RENOVARÉ
MARCH 2013
ENCOURAGEMENT FROM RENOVARÉ FOR LIFE WITH GOD
OUR MISSION Renovaré USA is a nonprofit Christian organization that models, resources, and advocates fullness of Life With God experienced, by grace, through the spiritual practices of Jesus and of the historical Church. Christian in commitment, ecumenical in breadth, and international in scope, Renovaré helps people in becoming like Jesus.
OUR VISION We imagine a world in which people’s lives flourish as they increasingly become like Jesus. The Renovaré Covenant succinctly communicates our hope for all those who look to him for life: In utter dependence upon Jesus Christ as my ever-living Savior, Teacher, Lord, and Friend, I will seek continual renewal through spiritual exercises, spiritual gifts, and acts of service.
EXPRESSIONS: Contents 5 : Meet the Writing Team 8 : Clarifying the Vision: by Richard Foster 10 : Why Lent: by Kai Nilsen 13 : Recommended Reading 14 : How Valerie Hess and Lane Arnold Came to Write a Book Together 18 : Coming Events 20 : Conferences & Retreats 22 : Bridge to the Future-The Next 25 Years: by Margaret Campbell 26 : A Spiritual Formation Primer 27 : Renovaré Book Club 28 : New Board Members 30 : Green Leaves for Later years: by Emilie Griffin 33 : Renovaré Podcast 34 : Renovaré Institute 2 : EXPRESSIONS
LET TER FROM THE DIRECTOR We’ve now officially launched into our 25th year of ministry, and many of us in the Renovaré community have been using the illustration of a bridge – one that spans from the past 25 years and continues on into the next 25 years. I saw that very bridge in people a few weeks ago. We had a gathering of board members, five of whom are new to our team, as well as a few ministry team members and others connected to the ministry. During this particular gathering, I saw that bridge in the people of Roger Fredrikson and Jon Bailey. Roger will be 93 years old this year. Jon is a young, but wise, 30-year-old. Roger helped found the ministry all those years ago with Richard Foster, Dallas Willard, Marti Ensign, and Bill Vaswig. Jon is part of the next generation of leadership for Renovaré, hanging out with the likes of me, on our knees as we long to see the formation of people into the likeness of Christ > Roger Fredrikson & Jon Bailey become more and more a reality. You see, the bridge isn’t about one side, a dividing line and then another side. It’s about a complete structure made up of the hearts of so many who have helped to build it through the years. Roger doesn’t stand on one side of the bridge and Jon on the other. It’s a beautiful picture of the two of them walking that bridge together – from the past into the future. I see Lacy Borgo and Margaret Campbell crossing this bridge together. Margaret brings all the stories from the past 15 years and can hardly contain her excitement as she walks with Lacy into the world of formation for children and families. Lacy brings her fresh, joyful spirit as she shares her passion for the formation of children. “Come on, Lacy!” Margaret says. “We’re going to go do some training together this spring!” And off they go, across that bridge. I see Gayle Withnell standing in the middle of this bridge, praying prayers for all who are crossing it, thanking God for the past 25 years, pushing into the next 25 years with her prayers of faith and love for Renovaré . As I cross the bridge, she reaches out her hands and we walk together for a while. She whispers encouragement and insights to me as we take new steps.
I see a father and son, Richard and Nathan, hiking the bridge, their heads
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close together as they talk about a shared past and a shared future I see Mike and Brenda Quinn as they work with us on various projects and help us keep our books in order – past to present to future. I see Jeff Lane faithfully praying for us as he goes about his day-to-day work of accounting. I see Lisa Batzle who diligently worked on our old database and kindly helped to choose and launch our new one – as a gift to us of her time...these pictures of people could go on and on. I see so many people who have already been on the journey – and those of us who have joined them in the past 10 years and even the past year. Those from the past aren’t standing on one side, waving to us and wishing us well while the rest of us go the remainder of the way to the other side. We go together all of us – young and old, new and veteran – because we all share the same dream and hope. We work towards continuing to teach people what it means to walk the Jesus Way, to live life well, to be lights in a dark world, to proclaim that people don’t need to hang in there for a future in eternity, but can experience the beauty of the Kingdom of God here and now. We are grateful that you have joined us on this bridge to the future. Thank you for walking it with us, praying it with us, building it with us. Just as it is our passion, it is your passion. That’s because we are family. We’re in this together! As we look to the future we’re challenging ourselves to really go for it! We’re launching new projects, providing new resources, always with the hope that we are a part of the journey of growing life-long disciples of Jesus. Would you join us in our 25th year? Perhaps it’s a special birthday gift, or a note of encouragement. Whatever it may be, we look forward to continued life together!
Gratefully,
Rachel Quan Executive Director
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MEET THE WRITING TEAM
RICHARD J. FOSTER
The founder of Renovaré, Richard has authored or co-authored seven books, including Celebration of Discipline, PRAYER: Finding the Heart’s True Home, Freedom of Simplicity, The Challenge of the Disciplined Life, Streams of Living Water, Life With God: Reading the Bible for Spiritual Transformation (with Kathryn A. Helmers), and Longing for God (with Gayle Beebe). He is also the lead editor of The Life with God Bible. Richard and his wife Carolynn live near Denver, Colorado.
KAI NILSEN Kai is the Lead Pastor at Peace Lutheran Church, a large congregation in Gahanna, Ohio. As a Renovaré Board member, he is a passionate advocate for churches working together to serve their communities and demonstrate the love of Jesus Christ. Kai also serves on the Renovaré Ministry Team and is a primary speaker at the Renovaré Essentials Conferences. In 2009, Kai completed his Doctor of Ministry degree through Fuller Seminary in Pasadena, California. Kai is the co-author of For Everything a Season: 75 Blessings for Daily Life. Kai and his wife Patty have four children and live in Gahanna, Ohio.
