DESCRIPTION: The image of the Christian life as a goal-oriented pilgrimage is used to explore the nature of wholeness in six areas: the cognitive, the affective, the behavioral, the relational, the physical, and the spiritual. The two-fold emphasis will be on personal experience of growth in each area and on the process of structuring growth-oriented experiences in a church context that will produce growth in others. In addition to the various types of growth discussed in class, special attention will be given to the art of spiritual journaling and the process of spiritual autobiography.

LEARNING OUTCOMES: Students shall (1) explore in some depth their spiritual pilgrimages, set in the context of evangelical spirituality and contemplative spirituality, out of which they will come to understand better the nature of spiritual growth; (2) experience various spiritual practices, especially intensive journaling, so as to gain skills both to practice and teach these to others: (3) be assisted in this personal exploration by an ongoing small group experience in which spiritual autobiographies are shared; (4) be exposed to a range of possibilities, options, concepts, and methodologies by which personal growth is encouraged and will come to understand how to structure individualized growth programs as well as other wholeness-oriented ministries.

RELEVANCE FOR MINISTRY: Nurturing Christian growth is a central task of ministry. However, at times our view of growth is too constricted. The kind of growth envisioned in the Bible is holistic in nature, impacting all of one's life. It is important, therefore, that we have a clear understanding of how growth is understood in the Bible and how it takes place, and that we have the skills needed to guide others in their growth. The aim of this course is to help students learn how to develop effective growth-producing programs that reflect a biblical understanding of the dynamics of growth.

COURSE FORMAT: A mixture of lecture, interactive discussion, reflective exercises, in-depth small group experiences, and journal exercises. Class will meet weekly for three-hour sessions.

REQUIRED READING:

Read in each area for a total of 1200 pages including required books, which are in bold.

1. Workbooks: Peace, Richard. Pilgrimage. Baker, 1976; Postema, Don. Space for God.

2. Spiritual Disciplines: Peace, Richard. Spiritual Journaling AND Spiritual Autobiography, NavPress, 1995.

3. Health & Healing: Hart, Arch. Adrenaline and Stress. Word, 1986; Richardson, Rick. Experiencing Healing Prayer. InterVarsity Press, 2005.

4. Behavior: Zimbardo, Philip. Shyness. Addison-Wesley, 1978.

5. Emotional Wholeness: Scazzero, Peter. The Emotionally Healthy Church, Zondervan, 2003.

6. Prayer: Chase, Steven. The Tree of Life: Models of Christian Prayer. Baker, 2005; Foster, Richard. Prayer. HarperSanFrancisco, 1992; Guenther, Margaret. The Practice of Prayer. Cowley, 1998; Louf, André. Teach Us to Pray. Cowley Publications, 1992; Willard, Dallas. Hearing God. InterVarsity Press, 1999.

7. Spirituality: Chittister, Joan. Heart of Flesh. Eerdmans, 1998; Ford, David. The Shape of Living, Baker, 1997; Johnson, Ben Campbell & Andrew Dreitcher. Beyond the Ordinary: Spirituality for Church Leaders. Eerdmans, 2001; McGrath, Alister. Christian Spirituality. Blackwell, 1999; Rolheiser, Ronald. The Holy Longing: The Search for a Christian Spirituality. Doubleday, 1999.