Lectionary readings for December 25, 2015: Isaiah 52:7-10; Psalm 98; Hebrews 1:1-4 (5-12); John 1:1-14 Guidance on using the lectionary. St. John of the Cross If you want the Virgin will come walking down the road pregnant with the holy and say, “I need shelter for the night, please take me inside your heart, my time…

Read More
Rev. Robert Whinnen

Note: What does transforming leadership look like in the lives of leaders? The Rev. Robert Whinnen, Lead Pastor at Bauer Community Fellowship in Hudsonville, MI, shares how his involvement in a Transforming Community® has impacted his ministry. “It had been a long time since I felt connected with the presence of God in my life beyond what I was doing for others.…

Read More

Lectionary readings for December 13, 2015: Zephaniah 3:14-20; Isaiah 12:2-6; Phillipians 4:4-7; Luke 3:7-18 Click for complete Advent calendar (Cycle C) and guidance on using the lectionary. “If we hope for what we do not yet have, we wait for it patiently.” – Romans 8:25 No matter how disciplined, organized and prayerful you are, you never outgrow waiting. Tracts of humanity wait: for…

Read More

Lectionary readings for November 29, 2015: Jeremiah 33: 14-16; Psalm 25: 1-10; 1 Thessalonians  3:9-13; Luke 21: 25-36 Click for complete Advent calendar (Cycle C) and guidance on using the lectionary. “Unto you, O Lord, I lift up my soul.  O my God, in you I trust.”  Ps 25:1, 2 “Hurry up and wait!” Usually this statement is laced with…

Read More

“When we submit our lives to what we read in Scripture, we find that we are not being led to see God in our stories but our stories in God’s. God is the larger context and plot in which our stories find themselves.”  – Eugene Peterson I can still remember the first time I heard the…

Read More

These are exciting days for the Transforming Center!  We are finally moving into our newly renovated office space and are looking forward to sharing it with you—our good friends. As the process of rehabbing this 110 year old house has intensified and is now nearing completion, I have been surprised at how deeply moving (pardon the…

Read More

“Wherever there is something in our life that is not conformed to the image of Christ, there is a place where we are incapable of being all God wants us to be with others … a place where our life with others is hindered and limited and restricted in its effectiveness and in its fullness…

Read More

Recently, Ruth was interviewed on My Faith Radio’s program Connecting Faith with Neil Stavem. He had this to say about their time together: Community is a primary goal of most churches, but it’s not easily accomplished. Through the well-known story of the disciples on the road to Emmaus, author and teacher Ruth Haley Barton gives us insight on…

Read More

Congratulations to eight Transforming Community alums who graduated from Northern Seminary on June 13, 2015 through our academic partnership with Northern Seminary. Wendy S. Cordova Doctor of Ministry Spiritual Transformation Emphasis BA, Gordon College, 1992 MDiv, Fuller Theological Seminary, 1999 Testimonial I am grateful for the growth that has taken place in my heart, life, and ministry since starting…

Read More
Part 4

You can also read Part 1, Part 2, and Part 3 of this Beyond Words series. Then he said to them, “How foolish you are, and slow of heart to believe all that the prophets have declared! Was it not necessary that the Messiah should suffer these things and then enter into his glory?” (Luke 24:25-26) If you ask…

Read More

Dr. M. Robert Mulholland and Ruth Haley Barton discuss spiritual transformation in this new Transforming Resource. Ideal for use in leadership, congregational, and small group gatherings. Each segment is followed by questions for reflection and discussion, enabling you and your group to join the conversation as you pursue spiritual transformation in your setting. This compelling 65-minute dialogue…

Read More

Note: What is the impact of the Transforming Center in the lives of leaders? The Rev. Jackie Matisse, Rector at St. Patrick’s  Episcopal Church in Lebanon, OH, shares how her relationship with the Transforming Center has impacted her ministry. At the beginning of my ordained ministry I identified my calling: “to help a community grow deeper spiritually.” For…

Read More

David Johnson is senior pastor of Church of the Open Door in Maple Grove, Minnesota. The website describes the mission of the church as follows: God invites us to take Next Steps inward. We use the word discover to describe the journey inward. There is no greater journey of discovery than to personally discover how…

Read More
Part Two

Part 1 of this Beyond Words series can be found here. “While they were talking and discussing, Jesus himself came near and went with them, but their eyes were kept from recognizing him. And he said to them, ‘What are you discussing with each other while you walk along?’” —Luke 24: 16, 17 Just think! If the disciples…

Read More

Click for guidance on using the lectionary Lectionary Readings for Ash Wednesday Year B: Joel 2:1-2, 12-17; Psalm 51:1-17; 2 Corinthians 5:20b-6:10; Matthew 6:1-6, 16-21 Today is Ash Wednesday—the beginning of the Church’s observance of the Lenten season.  At some point throughout this day, many of us will experience the symbolic gesture of receiving the…

Read More
Lent

Click for guidance on using the lectionary Lectionary Readings for Ash Wednesday: Joel 2:1-2, 12-17; Psalm 51:1-17; 2 Corinthians 5:20b-6:10; Matthew 6:1-6, 16-21 “‘And yet even now,’ says the Lord, ‘return to me with all your heart . . .’” – Joel 2:12 Whether we feel ready or not, Ash Wednesday marks the beginning of…

Read More

For the last few weeks I have been pondering what one journalist calls “The Painful Lessons of Mars Hill Church.” For those who may not be familiar, Mars Hill is a mega, multi-site church in Seattle whose high profile pastor, Mark Driscoll, resigned in October amid “an avalanche of allegations, ranging from charges of bullying, to…

Read More
Epiphany

Click for guidance on using the lectionary. Epiphany of the Lord: Isaiah 60:1-6; Psalm 72:1-7, 10-14; Ephesians 3:1-12; Matthew 2:1-12 “The incredible gift of the ordinary! Glory comes streaming from the table of daily life.” – Macrina Wiederkehr Today, in the rhythm of the church year, we celebrate the feast of the Epiphany—the manifestation of…

Read More
Journal of Spiritual Formation and Soul Care

WHAT IS THE ROLE OF THE CHURCH WHEN IT COMES TO SPIRITUAL FORMATION IN CHRIST? Barton: The Church (capital C) is the body of Christ on earth now and it is the primary context in which we grow up in every way into him who is our head (Eph. 4:15). In Pauline writings, instructions about…

Read More