(cont. >)
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MEET THE WRITING TEAM
MARGARET CAMPBELL Margaret is a graduate of Auburn University with a degree in Interior Design from the School of Architecture. Her organizational abilities and creativity are seen in the work she does as an interior designer. After giving leadership to many different volunteer efforts in Houston, Margaret was asked to coordinate the 1997 Houston Regional Conference and the 1999 RenovarĂŠ International Conference. She joined the Ministry Team in 1999. She serves on the advisory council for The Art Project Houston and is a member of the Salvation Army Guild. Margaret and her husband Justin have two married children and a granddaughter.
EMILIE GRIFFIN Emilie Griffin is a poet and playwright who has written a number of books on the spiritual life, especially focusing on prayer and the power of reflection. She is a member of the RenovarĂŠ Ministry Team, active with CONVERSATIONS JOURNAL, and a founding member of the Chrysostom Society, a group for writers of Christian faith. She and her husband Bill live in Alexandria, Louisiana. They are writers, editors, and speakers who have been married for 50 years.
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LANE M. ARNOLD
Lane M. Arnold is a spiritual director with a certificate from Denver Seminary in Christian Formation and Soul Care. She offers Christ-centered spiritual direction in Colorado and via Skype to those in other locations. Lane loves exploring invitations from the Holy Trinity, encouraging others to stay alive in their hearts as they deepen their relationship with Christ. She is a wife, mother, grandmother, prayer intercessor, and writer who enjoys creating poetry and is currently working on a novel.
VALERIE HESS
Valerie Hess is a musician, instructor in Spring Arbor University’s Master of Arts in Spiritual Formation and Leadership (MSFL) program, and author. Her writing and speaking primarily focus on issues related to spiritual formation through music and through the spiritual disciplines. She has been involved with Renovaré for more than 20 years. Her books include Habits of a Child’s Heart: Raising Your Kids with the Spiritual Disciplines (co-authored with Dr. Marti Watson Garlett), published by NavPress (2004), and Spiritual Disciplines Devotional: A Year of Readings (InterVarsityPress) published in 2007. Her latest book is The Life of the Body: Physical Well-Being and Spiritual Formation, co-authored with Lane M. Arnold (2012 InterVarsity Press). Valerie received her Masters in Church Music and Organ from Valparaiso University. She has a B.A. in Music and Psychology from Metropolitan State College in Denver. She is currently the Coordinator of Music Ministries for Trinity Lutheran Church in Boulder. She and her husband, a Presbyterian pastor, live in Boulder, Colorado. They have two adult daughters.
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CLARIFYING THE VISION RENOVARÉ
By Richard J. Foster
The RENOVARÉ VISION is simple and straightforward: a life of flaming love for God with all our “heart, soul, mind, and strength” and to love our neighbor as ourselves (Mark 12:29-31). It is a vision of genuine, solid, substantive life in the Kingdom of God, available to all. Here. Now. It is a vision of the continuing, experiential reality of “righteousness and peace and joy in the Holy Spirit” (Romans 14:17). > Richard Foster
It is a vision of right love, right desire, and right passion rooted and grounded in God.
It is a vision of Jesus high and lifted up drawing all peoples to himself and to his work here on earth (John 3:14).
It is a vision of us constantly returning to our first love, Jesus, and falling in love with him over and over and over again (Rev. 2:4-5). It is a vision of an ongoing forming, conforming, transforming life in and through Jesus—a transformational character development into Christlikeness.
It is a vision of radical, life-giving community life; an all-inclusive community of loving persons gathered in the power and fellowship of the Trinitarian presence. This is a vision of LIFE. For all persons, at all times, in all places. We are never to leave off pursuing this life. Though it be difficult we seek hard after it. And in the seeking we are transformed into people who can learn to love God with all of our heart and soul and mind and strength. We can learn to love our neighbor as ourselves. We can learn to love our enemies. We can learn to overcome evil with good. We can learn to do what is right. We can learn these things. RENOVARÉ is committed to helping people everywhere find just such a LIFE. To be sure, this life is not automatic, though God bestows innumerable graces upon the earnest seeker. Still, developing and sustaining a life of loving abandonment to God involves an overall plan of living, incorporating special practices which care for the inner person. These are the familiar Disciplines of the spiritual life. These we put into regular practice: prayer and solitude and study and service and worship and confession and celebration and more. Through all of the vicissitudes of life we must never allow anything to replace this vision of white-hot love for God. It is our first and our last order of business. Nothing is more important than this. Nothing. Not good deeds. Not faithful service in the church. Not missional labor in the name of Christ. Nothing. We love God alone. We adore God alone. We worship God alone. We are blinded to all other loyalties. 8 : EXPRESSIONS
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WHY LENT? More than a decade ago, I gathered with a group of local pastors, representing many denominations, to discuss a worship service we would offer to galvanize our community around a specific outreach initiative. As we were agreeing on a date for the service, one of my pastoral colleagues reminded us that the date we had selected was on a Wednesday night in the season of Lent. He wondered if that would be an issue for some of the liturgical churches. The senior pastor of the local independent Baptist church was quick to respond. “Lent? What’s that? Are you talking about the fuzzy stuff I often find in my belly button?” (Lint!) We had quite a laugh. Yet, his comment exposed the gulf that lies between the current streams of the Christian tradition when thinking about and practicing the rhythms of the church year. Ironically, 10 years later, this same Baptist church created a daily Advent devotional for their congregation in preparation for the celebration of Christ’s birth. Liturgical renewal? Possibly. I would suggest that many parts of the modern church movement, having sold out to the heresy of “new is always better,” are awakening to the beauty of ritual and the recurring rhythms of the church that embed the life of God deeply within our souls. The season of Lent is one of those recurring rhythms that ritualizes the beauty of God’s life-giving, redemptive work in Jesus’ death and resurrection. 10 : EXPRESSIONS
