SPIR - Spiritual Formation

This course examines how change takes place in individuals. In addition to theories of personal change, special attention is given to historic examples of personal change.

This course focuses on self-discovery and personal appraisal through a variety of personal and professional assessment tools. Prerequisite: SPIR-500

This course attends to the spiritual life of the student as a whole and wholly unique self, created in the image of God. Students will explore and learn to employ a variety of self-awareness tools to deepen self-understanding and contribute to personal spiritual formation.

Spiritual formation is deepened by the Christian's devotion to God and this devotion is often witnessed through his or her participation in spiritual practices. This course is a multifaceted examination of twelve spiritual disciplines or practices. Students will have an opportunity to learn about historically documented practices through the writings of people known for their spirituality and through their own personal experience of selected practices.

This course attends to the spiritual life of the student as a whole person on a journey of spiritual formation. Students will explore various frameworks for personal growth and change, and learn to assess their own experience of personal change and transformation in Christlikeness.

This course begins the process of change in previously identified areas of need through goal setting and accountability. Prerequisite: SPIR-520

This course attends to the role of personal and corporate spiritual disciplines in the spiritual life of the student. Students will identify the importance of spiritual disciplines, and learn to employ spiritual disciplines in their own personal spiritual formation on their journey to Christlikeness.

This course focuses on the inflow and outflow of a deepening spiritual life which results in difference-making leadership.

This course attends to the importance of planning and accountability in the spiritual life of the student. Students will learn to determine appropriate personal, spiritual, and ministerial goals, develop plans to achieve those goals, and create effective means of moral and spiritual accountability on their journey to Christlikeness.

This course involves the connection of the minister with a spiritual mentor to whose spiritual direction they are willing to submit. The process of growth through mentoring is learned and implemented. Prerequisite: SPIR-540

This course covers the classical inward, outward, and corporate spiritual disciplines, which are carefully placed within the context of an overall process of change. Prerequisite: SPIR-560

This course teaches and fosters the thinking, dispositions, and practices necessary for deeper devotion to Christ. Taught as an intensive retreat, students participate in the daily routines of the monastic life, consisting of silence, solitude, and worship, along with the prayerful reflection it cultivates. Students read and reflect on classic devotional texts, participate in a diversity of spiritual disciplines, and thoughtfully develop a spiritual growth strategy to guide their lives and ministries. The primary aim is to foster life-long devotional practices that increase students' capacity for faithfulness to Christ and to their ministerial vocation.

This course focuses on the accomplishment of change and the goals set at the beginning of the spiritual formation sequence, with particular attention to recovery and or deliverance from obstacles to healthy spiritual growth. Prerequisite: SPIR-570

This course examines how change takes place in individuals. In addition to theories of personal change, special attention is given to historic examples of personal change.

This course focuses on self-discovery and personal appraisal through a variety of personal and professional assessment tools. Prerequisite: MDIV-610

This course begins the process of change in previously identified areas of need through goal setting and accountability. Prerequisite: MDIV-611

This course focuses on the inflow and outflow of a deepening spiritual life which results in difference-making leadership.

This course involves the connection of the minister with a spiritual mentor to whose spiritual direction they are willing to submit. The process of growth through mentoring is learned and implemented. Prerequisite: MDIV-612

This course covers the classical inward, outward, and corporate spiritual disciplines, which are carefully placed within the context of an overall process of change. Prerequisite: MDIV-613

This course focuses on the accomplishment of change and the goals set at the beginning of the spiritual formation sequence, with particular attention to recovery and or deliverance from obstacles to healthy spiritual growth. Prerequisite: MDIV-614

Intentional Christian community and 'neo-monasticism' is consistent with the Methodist movement and more broadly, the Christian tradition. This course will examine the contemporary longing in a post-modern context for a communal experience of Christianity that offers authenticity and renewal for its participants and the contexts in which they operate.

This course attends to the role of recovery and deliverance in the spiritual life of the student. Students will learn to assess their own need for deliverance from sin to find freedom in Christ, and employ strategies in their lives that foster personal healing and spiritual wholeness.

