VANDERBILT UNIVERSITY

CONTEMPLATION: FORGOTTEN SEEDS FOR A FORGOTTEN LAND

SENIOR SEMINAR PROJECT PAPER SUBMITTED TO DR. STACEY M. FLOYD-THOMAS

VANDERBILT DIVINITY SCHOOL

BY MARK E. WILLS

NASHVILLE, TENNESSEE 7 DECEMBER 2010

Background As a third generation Pentecostal from the mountains of East Tennessee, I was raised in church. My youthful eyes witnessed many exotic spiritual experiences such as glossolalia, divine healing, dancing, and ecstatic physical manifestations of euphoria, as my lips and body learned how to join my elders in our mountain liturgy. These early years of spiritual formation opened my awareness to other worlds, which transcended my humble surroundings and lifted me above the sneers of outsiders. In church, I was taught to be bold and unashamed of my faith, but I often failed my charismatic catechism by trying to live a life incognito at school. I learned that Christian discipleship was a private matter of adjusting desires, controlling thoughts, and developing morality. As vague as these concepts are to others, inside our community they were very welldefined. As a byproduct of our highly insular theology, outreach was solely for the sake of assimilation. A hungry soul was far more precious than a hungry mouth. Over time, I came to recognize that many other Christians from rural settings held perceptions of outreach which were akin to my Pentecostal one. I attended several different churches from traditional mainline denominations in my community after I returned home from college. I saw that the main difference between our views of Christian discipleship was predominately in relation to the volume and style of our worship experiences. I learned that our religious heritages and missional theologies were in reality more similar than I had thought. In 2005, I became initiated into a new dimension of Christian discipleship which facilitated a spiritual re-awakening. It began as the result of a strong relationship with a spiritual friend who mentored me in the contemplative practices of Centering Prayer and Lectio Divina.

Wills 2

Over a period of time, through regular dialogue with this teacher and a repetitive practice of contemplative prayer, I began to internally perceive the abstract realities of oppression which seek to divide the human family. I knew of these social ills before entering into contemplation. I had even worked to relieve some of them, but it was not until I became connected to the deep mysteries of self, God, and other that I truly desired to become proactive through my faith. My heart has been awakened to the peoples of Appalachia, I long to nurture compassion and seek justice for the poor and undereducated members of my community while sharing my experience with other ministers in rural contexts who are looking for ways to revitalize the soil of their congregations and produce fruit in their communities.

Bad Soil Yields Bad Fruit

Every moment and every event of every [ones] life on earth plants something in [ones] soul. For just as the wind carries thousands of winged seeds, so each moment brings with it germs of spiritual vitality that come to rest imperceptibly in the minds and wills of [humans]. Most of these unnumbered seeds perish and are lost, because [people] are not prepared to receive them: for such seeds as these as these cannot spring up anywhere except in the good soil of freedom, spontaneity and love.1 Thomas Merton

Any farmer knows that if you continue to plant the same crop in the same field year after year, the soil is robbed of nutrients and you are eventually left with little to no harvest. Piety is a valuable crop, but it needs to be rotated with another precious crop compassion. This project is targeted at rural ministers, and it seeks to convince them to experiment with what Thomas Merton calls new seeds of contemplation. The continuous, uninterrupted acts of planting personal piety have depleted our spiritualitys potential to yield the high quality of fruit which Galatians 5:22 calls the church to produce, and I seek to offer a convincing argument for the re introduction of ancient methodologies of spiritual practice to begin the revitalization of rural
1

Thomas Merton, New Seeds of Contemplation (Boston: Shambhala, 2003), 16.