By Kai Nilsen
Though the concept of Lent, a season of preparation for the celebration of Christ’s resurrection, was being articulated as early as the Second Century, the liturgical season of Lent seems to have taken form in the Fourth Century. The Council of Nicea (325) called for two gatherings of the synods, one of which was to be held before the 40 days of preparation for Easter. By the end of the Fourth Century, the 40 days of Lent had become integrated into the yearly rhythm of the Christian community as they prepared, primarily through the spiritual disciplines of fasting and prayer, for the celebration of Christ’s resurrection. The number 40 has both biblical and spiritual significance. We recall the 40 years of wandering in the wilderness for the people of Israel. Moses communed with God on the top of Mt. Sinai for 40 days and 40 nights, eating no bread nor drinking water, as he inscribed the words of the Ten Commandments on tablets of stone (Exodus 34:28). Elijah journeyed to Mount Horeb for 40 days and 40 nights without food nor drink (I Kings 19:8). We also remember Jesus being led by the Spirit, following his baptism, into the wilderness where he fasted for 40 days and 40 nights (Matthew 4:1-2). In each case, whether 40 years or 40 days, the number 40 spoke not only to a span of time but also a span of God’s ongoing presence experienced in trial and temptation, through accumulated wisdom and insight, and by God’s sustaining grace and love.
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THIS IS THE 40-DAY JOURNEY OF LENT. IT IS MARKED IN DAYS BUT LIVED IN GRACE. For much of the Christian community, the 40 days begins with Ash Wednesday (though the Eastern Orthodox church counts 40 days back from Palm Sunday) and continues through the Holy Week stories of Jesus’s arrest, trial, and crucifixion. Sundays are not included in the 40 days since they are always, even in the season of Lent, a celebration of Jesus’s resurrection. The image of Ash Wednesday, ashes marked in the sign of the cross on our foreheads, invites us into the season with the proper attitude — humility. The ashes recall God’s words to Adam following his transgression of the boundary around the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. “By the sweat of your face you shall eat bread until you return to the ground, for out of it you were taken; you are dust, and to dust you shall return” (Genesis 3:19). For all our railing against it, our mortality is uncovered once again. We cannot deny it. We are dependent on the God who breathed life into the dust of the earth and created humanity. We are not the masters of our universe. We have and will continue to fall short of the glory of God (Romans 3:23). In humility we are marked with the cross — the symbol of violent death and the gateway to victorious life — and humbly say to God, “In life and death, we are yours.”
In that way, the season of Lent
mirrors our lives in Christ. Confronted by our humanity, our imperfections, and our brokenness, we cast our gaze on the one who took on our humanity, loved us even with our imperfections, and longs for us to be whole. A curious thing happens when we honestly look within, release control, and confess our dependence. Instead of losing power, we open ourselves to new strength. We empty ourselves of self-delusion and self-satisfaction, and we are filled with new identity, our identity in Christ, and the journey of Lent commences. For centuries, the weeks of Lent were used catechetically for those desiring to be baptized and follow Jesus. The basics of the Christian faith were taught and experienced, leading the new follower to be baptized during the Easter Vigil (the worship service on the Saturday evening of Holy Week). As the church reenacted the events of Holy Week — the ride into Jerusalem on Palm Sunday, the gathering of the disciples on Maundy Thursday around the meal of Passover when Jesus gave the command (Maundy is derived from the Latin word for command) to “love one another as I have first loved you” (John 13:34), the immersion into the darkness of his death on Good Friday (“Good” only because we know the rest of the story) — the Easter Vigil service would begin by lighting a new fire. Light would penetrate darkness. Capturing all the baptismal images of darkness and light, despair and hope, death and life, the service would usher the community and the new followers through the mystery of God’s redemptive work on the cross and the glory of his resurrection on Easter Sunday. (cont. >) MARCH 2013 : 11
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So what about today? In my recent reading about creativity, I have stumbled over this concept in many places: “the on/off pulse of creativity.” Those who have studied the creative process are aware that we don’t have the physical, emotional, and/or spiritual capacity to be on all the time. For anything new or novel to come from our minds, our lives, we must press in at times and then back off at other times. In the pressing in, we dive deeply into the heart of the creative process. In backing off, we create space for, as some may say, the muse, or we would say the Spirit, to enter. Both are necessary for something new or novel to emerge from our lives. Maybe we need to consider Lent as one of those seasons of intentionally pressing in. Culturally, we are distracted by many things. If we do not pay attention to our souls, our capacity to be open to God’s creative work in our lives is diminished. The season of Lent presents an opportunity to reflect on the state of our souls before God, the contour of our lives with others, and, above all, the prevailing promise of Jesus’s resurrected life as it breathes new life, new courage, new hope in us and through us, for the sake of the world. It is no coincidence that the AngloSaxon root word for Lent means “spring.”
Pressing in to the season of Lent is a creative exercise in God’s possibility of re-birth for you, for your neighbor, for the whole of creation.
