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Beginning in 2010, Life in the Trinity Ministry (LTM) offered a new program for intensive adult spiritual formation. The institute, entitled Means of Grace, was limited to forty (40) registered participants who were prepared and able to participate in all scheduled events over a two-year period. The program’s curriculum integrated teaching and practice of the classical spiritual disciplines, with a specific focus on living out the disciplines in Christian community.
Means of Grace offers participants a rare opportunity to practice intentionality in their personal spiritual journey, to focus on personal growth and transformation in the context of loving community.
The History and Vision of Means of Grace
It has been said that there is nothing we can do to make God love us more, and nothing we can do to cause God to love us less. From the very moment of our creation, we are each beloved children of God, a loving Father who desires nothing more than to walk in close relationship with each of us. Through grace and the example of Christ Jesus our Lord, we have been shown ‘the way’ of union with God, and we have been commanded to live our lives as an expression of our love for God and our neighbor. As we seek to live out the ideal of the loving life that God requires, each of us need the help of God’s Holy Spirit and a community of fellow travelers to assist us on the way.
At Life in the Trinity Ministry, we often say the work of spiritual formation is ‘solitary work that cannot be done alone.’ The Means of Grace institute for spiritual formation is our way of helping fellow travelers along this transformative journey.
We seek to foster spiritual transformation in the lives of our brothers and sisters, and to encourage each person as they seek deeper union in their relationship with God and one another.
In the words of Christian leader and author Richard Foster, there are seven (7) reasons for participation in a spiritual formation group:
1. Sense of Community
2. Nurturing of Character
3. Intentionality of Spiritual Growth
4. Loving Accountability
5. Balanced Vision
6. Practical Strategy for Living
7. Freedom and Fun
On the character of a spiritual formation group, Foster says, “…give encouragement as often as possible; advice once in a while; reproof, only when absolutely necessary; and judgment, never.”
Means of Grace Schedule 2012
January 28
May 5
August 4
November 17
All dates are on Saturdays and are from 9:00 - 4:00.
Registration is closed.
Means of Grace Programming for 2012
An in depth study of Brian McLaren's new book entitled "Naked Spirituality" A life with God in 12 Simple Words.
This work is divided into four parts and we will deal with one of the four each time that we gather.
A time of equipping: there are major issues that the church is facing in our time and we need to be equipped with the facts and information to address these issues in discussion with others. Joe will bring to us the theology and the practical implications of issues the church is facing today.
The third element will involve a continued recommendation of books to read in order to further our spiritual journey.
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