Wills 3

congregations. This proposal is not a quick fix. It requires a dedicated, long term commitment. I suggest that a minister unfamiliar with Centering Prayer and Lectio Divina should covenant to a personal, daily practice for six months to one year before introducing these disciplines to his/her church. Wendell Berrys observations of soil erosion and processes of land development speak to this level of commitment. He says: During the last 17 years . . . I have been working at the restoration of a once exhausted hillside. Its scars are now healed over, though still visible, and this year it has provided abundant pasture, more than in any year since we have owned it. But to make it as good as it is now has taken 17 years. If I had been a millionaire or if my family had been starving, it would still have taken 17 years. It can be better than it is now, but that will take longer. For it to live fully in its own responsibility, as it did before bad use ran it down, may take hundreds of years.2

Kyle Childress connects this observation with ministry claiming that most pastors have church members whose lives are deeply scarred by bitterness, anger, hurt, abuse, disease and death. Add to that the deep scarring caused by war, consumer capitalism, nationalism and racism. He concludes, For the gospel of Jesus Christ to grow and heal such worn-out, eroded lives takes patient, long-suffering, detailed work. It takes time to cultivate the habits of peacemaking, forgiveness, reconciliation and love where previously violence, mistrust and fear were the norms. It takes time to grow Christians.3 It does take time to grow Christians, and the time to start this growth is now. It is my conviction that concentration on spiritual maturation is a necessary component to revitalizing the Rural South. The planting of this vision into the soil of congregations that are theologically rooted should result in a harvest of disciples ripened to speak to and act upon the
2

Kyle Childress, ""Good Work: Learning about Ministry from Wendell Berry."" Christian Century, March 8, 2005, 29, http://proxy.library.vanderbilt.edu/login?url=http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=a6h&AN=AT LA0001457746&site=ehost-live&scope=site (accessed September 23, 2010). 3 Ibid.

Wills 4

issues of oppression that cripple many small to medium sized communities. Through disciplined practice of Scriptural meditation, an individual may be transformed from an isolated theological authority into a communal disciple who is connected to God, humanity, and the land which has serviced him/her for generations. Upon realization and nurturing of this unitive phenomenon, issues of human and ecological justice should become more important and less easily neglected.

Learning the History of Our Soil Not only is it important to understand the present conditions of a plot of land, it is also essential to understand its history as one prepares and dreams of its potential for production. The Methodist land mass has a rich tradition of ministry with the poor. In a speech given to annual conference leaders of the United Methodist Church, Rev. Ed Paup, the General Secretary of the UMC General Board of Global Ministries, noted the strong historical connection between the poor and Methodism. He spoke of John Wesley noting that he was a keen student of the emerging industrial economy of England in the 18th century. Rev. Paup observed that John and Charles Wesley complained to public authorities about inadequate wages, insufficient economic safety nets, and the contamination of water, air, and soil. Not only were the Wesleys vocal, they were embodied in their activism via their many rallies against exploitation and dispossession of the poor. Paup concluded that for the Wesleys, Concern for the poor became a litmus test for Methodist social witness.4 Having laid a precedent for historical awareness, Rev. Paup asked the leaders of the Methodist Church the following question: Do we have the same passion to understand the
4

Ed Paup, "Ministry With the Poor: Looking Poverty in the Face" (speech, Living the United Methodist Way: Turning Worlds Upside Down, Hyatt Regency Jacksonville Riverfront, Jacksonville, FL, January 31, 2009), http://gbgm-umc.org/global_news/full_article.cfm?articleid=5444 (accessed September 23, 2010).

Wills 5

operation of economic systems far more complex than those of Wesley's time? He added, We need to comprehend and, at times, challenge the economic systems that perpetuate poverty if we are to engage effectively in ministry with the poor.5 How can Methodists in the Rural South embrace this awareness and respond to this challenge? Over the tenure of my Christian journey, I have heard many inspiring sermons with mandates to engage in resolving the ills of the world. Few, if any, of them have resulted in lasting qualitative spiritual transformation. I may have immediately engaged in responsive action to alleviate a sense of guilt or to reinforce my subconscious sense of ironic Protestant works righteousness. But as soon as another fire was burning or something else was presented to capture my attention, I forsook many of my good intentions. Why? Matthew Fox attempts to answer this question through the lens of compassion, which he sees as the beginning and the end of spirituality.