Less is More. With that in mind, we, at Renovaré, created a resource to guide you as you press in to the season of Lent. The devotional booklet, Less is More, prompts an intentional reflection on the aspects of your life that stand in the way of walking in God’s spirit and encourages you to move forward in love. Each week, a classic spiritual discipline provides the entry point for self-examination, God reflection, and godly action. Confession: Less guilt/More grace Solitude: Less noise/More listening Fasting: Less consumption/More compassion Simplicity: Less stuff/More freedom Frugality: Less spending/More peace Intercession: Less me/More others Reflective Reading of Holy Week Story: Less fear/More love Our hope is that the daily immersion in the life of God through these disciplines becomes a lifegiving habit that extends well beyond this season of Lent. > Kai Nilsen
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RECOMMENDED READING
> You can order The Life of the Body at www.Renovare.org MARCH 2013 : 13
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HOW VALERIE HESS AND LANE ARNOLD CAME TO WRITE A BOOK TOGETHER One day, Lane and I (Valerie) met over lunch. We discussed the possibility of collaborating on a writing project in the future, yet had no particular topic in mind. Shortly thereafter, my Spring Arbor students’ discussion board carried on a lively conversation in response to my challenge. I asked students to examine how to worship God in more physical ways. Upon reading the discussion, Lane and I agreed that this topic of physical well-being and spiritual formation was of interest to both of us personally. Our writing project began. As you’ll see below, our journey toward this topic comes from different pathways. My (Valerie) involvement in this book comes through four strands of thinking. The first strand was a growing realization of the importance that the Incarnation, Jesus coming in the flesh, is meant to have in our everyday lives. If Jesus had a body, then that should affect the way we view our bodies. Christmas is the celebration of Jesus coming to earth as fully human yet fully divine. Jesus blessed the material world by becoming part of it, eating and drinking, sleeping and working. The ancient Greeks, and many to this day, thought that the physical world was a necessary evil, one to be transcended. The Creator of the universe became part of creation in direct opposition to that philosophy. I hope that through this book, Christ-followers will again claim the goodness of the material world and all that that means for life and living. The second strand is a bodily discipline requirement in my graduate class. I teach for Spring Arbor University’s Master of Arts in Spiritual Formation and Leadership Program (MSFL). The students are required to take on a physical discipline during the eight weeks they are practicing the spiritual disciplines. Many students have found a strong connection between what they do with their body and what happens in their soul during the course. I concur with that connection. One only has to think about how a daily Bible reading and prayer time goes when not feeling well. Mine certainly aren’t as uplifting spiritually when I have a bad cold as when I feel strong and healthy. Thirdly, I have long been interested in the way Christ-followers continue to live out the mandate given in Genesis 1 to steward the earth. Some translations say “subdue” the earth. That is unfortunate because we today mean something very different with the word “subdue” from its original usage. Because of this misunderstanding, 14 : EXPRESSIONS
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some Christ-followers believe that this world is “trash” and will be eventually “thrown out.” Yet, the biblical idea of a “new heaven and a new earth” given in Revelation 21 invites us to a different attitude toward creation. Creation is groaning, waiting for redemption, along with all who claim Christ as Savior and Lord (see Romans 8:22). Therefore, humanity continues to be invited to tend the garden of God’s creation, despite all the weeds and thorns that grow beside the fruits of the earth now. Over the years, I have been increasing my support of organic, local, and sustainable farming and fishing practices through the use of my grocery dollars. I do all I can to support people and companies who seek to do that as well. Recycling has become a way for me to honor God. Seeking to use less of the earth’s resources has become a way to honor my neighbors, near and far. Finally, with growing obesity rates in this country, too many Christ-followers seem to believe their bodies are “immaterial,” so why bother to eat well and exercise? This circles back to Jesus’s body and what that means for each of us on a daily basis. I am learning more fully that caring for my aging body is an act of worship toward God, its Creator, and a sign of faith in the life to come. After the resurrection, Jesus’s new body was recognizable and able to eat, yet could appear and disappear in ways it hadn’t been able to before.Jesus’s body was the same but different after his death on the cross, and mine will be also after my death. Weaving these strands together, I wanted to share some of what I had discovered about these topics and offer them for discussion in the Church at large. It is my hope that this book will serve as an introduction to further discussions within the Body of Christ, and beyond it, on how our bodily lives impact our spiritual formation. Lane’s journey into this book came from a different angle. Here’s her perspective… I don’t know about you, but I (Lane) love a good mystery. They intrigue and captivate me into wondering: who? what? when? why? how? Most often we think of mystery as one genre of novels — whodunits centered on a puzzle of one sort or another. There’s usually a pesky detective involved who is trying to figure out the puzzle pieces. Additionally, a mystery is something obscure, puzzling, unknown, not understood, unexplained, involving some type of event, truth, character trait, or fictional situation. Mysteries in nature invite wondering how and why something happens. Mysteries of faith echo likewise. When I consider my life with Christ, it is a mystery of epic proportions. Why would God choose to come for my heart? Having come for my heart, how is it that change occurs?
