EDUCATION FOR MINISTRY Reading and Rfeflection Guide, Volume C Living as Spiritually Mature Christians EfMC i-xiv,1-242.indd 1 6/30/15 1:12 PM EfMC i-xiv,1-242.indd 2 6/30/15 1:12 PM EDUCATION FOR MINISTRY Reading andf Reflection Guide, Volume C Living as Spiritually Mature Christians EfMC i-xiv,1-242.indd 3 6/30/15 1:12 PM Copyright © 2015 by The University of the South, 335 Tennessee Avenue, Sewanee, TN 37383 All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or otherwise, without the written permission of the publisher. Unless otherwise noted, the Scripture quotations contained herein are from the New Revised Standard Version Bible, copyright © 1989 by the Division of Christian Education of the National Council of Churches of Christ in the U.S.A. Used by permission. All rights reserved. “A Form of Prayer for Groups or Families” from pages 687–693 of the Book of Alternative Services of the Anglican Church of Canada ©1985 by the General Synod of the Anglican Church of Canada. Used by permission. All rights reserved. Morehouse Publishing, 19 East 34th Street, New York, NY 10016 Morehouse Publishing is an imprint of Church Publishing Incorporated. www.churchpublishing.org Cover design by Laurie Klein Westhafer Typeset by Beth Oberholtzer Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data A catalog record of this book is available from the Library of Congress. 978-0-8192-2920-5 (pbk) 978-0-8192-3288-5 (ebook) Printed in the United States of America EfMC i-xiv,1-242.indd 4 7/27/15 1:00 PM Contents ix Acknowledgments xi About the Author xiii Program Overview PART I: THE GUIDE 3 Week One: Orientation and Organization Unit One: Spiritual Autobiography and Listening 10 Week Two 20 Week Three 24 Week Four 27 Week Five 30 Week Six 33 Week Seven Unit Two: Theological Reflection as a Life Skill 38 Week Eight 48 Week Nine 51 Week Ten 54 Week Eleven 57 Week Twelve 61 Week Thirteen First Interlude Unit: A Spirituality of Liberation 66 Week Fourteen 69 Week Fifteen Unit Three: Developing a Sustaining Spirituality 72 Week Sixteen 81 Week Seventeen 85 Week Eighteen 88 Week Nineteen 91 Week Twenty 95 Week Twenty-one READING AND REFLECTION GUIDE, VOLUME C | v EfMC i-xiv,1-242.indd 5 6/30/15 1:12 PM CONTENTS Unit Four: Integrating Belief, Behavior, and Doctrine 98 Week Twenty-two 108 Week Twenty-three 111 Week Twenty-four 116 Week Twenty-five 118 Week Twenty-six 121 Week Twenty-seven Second Interlude Unit: Knowing Who We Are 124 Week Twenty-eight 126 Week Twenty-nine Unit Five: Vocation: A Way to Love in Permanent White Water 130 Week Thirty 137 Week Thirty-one 140 Week Thirty-two 143 Week Thirty-three 145 Week Thirty-four 147 Week Thirty-five 149 Week Thirty-six PART II: RESOURCES 155 Overview of the Year: Reading Assignments for Volume C 159 Terms in the New EfM Curriculum 161 Expectations and Purpose Supplemental Readings in the Christian Tradition 166 Week Five, Reading Assignment for Year One The Priestly Creation Story 184 Week Twelve, Reading Assignment for Year Four The Trinity 192 Week Twenty, Reading Assignment for Year One Micah Resources for Spiritual Autobiography and Listening 198 Spiritual Autobiographies—Some Guidelines 200 Holy Listening vi | READING AND REFLECTION GUIDE, VOLUME C EfMC i-xiv,1-242.indd 6 6/30/15 1:12 PM CONTENTS Resources for Reflecting Theologically 204 Bibliography for Theological Reflection 205 Theological Reflection Process Chart 206 Framework for Theological Reflections 210 Examples of Theological Reflection 210 Theological Reflection Beginning with a Personal Experience (1) 212 Theological Reflection Beginning with a Personal Experience (2) 214 Theological Reflection Beginning with a Personal Experience (3) 215 Theological Reflection Beginning with a Personal Experience (4) 216 Theological Reflection Beginning with a Personal Experience (5) 218 Theological Reflection Beginning with the Christian Tradition 219 Theological Reflection Beginning with the Christian Tradition (Scripture) 221 Theological Reflection Beginning with a Dilemma 224 Theological Reflection Beginning with a Social Concern 227 Theological Reflection Beginning with a Personal Position 229 Theological Reflection Beginning with a Provocative Word 230 Theological Reflection Beginning with a Wide Angle Lens Resources for Community Life 234 Group Life: The Seminar 237 Tools from Kaleidoscope International 237 The Cycle of Gospel Living 239 Mutual Invitation 240 Respectful Communication Guidelines READING AND REFLECTION GUIDE, VOLUME C | vii EfMC i-xiv,1-242.indd 7 6/30/15 1:12 PM EfMC i-xiv,1-242.indd 8 6/30/15 1:12 PM Acknowledgments A revision by definition is not sui generis. Although this series of Reading and Reflection Guides may look different from previous editions of EfM materials, although it may be organized differently, it is nonetheless built on a framework