Compassion: The Fertilizer of Social Action

"The poor do not need our sympathy and our pity. The poor need our love and compassion" - Mother Teresa

I have come to agree with Fox based on his definition of compassion. The opening chapter of his book A Spirituality Named Compassion: Uniting Mystical Awareness with Social Justice, begins by attempting to move compassion from a sentiment to a way of life. Compassion has often been misconstrued to mean pity.6 This is the false definition with which I came to understand compassion, and I am convinced that many rural Methodists cleave to this same misunderstanding. Compassion as sentimentality is a cunning form of social quietism.

5 6

Ibid. Matthew Fox, A Spirituality Named Compassion: Uniting Mystical Awareness with Social Justice (Rochester, VT: Inner Traditions, 1999), 1-2.

Wills 6

Fox argues that true compassion is active, stating that it is about doing and relieving the pain of others, not merely emoting about it.7 Possessing cognitive knowledge about compassion is not enough for Christian formation. While it is a beginning, spiritual formation seeks to infuse compassion into one's ontological existence. This is where the pastoral work of soil preparation begins, and the mystics offer practical solutions to foster this maturation. On January 2, 2005, I opened my new devotional and read this excerpt from Father Thomas Keating as I started my journey into contemplative spirituality: Dedication to God is developed by commitment to ones spiritual practices for Gods sake. Service to others is the outgoing movement of the heart prompted by compassion. It neutralizes the deep-rooted tendency to become preoccupied with our own spiritual journey and how we are doing. The habit of service to others is developed by trying to please God in what we do and by exercising compassion for others, beginning with those with whom we live.8 Almost six years later, I can attest to the validity of a deeper essence of compassion in my life which has resulted from a dedication to the practices of Centering Prayer and Lectio Divina. Compassion now sets the context of my sermons and my service to my two churches, community, and family. Before incorporating these contemplative practices into my life, I exhibited the deep-rooted tendency of personal spirituality that Keating notes. Now I have a much more communally based perspective in regard to the role of spirituality.

Re-Visioning John Wesley The perspective of contemplation has enabled me to examine the life and ministry of John Wesley in a new context. Wesley was enamored with the paradox of instantaneous and
Ibid., 7. (Note how Fox uses 1 John 3:16-18 demonstrating Jesus' giving acts of compassion to the point of death followed by a mandate for those who are rich to literally give from their abundance to brothers and sisters in need.) 8 Thomas Keating, The Daily Reader for Contemplative Living: Excerpts from the Works of Father Thomas Keating, comp. S. Stephanie. Iachetta (New York: Continuum, 2003), 2.
7

Wills 7

progressive grace in relation to sanctification. Randy Maddox notes that as Wesleys theology matured, he highlighted the progressive dimension of this doctrine. According to Maddox, several scholars claim that Wesleys model of Christian life is best portrayed in terms of character ethic or virtue ethic, where meaningful moral actions are grounded in nurtured inclinations (character dispositions). 9 Thus, love was not viewed as a grace instantaneously infused into the heart of a Christian in totality, but rather it was something which would become a developing [reality], strengthened and shaped by [ones] responsible participation in the empowering grace of God.10 The end goal of Wesleys dedication to the concept of sanctification was to see the people called Methodists become gradually perfected in love. Wesleys status of being perfected in love is analogous to Foxs understanding of compassion and Father Keatings outgoing movement of the heart. Out of this developing ontological locus of perfect love, Methodist theology flows into acts of social holiness. Contemplative spirituality seeks to enrich this Wesleyan concept of sanctification by providing methods of meditative practices. Since the Methodist understanding of sanctification is viewed as a process of becoming closer to God and perfected in Gods love, incorporating contemplative disciplines should be an important component of our ministry which should result in Wesleys prediction of social action. John Wesley created a practical schema for the people called Methodist. The Methodist Book of Discipline canonizes Wesleys rules for membership into the historic society as a model for United Methodist membership today. Retired Bishop Reuben Jones has provided United Methodist a modernized interpretation of Wesleys General Rules which has resulted in

Randy L. Maddox, Responsible Grace: John Wesley's Practical Theology (Nashville, TN: Kingswood Books, 1994), 179. 10 Ibid.