(cont. >)
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Whatever the kind of mystery, there is always some unknown element. Waiting, wondering, and suspense accompany mystery. Resolution occurs when seemingly vaguely unconnected things turn out to be instead rather deeply and intrinsically connected. Things that, in the beginning, make no sense whatsoever turn out to be significant. My journey of being formed into the likeness of Christ is like reading a good mystery. In the beginning, I seldom noticed how my exterior physical body and my interior spiritual life were intimately related. As I’ve puzzled over this, sprinkled within my life I see a plethora of evidence, clues, alibis, deductions, witnesses, red herrings, motives, and suspects. What can I deduce from these clues? For example, what motives are behind how I eat, how I treat my body, how I care for the earth? What deductions can I make as to how or if these have anything to do with being Christ’s follower? The personal mystery of my own body and heart connectedness began in the culture of the South, where food, comforts, and figures (of the bodily or financial type) figured big into everyday life. In the South, meals were the centerpieces of gatherings. Physical appearances were the weightiness of a person’s value and identity. Add to that Southern upbringing a background in home economics, a love of cooking and eating, and the joy of good fellowship. Do all these things make any difference to one another? I’d never put two and two together: my exterior life has always been a part of my interior life. What I’ve done with one has often sprung from the other. Perhaps one of the first times I ever noticed any connectedness between my physical body, my interior life of the heart, and Christ himself came while reading Edith Schaeffer’s books Hidden Art and L’Abri. She spoke of the goodness of cooking and caring for the earth within a life of fellowship with others who were following Christ. That was a new thought for me. This led to my eventual involvement in a Christ-centered community scented with the faint aromas of L’Abri, where Christians lived, loved, learned, and served while doing everyday life as a family of faith. Many years later, after years of raising my children, involvement in ministries, and working in the field of education, these thoughts of interior/exterior connections reemerged when God shifted my life. I attended seminary, becoming a spiritual director. While reading of saints, Christian classics, and spiritual disciplines, I became a detective of sorts, sleuthing the connections between my “spiritual” life and the rest of my life, body included. What I noticed was what I hadn’t noticed: my body and my heart for Christ were mysteriously intertwined. Walking with Jesus intimately and attentively, I desired an
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integration of heart and body. Then, in my calling as a spiritual director, I noticed the complex relatedness of the heart and the body within my directees. Engaging in the Spiritual Exercises of St. Ignatius, I noticed my own body’s links to my interior life. What happened within my body mattered to my heart; what happened to my heart mattered to my body. Paying attention to this connection, I saw alibis and red herrings, ways I’d excused how I’d treated my body or ways that had distracted me considering the body/heart connection. Beginning to grasp some of this mysterious interconnectedness led to deeper inner healing as well as wiser body care. This slow shift of paradigms meant less compartmentalizing between my interior and exterior life and more consciousness of their involvement and impact on one another, bringing me into a more wholesome person. Nowadays I worship and pray with more bodily gestures. I examine my body’s response to my interior life and vice versa. Why had sleep been once such a struggle? What’s changed so that it is now a welcome rejuvenation time? How had food become of more substance and value in wise ways? Why had food previously been either never thought of wisely or thought of as an enemy? How am I more welcoming and nurturing to the physical aspects of my life? Exercise, once just something on my checklist, is now valued as a spiritual component of my life. In the midst of all of this, I feel more alive of body and heart, more deeply connected to God and more aware of my responsibility for the world. Yes, I still struggle to find balance for all these interrelated components of my life. Sometimes I miss the clues that my body is giving me. That’s when it’s so helpful to have witnesses like my husband or my spiritual director who walk with me and can point out those intricate connecting points. It’s one small step toward noticing the mystery of how my exterior well-being and my interior well-being create a rich tapestry of who I am and how God uses all of this to bring me into more of a mirrored image of the likeness of Christ. > Valerie Hess From within these places of our personal journeys, this book sprang forth. There is intricate mystery and deep relatedness between the physical realm and spiritual realm. As this has mattered to us, we also believe it garners merit in the larger conversation within the community of faith as to how the exterior/interior life forms us as we are formed while following Christ. Welcome to that conversation. > Lane Arnold MARCH 2013 : 17
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COMING EVENTS
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COMING EVENTS
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CONFERENCES & RETREATS Children and Families Conference April 9, 2013 : Houston, TX A One Day Conference on Children’s Spiritual Formation Speakers : Lacy Finn Borgo and Margaret Campbell
Essentials Conference April 13, 2013 : Huntsville, TX Making life-long spiritual growth a reality Speakers : Nathan Foster and Mindy Caliguire
Essentials Conference April 20, 2013 : Richland, WA Making life-long spiritual growth a reality Speakers : Kai Nilsen and Siang Yang Tan
Renovaré Prayer Retreat October 18-20, 2013 : Hunt, TX Beside Still Waters Speakers : Nathan Foster, Rachel Quan, Jeff Johnson
Life with God: Changing Performance for God to Experiencing Life with God October 29 – November 1, 2013 : Asheville, NC A Renovaré Retreat at The Cove Speakers : Fil Anderson, Nathan Foster, Emily Freeman
Essentials Conference November 2, 2013 : Bismarck, ND Making life-long spiritual growth a reality Speakers : Renovaré Team Members > To register or for more information on these conferences
and retreats, please visit: www.Renovare.org 20 : EXPRESSIONS