that has evolved over the nearly forty years of Education for Ministry. Those who have some years of acquaintance with the program will recognize what the new format owes to components developed for its predecessors, among them parallel guides, common lessons, and the many variations of EfM’s central discipline of theological reflection. The developers of those foundational components are by now nearly legion and include not only founder Charles Winters and succeeding leaders like John de Beer and Edward de Bary but also the many EfM coordinators and trainers whose work with mentors all over the globe and over time has shaped the program. The principal author of Reading and Reflection Guide, Volume C: Living Faithfully as Spiritually Mature Christians, the third in the cycle of four guides, is Rick Brewer, who has a long history of writing and cur- riculum design in EfM. Other contributors to this volume include Angela Hock Brewer and Karen M. Meridith. In addition, several of the essays and resources included in this Guide, some adapted, others left as originally pub- lished in the previous edition, have long been a part of the EfM program, designed and written by a number of contributors over the years. We are grateful for their work and know that we can look to the future of EfM only because we stand on the shoulders of giants. Karen M. Meridith, series editor Executive Director of Education for Ministry Sewanee, Tennessee March, 2015 READING AND REFLECTION GUIDE, VOLUME C | ix EfMC i-xiv,1-242.indd 9 6/30/15 1:12 PM EfMC i-xiv,1-242.indd 10 6/30/15 1:12 PM About the Author Richard E. Brewer (Rick) is a retired Episcopal priest who served in parochial ministry and in adult Christian formation for forty years. A graduate of The University of the South and General Theological Seminary, he has lived in Oklahoma most of his life and served as priest and educator in Tulsa and Stillwater Episcopal churches. Additionally, he developed and directed the Deacon Formation Program for the Episcopal Diocese of Oklahoma. Rick first learned about EfM in 1975 from Dr. Charles Winters, the origi- nator and first director of the program. He has been a trainer since 1978, a coordinator, a mentor, and interim assistant director for the EfM program. He conceived and edited the Common Lesson series for the first revision of the materials. He coauthored the Parallel Guides and numerous com- mon lessons with the Reverend John de Beer. He, along with Angela Hock, co-wrote Practically Christian: A Guide to Practical Christian Prayer, Action, and Reflection. They co-directed Opportunities for Adult Christian Education and Spirituality (OACES), Inc. which developed a variety of adult Christian formation learning guides and a comprehensive ministry formation program for the Episcopal Diocese of Nebraska. For over a decade he participated in the Progoff Intensive Journal program. Rick brings this extensive experience in adult Christian formation to the revision of the new materials for EfM. READING AND REFLECTION GUIDE, VOLUME C | xi EfMC i-xiv,1-242.indd 11 6/30/15 1:12 PM EfMC i-xiv,1-242.indd 12 6/30/15 1:12 PM Program Overview The Education for Ministry (EfM) program is a four-year study and group reflection process for the formation of Christian ministry through the devel- opment of knowledge, attitude, skill, and identity as Christians. Published texts and essays provide the primary knowledge content in the study of the Christian tradition. The first year studies the Hebrew Scriptures (Old Testament). The sec- ond year offers a study of the New Testament. Year Three provides study of Christian (church) history. Theology, ethics, and interfaith encounter consti- tute study in the fourth year. Texts for Each Year • Year One: A Short Introduction to the Hebrew Bible, 2nd Ed. by John J. Collins. The Holy Bible, Old Testament and Apocrypha. • Year Two: Introducing the New Testament by Mark Allan Powell. The Holy Bible, New Testament. • Year Three: Christianity: The First Three Thousand Years by Diarmaid MacCulloch. • Year Four: Theology for a Troubled Believer by Diogenes Allen. The Christian Moral Life: Practices of Piety by Timothy F. Sedgwick. My Neighbor’s Faith edited by Jennifer Howe Peace, Or N. Rose, and Gregory Mobley. Note: The most recent Oxford Annotated edition of the New Revised Standard Version of the Bible is recommended, but any translation may be used as long as it includes the Apocrypha. Paraphrased Bibles are not recommended for study. The Interlude Texts for Volume C • Jesus and the Disinherited by Howard Thurman • We Are Theologians: Strengthening the People of God by Fredrica Harris Thompsett Reading and Reflection Guide A Reading and Reflection Guide provides weekly reading assignments, reflec- tion questions, and additional supportive resources for the group.