Wills 8

a memorable mantra for current Methodists: The Three Simple Rules 1) Do no harm; 2) Do good; and 3) Stay in love with God.11 When looking at the practical nature of John Wesleys theology it is easy to see his impetus on action. The Wesleys were responsible for taking action against poverty in England by building schools and orphanages. Scholars are looking at Wesley and developing theological principals that relate to his conviction about economics. In a sermon entitle On the Use of Money Wesley makes the proverbial statement: Earn all you can. Save all you can. Then give all you can. Wesley was successful at integrating his cognitive perception into active performance. How was he able to do this? By obtaining to the Holy Ordinances or as Bishop Job interprets it via staying in love with God. Wesley was very sacramental, and I proffer that while critiquing the mystics through the context of the enlightenment thinking of his day, he nevertheless mimicked their patterns of spirituality and attained the benefits of their goals. Henry D. Rack has written a book in which he defends this assumption entitled Reasonable Enthusiast: John Wesley and the Rise of Methodism. He states that from 1732, Wesley read many mystic writers including Thomas a Kempis, Fenelon, De Renty, Scougal and several others. He concludes, there is no doubt that they influenced his thinking.12 While the goal of this paper is not to outline the detailed methodology and theological developments of John Wesley, I want to introduce awareness of his praxis and claim that his theological reflection was so highly internalized he was aware of every dimension of his interaction with society namely the poor. For many rural Methodists, a pedagogy of guilt and shame has been used to convince (if not manipulate) them into a sense of
11

See Ruben P. Jobs Three Simple Rules: A Wesleyan Way of Living, Print. Henry D. Rack, Reasonable Enthusiast: John Wesley and the Rise of Methodism (Nashville: Abingdon Press, 1993), 101.
12

Wills 9

obligation and direct them toward paths of perfection which include ministry to the poor. However, I contend that this rubric of formation should be transcended by a return to ancient disciplines that have the goal of internal transformation at their core. In true Wesleyan sentiment, I maintain that our head knowledge must be preceded by a heart knowledge.

The Deep Roots of Communal Spirituality

"A proper community, we should remember also, is a commonwealth: a place, a resource, an economy. It answers the needs, practical as well as social and spiritual, of its members among them the need to need one another. Wendell Berry

Drawing historical lines of connection from our present situations to our common Methodist heritage is an essential task for ministers. Understanding the driving forces which were integral in the history of our movement will aid us in the creation of future visions and works of liberating missions. Looking at our past social heritage, we see that connecting to people, ideas, and technologies is the common denominator of our work in the world. Military leaders have long understood the basic war principle of divide and conquer. Evil works in this mindset seeking to divide humans from each other and from their own selves. Dr. Forrest Harris says, human spirituality cannot abide in the enforced loneliness of isolation. Harris adds that it is here where liberation takes a sociopolitical tone stating, Liberation seeks to expose and bring to critique and bring to accountability systems and structures that do not and will not be commiserate with a spirituality of communal openness and connection and interplay. 13 Thus, liberation and spirituality live in a symbiotic relationship and feed and nourish each other in their goals to create union, justice and love among peoples. Contemplation serves to nurture this type of spirituality.

13

Ibid.

Wills 10

The historic and modern themes of contemplation revolve around the vision of producing a community of love, justice and peace in relationships between humans and creation. According to Mother Teresas equation contemplative silence leads to peace in her famous wisdom saying: The fruit of silence is prayer; the fruit of prayer is faith; the fruit of faith is love; the fruit of love is service; the fruit of service is peace.14 Likewise, Howard Thurman has noted the mandate for a communal spirituality. He says, I must cultivate the inner spiritual resources of my life to such a point that I can bring you to my sanctuary, before His Presence, until, at last, I do not know you from myself.15 Let us now turn to the question of how this undifferentiated knowledge of the other from the self is possible.