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On a day when the mountain laurels were in full bloom, my family went on a picnic in Fall Creek Falls State Park. I stepped cautiously onto the bridge, uncertain about its swinging motion and sway. My brother stepped onto it running and jumping with exuberant joy. I wondered if the movement that I felt meant the bridge would not support us. David never gave it a second thought. We both made it to the other side, though he crossed back and forth several times before I made it over once. The uncertainty gave way to confidence once I understood that a swinging bridge is designed with a certain amount of sway and give. A bridge is a good metaphor for times of change and transition. Change can be unsettling. There are days of uncertainty and days of grace-filled surprise. Renovaré celebrates its 25th anniversary this year. It is as though we are standing in the center of a bridge. On one side we have a 25-year legacy of teaching and ministry. On the other side, there are new opportunities to continue the work of becoming and making disciples of Jesus, proclaiming the goodness of the “with-God” kind of life, and teaching people how to do what Jesus says is best. Looking back, I see the impact of the literature. Resources that include Streams of Living Water, Spiritual Classics,
Renovation of the Heart, and A Spiritual Formation Workbook. I am grateful for the Renovaré Spiritual Formation Bible. It is genuinely helpful as we seek to understand in deeper ways how God cares about his people and their Spiritual Formation. I rejoice when I remember the international and regional events that helped shape and form our ideas and message and brought the dispersed Renovaré community together for celebration, worship, and teaching. Renovaré was established in 1988 with a grand vision for how we might help the church break down the barriers that separate us and give serious attention to the “genuine forming, conforming, transforming life in and through Jesus.” In 1999, Renovaré held its first international conference in Houston. In 2004, the dispersed Renovaré community came together for the first Covenant Retreat. Beginning in 2002, three international expressions were established: Renovaré Britain and Ireland, Renovaré Korea, and Renovaré Brazil. After five years of work, the Renovaré Spiritual Formation Bible was published. In 2009, the Renovaré Institute for Christian Spiritual Formation was established. And that is just a partial naming of the work Renovaré has undertaken. What might Renovaré do during the next 25 years? No one knows the answer to this question with any certainty. (cont. >)
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I do know that Renovaré has a unique calling as a teaching ministry. Our focus is on character transformation or spiritual transformation into Christ-likeness. Under the capable and committed leadership of our Executive Director, Rachel Quan, Renovaré will continue to ask two questions: How might we best serve the church? and, Will this help people grow in grace? The Renovaré Board of Trustees has 10 exceptional members who serve and support the staff by contributing time, energy, and financial resources while, more importantly, seeking to develop and understand the message through their own experiences with God individually and in community. Together, we watch for the evidence of grace and God’s invitation to cooperate with him in the work of spiritual transformation. Our Ministry Team carries the message forward through writing and speaking and teaching. Standing at the center of the bridge is a vantage point like no other. For a few brief moments, one has a clear view of the supports on both sides of the bridge. Soon it is time to step forward. What will we take with us over the bridge? What will define the next 25 years? Renovaré will continue to focus its efforts on helping people discover and then know, by experience, the transforming power of the way of Jesus for all of life. Lacy Borgo and the Children’s
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Ministry Team are focusing on teaching and providing written resources for children, parents, and teachers. A children’s ministry effort is becoming a significant work for the future. Renovaré will continue to work toward a “genuine understanding of Spiritual Formation and its immense importance for the lives of individuals and churches.” Our team is in the early stages of a conversation with a number of pastors about engaging congregations in understanding what it means to be a disciple and to make disciples. Nathan Foster, Director of Teaching Ministry, is planning an expanded offering of Essential Teaching Conferences. This fall, Renovaré will host a symposium on Spiritual Formation for the millennial generation. Regional conferences in Washington state and Texas are in the planning stages. New written resources for congregations, small groups, and individuals are being prepared, many of which will be available through the new website. Renovaré will continue to encourage and develop genuine relationships among the Renovaré community with the hope that we can strengthen, encourage, and learn from one another as we grow in grace. In 2012, Renovaré South Africa was established. We are looking forward to the possibility that Renovaré Canada and Renovaré Singapore will become international expressions as well.
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Renovaré will continue to seek God’s good and right direction for the next 25 years through prayer, listening, and discernment. We wait on the Lord together, trusting that he will provide for the work. We give thanks for the continual gift of the Spirit in helping us accomplish the work Renovaré is called to do. From the center of the bridge I look to the past with gratitude and to the future with anticipation. Change will be part of our future, new leadership, new resources, a new website, new events. The challenge for the Renovaré Board of Trustees and our leadership team is to lead change while retaining the identity and message that shaped the past. In 25 years, I am confident we will say that Renovaré changed but that the message, vision, and identity did not.
The message of Renovaré is that we can become more like Jesus by learning how to live our lives from him. This is the work of spiritual transformation. The vision of Renovaré is a vision of LIFE in which people’s lives flourish as they increasingly become like Christ. The identity of Renovaré is a community of Christ-followers who experience, by grace, the fullness and wonder and beauty of life with God and are committed to the renewal of the Church. We invite you to celebrate Renovaré’s 25th anniversary with us. Walk across the bridge with us — tell us your Renovaré story, and join us in the work of spiritual formation and renewal. > Margaret Campbell
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> A Spiritual Formation Primer is perfect for believers who want to dig deeper into Life With God. It is also an excellent resource for personal and/or small group study as well as a “must have” for any ministerial leadership team. Get yours today at www.Renovare.org.