This course attends to the spiritual life of the student as both mentor and mentee. Students will assess the contribution of mentoring and/or spiritual direction to their own spiritual journey, and develop their own capacity to contribute to the spiritual formation of others on their journey to Christlikeness.

This course attends to the spiritual life of the student as a person. Students will engage spiritual autobiographies that provide context for how the means of grace have formed Christians over the ages and serve as a template for the development of a personal rule of life. Students will develop strategies for their own personal spiritual formation.

This seminar is a doctoral-level exploration of the formation of persons from the perspective of practical theology. Students will examine and deploy concepts related to soteriology, with special reference to the restoration and perfection of the imago Dei. Students will engage various biblical, historical, and contemporary voices for the sake of a deeper understanding. Special attention will be given to the practice of personal Sabbath keeping toward the appropriation of the graces of faith.

This seminar is a doctoral-level exploration of the formation of persons from the perspective of historical theology. Students will examine and deploy concepts related to soteriology, with special reference to Christian traditions of eremitic monasticism. Students will engage relevant texts within their original historical context, with a roughly equal emphasis being given to ancient, medieval and modern voices. Historic practices of selfawareness, such as the Ignatian Examen, will be woven into the course experience, with an eye toward cultivating the graces of faith.

This seminar is a doctoral-level exploration of the formation of communities from the perspective of practical theology. Students will examine and deploy concepts related to ecclesiology, with special reference to becoming and abiding-in the body of Christ. Students will engage various biblical, historical, and contemporary voices for the sake of a deeper understanding. Special attention will be given to the practice of communal Sabbath keeping toward the appropriation of the graces of love.

This seminar is a doctoral-level exploration of the formation of communities from the perspective of historical theology. Students will examine and deploy concepts related to ecclesiology, with special reference to Christian traditions of coenobitic monasticism. Students will engage relevant texts within their original historical context, with a roughly equal emphasis being given to ancient, medieval, and modern voices. Historic practices of discernment, such as Spiritual Direction, will be woven into the course experience, with an eye toward cultivating the graces of love.

This seminar is a doctoral-level exploration of the formation of societies from the perspective of practical theology. Students will examine and deploy concepts related to eschatology, with special reference to embracing and embodying the missio Dei. Students will engage various biblical, historical, and contemporary voices for the sake of a deeper understanding. Special attention will be given to the practice of social Sabbath keeping toward the appropriation of the graces of hope.

This seminar is a doctoral-level exploration of the formation of societies from the perspective of historical theology. Students will examine and deploy concepts related to eschatology, with special reference to Christian traditions of secular monasticism. Students will engage relevant texts within their original historical context, with a roughly equal emphasis being given to ancient, medieval, and modern voices. Historic practices of compassion, such as the Visitation and Hospitality, will be woven into the course experience, with an eye toward cultivating the graces of hope.

This course attends to the role of the Bible in the spiritual life of the person. Students will consider the biblical text for its contributions to their understanding of the processes and practices of personal spiritual formation. Prerequisites: SPIR-700

This course attends to the spiritual life of the student in the context of Christian community. Drawing upon John Wesley's approach to discipleship, "band meetings" will serve as the locus of group spiritual formation in the cohort. Students will work together in their band to develop a communal rule of life. Prerequisites: SPIR-700, SPIR-720

This course attends to the role of the historic Christian tradition in the spiritual life. Students will investigate historical precedents, such as monastic movements, and explore how these might inform their own spiritual formation in community today. Prerequisites: SPIR-700, SPIR-720, SPIR-740

This course attends to the spiritual life of the student in the context of society. Students will consider the liberating nature of God's grace for all aspects of society, with special attention to the marginalized, disadvantaged, and impoverished as they exist in ecclesial, societal, and political realms. Prerequisites: SPIR-700, SPIR-720, SPIR-740, SPIR-760.

In this course, students will attend to a particular area of societal spiritual formation needed in their context and develop a strategic response that is biblically, theologically, and contextually appropriate. Opportunity will be given for reflection and revision of the Personal Rule of Life developed in SPIR-700 with a focus on continued personal, communal, and societal spiritual growth. Prerequisites: SPIR-700, SPIR-720, SPIR-740, SPIR-760, SPIR-770.