Contemplative Pedagogy: Learning to Become Good Neighbors

Just then a lawyer stood up to test Jesus. Teacher, he said, what must I do to inherit eternal life? He said to him, What is written in the law? What do you read there? He answered, You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your strength, and with all your mind; and your neighbor as yourself. And he said to him, You have given the right answer; do this, and you will live. Luke 10:25-37 (NRSV)

Probably every person in my congregation would recognize this pericope as a New Testament teaching and would be able to locate it as Jesus introduction to the parable of the Good Samaritan. In fact, the majority of them could probably even quote it. But I am suspicious of how influential such familiarity with this text is upon ones social praxis and spiritual formation. David Kahane, a professor at the University of Alberta, designed a curriculum to test the value of cognition in regard to social action. He developed a philosophy course around a

14

Michael Collopy and Jason Gardner, Architects of Peace: Visions of Hope in Words and Images (Novato, CA: New World Library, 2000), 33. 15 Howard Thurman, The Growing Edge (New York: Harper, 1956), 28.

Wills 11

cognitive and motivational puzzle relating to global citizenship and global justice. The puzzle was based on the following triad of statements: 1 . Large numbers of our fellow humans live in abject poverty (1 .2 billion, by one recent estimate), go to bed hungry each night (an estimated 800 million people), and die daily from poverty-related causes (perhaps 50,000 a day). 2 . We could each prevent a portion of this suffering at minimal cost: the sachet of oral rehydration salts that could save a child from fatal diarrhea costs about fifty cents, and twenty cents buys a days food rations distributed by the World Food Program in Sudan. 3. Almost all of us who work or study at universities in the global north spends a significant amount on luxuries we could easily forego.16 Assessing these facts each semester for three years with his classes has always led Kahanes students to the realization that they ought to give up their daily five dollar lattes and help offset the plight of those in abject poverty, and yet this knowledge and perceived obligation results in little to no change in how they actually live. Kahanes empirical observation that rhetorical persuasion in reference to a moral obligation is rarely effective in motivating change is complementary to my own personal observations of both myself and my congregations. For the first five years of my ministry, I worked to convinced myself and my congregations of our need (obligation) to minister to the poor in our community, while simultaneously ignoring our self-realized responsibility to do so. Kahane claims the knowing that we achieve through exposure to rational arguments about obligation seems disconnected from the complexity even of our moral being, and is eroded or displaced not by desire or by conscious, countervailing goals, but by complicated dynamics of dissociation and motivation.17 Because of this lacking reaction to self-imposed moral

David Kahane, "Learning About Obligation, Compassion, and Global Justice: The Place of Contemplative Pedagogy," New Directions for Teaching and Learning 2009, no. 118 (2009): 50, doi:10.1002/tl.352. 17 Ibid., 51.

16

Wills 12

obligations, Kahane argues that we must supplement our pedagogies of reason with pedagogies of sentiment. Until we see strangers as neighbors they do not seem like a part of the valued we.18 Even within the realm of sentiment which fosters connection, an object oriented third-person dimension of knowing which does not fully address the personal dissociation and lack of motivation that inhibits social action, still exists. Until a first-person dynamic of knowing is birthed, a level of superficiality continues to distance ones relation with her/his neighbor. It is here that Kahane, along with a great line of Christian mystic thinkers, offers the practice of contemplation as a means with which to bridge the gap of disassociation with the poor, by attending to the sphere of self-awareness. To test his theory, Kahane developed a contemplative pedagogy for his collegiate philosophy class which sought to integrate third-person objective learning with first-person subjective learning. The construction of his pedagogy was based on personal observations of his own dissociation. He noticed that when presented with a charity infomercial about povertystricken children, his reason and his sentiment convinced him of a personal obligation. He observed his emotional reactions, noticing that whenever he saw these types of commercials, waves of sensations and emotions, which were based on inchoate fear, flashed within him. He states, I discover when I attend closely to my own experiencea hint of my visceral belief that if I let this suffering in (not to mention the countless reiterations of this suffering in further starving children), it will destroy me.19 Thus, he theorizes, this recoiling from others suffering has a counterpart in my relationship to my own suffering. Here too, I withdraw and

18 19

Ibid., 52. Ibid., 52.