Written by Renovaré Ministry Team and Board member Richella Parham, A Spiritual Formation Primer is a valuable resource that answers the question being asked by many today: “What is Spiritual Formation?” Richella clearly lays out the basics of Christian Spiritual Formation and does so in a cheerful and winsome way. This highly approachable volume inspires its reader that transformation into the image of Jesus Christ is available, possible, and awaiting every believer who seeks it. Some of the topics included in this book are: • Defining Spiritual Formation • • The centrality of Christ • • God’s grace • • Life in the kingdom of God • 26 : EXPRESSIONS • The process of change
The spiritual disciplines The communion of saints The fellowship of believers Resources for renewal
RENOVARÉ BOOK CLUB Join the Conversation The Renovaré Book Club is the way to deepen your connection with others who are passionate about the With-God Life. Join thought leaders Richard Foster, Nathan Foster, Trevor Hudson, and Bob Fryling and many more as they take you and others passionate about Spiritual Formation through classic and contemporary books on faith, discipleship, social justice, and more. A Testament of Devotion : by Thomas Kelly Hosted by Richard Foster – Session begins June 1, 2013 Falling Upward : by Richard Rohr Hosted by Nathan Foster – Session begins August 1, 2013 Journeys to Advent and Epiphany : by Margaret Campbell Hosted by Kai Nilsen – Session begins November 1, 2013 Discovering our Spiritual Identity : by Trevor Hudson Hosted by Trevor Hudson – Session begins January 1, 2014 The Leadership Ellipse : by Bob Fryling Hosted by Bob Fryling – Session begins March 1, 2014 Upcoming book release : by Nathan Foster (Title and availability in fall of 2013) Hosted by Nathan Foster – Session begins May 1, 2014 > Renovaré Book Club Resources
Resources included for your journey: • Live Webinar led by the host of each book • A thoughtful Renovaré study guide for each book • Three audio discussions of each book with session host • Three informative articles for further exploration of each book • Plus ongoing online conversations at Goodreads.com through the year Join the Renovaré Book Club today with a gift of $50 and spend the next 12 months reading, sharing, and discussing six books with your friends (new and old) in the Renovaré community. Consider inviting your small group, Sunday school class, or Bible study group to join you on an enriching journey with Renovaré. To join, please go to: www.renovare.org/what-we-do/resources/book-club
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NEW BOARD MEMBERS The past year has marked significant changes at Renovaré. They include the appointment of two key executives, selection of five board members, release of new publications, and the launch of its 25th anniversary celebration in January. The transition started with the appointment of Rachel Quan as executive director. The former director of the Houston Restaurant Association and a staff member at that city’s First Presbyterian Church, she celebrated her first anniversary February 1. “I can’t believe 12 months have passed already. It’s been bittersweet in some moments and pure joy in others,” Rachel says of her first year. “Transition is a mixture of many things because life is made up of many journeys. The wonderful thing about having a year under my belt is the ability to look back and see some important moments.” Among those she lists: watching board members utilize prayer in reaching key decisions, joining other leaders and supporters for the visioning process, and experiencing the deep friendships that emerge in a group devoted to ministry. Nathan Foster is the other leader who came on board last summer, as the director of teaching ministries. He is a level III certified addictions counselor and has been a professor of social work. The author of Wisdom Chaser: Finding My Father at 14,000 Feet, Nathan is a sought-after speaker and teaches about Christian living across the nation. His honors include being named Spring Arbor University’s “Teacher of the Year” for 2012. After a nomination process directed by the current board in December, the five members selected took part in their first board meeting in February. They include: Jon Bailey is an internet entrepreneur from McKinney, Texas. His journey with Renovaré started with reading a book by John Ortberg that quoted Dallas Willard, which led him to Richard Foster. Jon and his brother, Josh, based their business on Richard’s book, Freedom of Simplicity. Jon has already helped the ministry with advice on various technical matters. The executive pastor of St. Luke’s United Methodist Church in Houston, Linda Christians already had connections with the Renovaré team. With a background in business and ministry, Linda has a deep heart for Spiritual Formation.
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Mimi Dixon helped write the key paper, A Call to Spiritual Formation, in 2008-09. A woman who believes deeply in the power of prayer, she serves as senior pastor of First Presbyterian Church of Golden, Colorado.
Theologian Chris Hall is chancellor of Eastern University and dean of Palmer Theological Seminary in Philadelphia. His newest book is The Mystery of God: A Theology for Knowing the Unknowable. A past speaker for Renovaré, last September he led a discussion on Spiritual Formation for the next generation.
George Skramstad has been part of the ministry team for many years and helped produce the 2009 Renovaré International Conference. George is pastor of worship ministries at Crossings Community Church in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma.
While marking its silver anniversary, Renovare’s purpose remains to resource, model and facilitate more intentional living and Spiritual Formation among Christians and those seeking a deeper connection with God. The ministry has taken major steps in the resource area lately with the November release of an Advent devotional. A Lenten devotional was released on Ash Wednesday, February 13, followed by the release of A Spiritual Formation Primer. A 25th anniversary event will take place this fall at The Cove Christian Conference Center in Asheville, North Carolina. The event will help mark the historic steps that have occurred since the publication of Richard Foster’s Celebration of Discipline and those yet to come. “This is a new year that holds new promise with new leadership. I want to invite everyone to come along with us….” Quan says.
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GREEN LEAVES FOR LATER YEARS: By Emilie Griffin
About ripening into the love of God
It isn’t exactly a matter of generations. Everywhere I go to speak or teach, people of all ages are eager to know: Who is God, and does my life mean something to him? Last year at a Renovaré Conference in Los Alamos, there were people as young as 11 or 12 who wanted to understand this yearning. They had read my books, they had read other people’s books, they had felt the longing — expressed in music, in contemplation, and in prayer. They wanted a way to serve. They wanted to discern the next step. They wanted to take the next step. So it was good, on the platform, that three of us — Kai Nilsen, Nate Foster, and I — represented a loving and pastoral spirit for young, middle-aged, and older folks. But my new book was about wisdom — Green Leaves for Later Years. In it I tell about some of the fears and the joys, the diminishment and the joy, of ripening into the love of God. Did I want young folks to read it? Maybe. Did I want older folks to read it? Yes. Did I want readers who are rubbing up against the daunting experience of the life-journey? Absolutely. Green Leaves for Later Years is about the experience of change. It’s about the accelerating pulse of life. About the
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hurry and worry and stress and anxiety of life as we find it today. And, as the biblical writers found it — dealing with the threats of being a people on the run, exiled some of the time, entering into dark valleys, wanting to come aside and rest a while. Green Leaves is also about the joy of traveling the road with Jesus and his disciples. Breaking bread. Telling jokes. Having your feet hurt part of the time. Sand in your feet because the journey’s been hard. Bleeding feet because Jesus set a pretty demanding pace on his walk — to Jerusalem and other cities you might want to visit. Depending on the reason for your visit and the time of year. Green Leaves. The psalms tell us they continue to poke through in a life well lived. Decade after decade. So my book is about dealing with pain. With pressure. With the challenge of change. It is about walking with Christ Jesus all the way to the end. Dietrich Bonhoeffer wrote: when Christ calls a man, he calls him to come and die (my paraphrase).
