blocks to spiritual formation, identifying one's longing for deeper intimacy with God, cooperation through abiding prayer and covenant community, and development of a spiritual formation plan.
Plan: Continue to refine the Discovery process, adapting it to various settings and audiences. Develop a Discovery 2, as a follow-up retreat/experience to further explore areas of insight and question identified in the Discovery process.
The Church as a Spiritual Formation Center:
Objective: Ultimately, we all agree that once leaders are progressing in their personal spiritual formation, they need tools to enable their congregations to grow spiritually, beyond the basic discipleship of new Christians. Several of us are working on this in our own churches. Using and expanding the material in “Mansions of the Heart,” we are developing a strategy that can be used by various sized churches.
Plan: The Imago Christi members, along with others that are interested, have begun a dialogue to surface the issues to be addressed, resources available and needed, and strategies that are in use as well as potential new methods. A number of churches are working with us in this exploratory process.
Contemplative Prayer for Evangelicals - Abiding Prayer:
Objective: We know that a key to growth through and beyond the Third Mansion (from the Teresian perspective) is a transition from primarily discursive prayer to more responsive prayer that focuses on God and “listening” to Him. This includes meditation, contemplation, and silence. However, many/most evangelicals have not been taught about this responsive dimension of prayer. What is needed is an introduction to responsive prayer with resources and helps that could be used in a group teaching setting or given as a resource kit to individuals and churches.
Plan: Resources are being developed, primarily through the Discovery and the Coaching project, to help believers abide with Christ in prayer, learning to become attentive to the movements of His heart.
Spiritual Formation Coaching:
Objective: There is a great need among Christian leaders for spiritual mentors/coaches to assist in one's cooperation with God in ongoing spiritual formation. Here we would distinguish mentoring and coaching as similar to but not a formal “spiritual direction” relationship. A process is needed to coach leaders with their spiritual formation development plan (# 1 above), identifying specific issues that may be blocking ongoing spiritual growth, when and what type of therapeutic counseling may be helpful, working the spiritual disciplines in an appropriate way, appropriate readings to support one’s place in the journey, and other questions that arise.
Plan: Develop a "Coaching Manual" that could be used by trained coaches, providing resources and guidelines. Imago Christi would provide personal coaching to the coaches who use this material.
Spiritual Formation “Taste and See” Events:
Objective: Imago Christi is planning format for a series of events that can expose leaders and churches to an introduction to the concept of spiritual journey and facilitate an experience of gaining insight into one's own desire for deepening intimacy with Jesus.
Plan: Retreat models are being developed by a number of Imago Christi members in their own settings. The plan is to compile the core of these experiences into modules that could be formed into a Taste and See experience for individuals and churches.
Teresian Mansion Mapping Tool Expansion:
Objective: A Mapping Tool has been developed to help one identify their own spiritual journey from the perspective of a paradigm for spiritual formation based on the Seven Mansions of Teresa of Avila. This paradigm is described in Tom Ashbrook's book, Mansions of the Heart. Continued work is needed in making the Mapping Tool more accurate and useful. Questions need to be reviewed and resources identified for each mansion. It has been suggested that it would be helpful to identify biblical characters that represent each of the seven mansions. In addition to the Movements of Growth sections of the Dissertation, it would be helpful to identify readings, both Scriptures and books that would expose participants to dimensions of spirituality that relate to their growth areas. To the extent that the Teresian paradigm is used in the Spiritual Formation Development
Plan, these resources would also be helpful there.
Plan: The Mapping Tool has undergone several revisions, both in its questions, its scoring, and its use for coaching. The Coaching Project is developing a resource for using the Mapping Tool, and new and easier scoring methods are being investigated.
Spiritual Formation Retreats:
Objective: Provide a variety of retreat experiences that will enable participants, personally or in groups, to take quality time with God. this work will provede overall retreat formats as well as retreat modules and spiritual exercises that may be used to design spiritual formation retreats.
Plan: These retreats are being developed as part of the ministries of individual Imago Christi members.