Wills 13

dissociate from emotional intensity, out of a visceral conviction that I cannot stand to experience it unmediated.20 He notes that he also incorporates habits of consumption to soothe and

deaden the anxiety that surfaces from the fear of experiencing suffering in both the other and himself. To nurture self-awareness, Kahane incorporated a brief session of meditation into each class period. He noted his initial fears in introducing this subjective dynamic to his classroom, but he found that it became an extremely beneficial component of the class. Surveys of his students revealed that four primary results occurred from this experiment. The first was an appreciation of the students for an opportunity to simply slowdown from the daily hustle of school. Secondly, the students also appreciated the opportunity to practice contemplation with which many were already curious but unacquainted. They valued the training which helped them notice their in-the-moment experiences. Thirdly, they began to see connections between meditation and the topics of their class material. Kahane noted that the first-person elements of the course invited students to bring the sometimes arcane arguments of philosophers into dialogue with their own experience, and offered them a rigorous set of techniques that supported this.21 And fourthly, the class members developed a more intimate community among themselves. Kahane noted that the classes which meditated together worked much better on group projects than classes that did not meditate together. He also added that many students commented on year-end evaluations that they longed for more courses which allow them to engage with their own experiences in rigorous and reflective ways, and to think carefully about questions of meaning, morality, and spirituality in their lives.22

20

Ibid. Ibid., 55. 22 Ibid., 56.

21

Wills 14

While his methodology of meditation is slightly different from the type I am proposing for the church, it nevertheless serves to demonstrate the effective potential of developing compassion through the means of contemplative practices. Supporting this conclusion is Kahanes observation of the transformation he witnessed in many of his students: Students tended to move away from harsh judgments of themselves and others for implication in global injustice away from a discourse of obligation and guilt that I believe distracts from our tendency or even ability to connect compassionately with those in need. They tended to move toward a willingness to experiment with their own tolerance for letting in others suffering, and with what this might feel like in action. And they tended to be increasingly open to the possibility that their service to those who suffered, whether by giving up luxuries for others, or volunteering, or reorienting career and life plans, might not be a sacrifice, but rather a movement toward greater meaning and fulfillment in their lives.23 Here, Kahane has verified what the Coptic monk Matthew the Poor criticizes as one of the primary mistakes people often make when seeking unity with others. In his work, The Communion of Love, Father Matthew argues that while seeking unity and transformation in the cognitive sphere, we are seeking it outside ourselves; that is to say, we are trying to realize it as a matter for discussion and not within ourselves.24 As a member of both a Christian denominational organization and an academic community, I have witnessed many discussions that have resulted in little action. I have also noticed that deeply spiritual people who practice prayer and meditation tend to be innately drawn to action. This is not meant to imply that academicians and church officials are not passionate, nor that education is not as influential as spiritual practice, but I am suggesting that the divorce between rationality and contemplative spirituality results in more conversation and less action when it come to the poor, who often become the mere objectified subjects of many of our
23 24

Ibid., 57. Al-Misk n Matt, The Communion of Love (Crestwood, NY: St. Vladimir's Seminary Press, 1984), 227.

Wills 15

discussions. When this happens, we neglect our obligations to love our neighbor by sidestepping service through cognitive pursuits of discerning who our neighbors are, rather than moving from silence, to prayer, to faith, to love, to service, and peace on behalf of our neighbors.