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He was talking about a full-life commitment. A full giving of the heart.
That’s what my book is about.
Biblical wisdom.
Even my own wisdom, here and there.
People who notice the distortion of my hands from rheumatoid arthritis want me to tell about my pain.
And I do that, in this book, as honestly as I can.
But I also want to tell my readers about healing. Renewal. Transcendence.
Being silent before him.
Resting in God.
Allowing God’s healing love and presence to make everything right, to help us to be whole. Sharing the joy of the journey. Being with Jesus. Becoming like him. Little by little. Day by day. I write about stretching into happiness. Opening up to the joy. Today, there’s plenty of science to confirm what the Bible teaches. The end of the journey can be happy and full of the sustaining grace of friendship. The peace, the pleasure, the calm. (cont. >)
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FROM THE PREFACE TO GREEN LEAVES FOR LATER YEARS: THE SPIRITUAL PATH OF WISDOM BY EMILIE GRIFFIN I sat in a coffee house and attempted to capture — like a sketch artist who works quickly because the light is fading and the sun will soon be down — the vision I had seen, the glimpse into the meaning of existence which is the writer’s only spiritual treasure. Then fear closed in. Fear, and self-doubt, my ancient enemies. Who do you think you are, to bring the golden apples of God’s wisdom to the world? To the bystanders, the wayfarers, the random readers who riffle the pages and put the book down? Who declared you the keeper of the universe? Then I knew for sure that the Lord was with me. At every step of the long journey that is the later years, he accompanied me. There are many who tell me they do not know the Lord, that he has never walked with them, never offered a wafer of comfort along the hard and perilous way. And I tell them, Wait. Wait until all earthly consolations and comforts fall away. Wait until the constellations that once populated the night sky fade and the universe seems to be growing cold. Think, always, that when you are exhausted and drained from the long trudge of existence, there will be golden apples on the ground, scattered randomly, but wonderfully ripe. Never hesitate to think, “The Lord put this one here just for me.” It is an old story, and the Lord never seems to stop telling it. A story of encouragement, confidence, and love. I am conscious of the passing of the years. As I move into the future I am conscious of all the coffee house reflections of the past — discarded pages, lists and notes that have long ago vanished into the muddle of whatever I did to serve him, whatever I did to confront my own monsters on the crag, whatever I did to harvest the apples and scatter them to the world, to the random wayfarers with whom I stopped to share a bite. What wisdom do I bring to the later years? Nothing more than the wisdom of dwelling in the present moment. No more than the courage of God’s promises. Nothing more than the courage to walk through sorrow. No more than the unlimited future of God’s love. > Emilie Griffin 32 : EXPRESSIONS
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WHAT IS A PODCAST? pod • cast /’päd,kast/ Noun - A multimedia digital file made available on the Internet for downloading to a portable media player, computer, etc.
Renovaré has launched two new audio podcasts that you should listen to and share with your friends and others you know who are interested in the topic of Spiritual Formation. Denver Conversations takes place in the Renovaré office each month. We bring in a special speaker to talk about topics that relate to Spiritual Formation. Now you can be part of these conversations too!
The new Simplicity podcast challenges listeners to find new ways to live simply and to create space and opportunity to draw closer to God. Each episode is hosted by Bradley Burck and features Renovaré ministry team members and special guests who are actively writing, thinking, and speaking about Spiritual Formation and the ideas of simplicity and spirituality. There are many ways to listen: You can listen on your computer, tablet or phone by simply visiting: www.Renovare.org. You can also go to iTunes or any other podcasting service and simply search for Renovaré.
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By David Hash
Some years ago at a Renovaré conference, I was confronted with the startling awareness that I had been a Christian for most of my life without living as a disciple, or an apprentice, of Jesus, learning to live my life as Jesus would if he were in my place. I was determined to learn more and, for the next few years, immersed myself in the works of Dallas Willard, Richard Foster, and others while attending other Renovaré conferences as I had opportunity. This journey eventually led to enrollment in the Renovaré Institute for Christian Spiritual Formation, which has been a pivotal experience in my walk as a disciple of Jesus. The mission statement of the Renovaré Institute is “to make disciples of Jesus, immersing them into the Trinitarian LIFE of the Kingdom of God, and teaching them actually to do what Jesus says is best.” This objective is accomplished through a variety of avenues. First, the study of a rigorous and rich curriculum of works by Willard, Foster, and others provides instruction about discipleship and spiritual formation in Christlikeness. This study is accompanied by spiritual exercises designed to give the student practical experiences of living in the kingdom and walking with Jesus. These elements are reinforced with professional classroom instruction in a retreat setting, often taught by the authors themselves. And all of these experiences are shared in dialogue with a loving, ecumenical community of fellow students. The Renovaré Institute has provided for me a vision of life in the kingdom, following and co-laboring with Jesus through everyday life while being transformed by the Holy Spirit into his likeness. The spiritual exercises have allowed me to enter in and experience that kind of life, making it easier to discern God’s presence and his voice. And throughout this training, I have experienced more and more of the agape love of Jesus and his people.
> David Hash
Still accepting applications. To apply please visit: www.renovare.org/what-we-do/institute-for-spiritual-formation
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