Towards a Theology of Centering Prayer Cynthia Bourgeault tackles the task of developing a theological milieu for Centering Prayer by beginning with the Scriptural invitation to die to self. In Matthew 16:25, Jesus propounds the strange proverb that whoever would save his/her life will lose it, and the inverse that whoever would lose his/her life would save it. Bourgeault notes, In classic Christian moral theology dying to the self is generally interpreted as dying to the self-will. However, she asks if this is the only way to understand this familiar saying. After hearing a monastic proclaim that Every time we meditate, we participate in the death of Christ she had a new epiphany. She argues that in meditation, we die to more than will. We experience what she calls a mini-death of the ego. She believes that through meditation, We let go of our self-talk, our interior dialogue, our fears, wants, needs, preferences, daydreams, and fantasies.We simply entrust ourselves to a deeper aliveness, gently pulling the plug on that tendency of the mind to want to check in with itself all the time.25 She compares this process to a rehearsal for our actual death when this will literally become a reality, noting that this is primarily why meditation is perceived by so many to be scary. Philippians 2:9-16 describes the self-emptying of Christ and invites Christian disciples to do the same. Centering Prayer seeks to create a method of practice with which to emulate this
25

Cynthia Bourgeault, Centering Prayer and Inner Awakening (Cambridge, MA: Cowley Publications, 2004), 8081.

Wills 16

biblical command. Bourgeault notes that apart from the concept of kenosis, Centering Prayer really makes no sense.26 However, many feminist theologians are concerned about the sociological implications of self-emptying and charge this doctrine with reinforcing patristic hegemony. Sarah Coakley offers a helpful feminist understanding which speaks to the empowerment kenosis may potentially have for women. In an essay on kenosis and subversion, Coakley critiques the dynamics of self-emptying from its classical understanding as she argues for a redemption of it which does not eschew, but embraces, the spiritual paradoxes of losing ones life in order to save it.27 Coakley argues that the problem with the doctrine of kenosis originates in an anachronistic misreading of Philippians. If the doctrine of kenosis is built through the eyes of Orthodox Christological theology, the emphasis of self-emptying lies in the issue of the incarnation of divinity. Her interpretation of Philippians unveils self-emptying as an ethical issue in contrast to Adams ethical decision to become like God (c.f. Genesis 3:5,22). Thus, the focus of Christs kenosis shifts from a pre-existent incarnation to a post baptismal servant-like example set by Jesus demeanour [sic] throughout his life28 Coakley notes that the primary feminist critique is that women need power. She then argues that kenosis from this servant-like perspective is a demonstration of divine empowerment which occurs most unimpededly in the context of a special form of human vulnerability.29 This vulnerability is rooted in her view of Christic kenosis which involves an ascetical commitment of some subtlety, a regular and willed practice of ceding and responding to the divine. She adds, The rhythm of this askesis is already inscribed ritually and symbolically in the sacraments of baptism
Ibid., 88 Margaret Daphne. Hampson, ed., Swallowing a Fishbone?: Feminist Theologians Debate Christianity (London: SPCK, 1996), 83. 28 Ibid., 86. 29 Ibid.
27 26

Wills 17

and eucharist; but in prayer (especially the defenseless prayer of silent waiting on God) it is internalized over time in a peculiarly demanding and transformative fashion.30 Coakleys reinterpretation of kenosis demonstrates the potential for contemplative prayer to provide divine empowerment to both men and women through the process of yielding for the purpose of creating space. She concludes, By choosing to make space one practises[sic] the presence of God the subtle but enabling presence of a God who neither shouts nor forces, let alone obliterates. Therefore, contemplative vulnerability is not an invitation to be battered; nor is its silence a silencing. (If anything, it builds one in the courage to give prophetic voice.)31 Also worthy of mentioning is that meditation seeks to fulfill the unitive prayer of Jesus for his disciples: So that they may all be one; just as You, Father, are in me, and I in you, may they also be one in us. John 17:21. Becoming one with God and each other is known in theological circles as the doctrine of theosis. The Eastern Orthodox church has been strong in emphasizing the divinization of humanity into God and emphasizes 2 Peter 1:4 as the invitation God presents for humanity to be a participant in Gods very nature: Thus he has given us, through these things, his precious and very great promises, so that through them you may escape from the corruption that is in the world because of lust, and may become participants of the divine nature. The dialogue about self-emptying and filling with God is undoubtedly a worthy discussion. And Centering Prayer seeks to experience and express that discussion apophatically through silence. To be still and know that God is God is the basis of this dialogue. Centering
30 31

Ibid., 107. Ibid., 108.

Wills 18

prayer seeks to place God as the center of attention and keep the mind from diverting itself with thoughts. As I was initiated into the practice, my teacher instructed me to enter each session of prayer with the intention of simply being present with God. When thoughts attempted to drive my mind away from my intention, I was taught to use a prayer word to re-Center myself in my volitional intention to be present with God. Being still, outpoured, and becoming a partner with Gods divine nature are strong allusions to the biblical and theological foundations of Centering Prayer.

Taste and See: Preparing the Meal of Contemplation

How good it is to center down! To sit quietly and see one's self pass by! The streets of our minds seethe with endless traffic; Our spirits resound with clashings, with noisy silences, While something deep within hungers and thirsts for the still moment and the resting lull. With full intensity we seek, ere the quiet passes, a fresh sense of order in our living; A direction, a strong sure purpose that will structure our confusion and bring meaning in our chaos. We look at ourselves in this waiting moment -- the kinds of people we are. The questions persist: what are we doing with our lives? -- what are the motives that order our days? What is the end of our doings? Where are we trying to go? Where do we put the emphasis and where are our values focused? For what end do we make sacrifices? Where is my treasure and what do I love most in life? What do I hate most in life and to what am I true? Over and over the questions beat in upon the waiting moment. As we listen, floating up through all the jangling echoes of our turbulence, there is a sound of another kind -A deeper note which only the stillness of the heart makes clear. It moves directly to the core of our being. Our questions are answered. Our spirits refreshed, and we move back into the traffic of our daily round With the peace of the Eternal in our step. How good it is to center down!32 Howard Thurman

The Psalmist understands the value of experience and expresses it in the invitation Taste and see. For contemplative spirituality to have any potential for nurturing a congregation and supporting a community, it must be sampled. Convincing someone to do this

Howard Thurman, Walter E. Fluker, and Catherine Tumber, A Strange Freedom: The Best of Howard Thurman on Religious Experience and Public Life (Boston: Beacon Press, 1998), 305-306.

32

Wills 19

may be similar to getting a reluctant child to try Brussels sprouts for the first time! Using the wisdom of parenthood, ministers must model a diet of contemplation and repeatedly provide it in small portions to their congregations. Luke 11:1 shows us that prayer is a teachable art. As pastors, we can be tempted to assume that our congregants want and know how to pray. Many are well advanced in age and have been in church for more years than some of us have been alive, but the assumption that prayer is understood and practiced may very well be the greatest contributor to lifelessness in the church. Interestingly, this request to be taught how to pray came after witnessing Jesus praying. The desire to pray cannot be legislated nor cognitively infused into the passion of another. It must be witness by one and modeled by another. Jesus grants the request of this disciple and teaches a liturgical form of prayer to the entire group. For Centering Prayer to become a ritual practice in rural Methodist churches today, I am convinced that it must be modeled by trusted spiritual leaders. Five years ago, I began to realize that my faith was failing. The intimacy and purpose that fueled my spirituality was gone. I was a burnt-out pastor simply going through the motions of ministry. I sought the advice of a former professor who had helped me transition through spiritual challenges fifteen years earlier as a young man in Bible college. While I did not realize at the time what I was looking for, I have reflected on that apathetic time in my ministry and my reaching out to Dr. Rickey Cotton as my own desperate cry to learn how to pray. Now I am hearing and perceiving requests from my congregation to teach them how to pray. Some are consciously asking for it, but more are unknowingly asking for it as I did. Prayer comes in many varieties, shapes, and flavors. It is as rich as a conversation over coffee with a dear friend, it is as inspiring as a song sung between lovers, and it is also as deep as the silent presence of lifelong companions. It is to this last example that Centering Prayer seeks

Wills 20

to aspire. Most of us who have worked or been raised in the church have probably been exposed to the conversational prayers of petition and confession. We have likely also experienced joyful modes of prayer through thanksgiving and praise. But I venture that far fewer of us have developed the unspoken prayer language of union and communion. My wife and I have been married for thirteen years, and in that span of time we have experienced many levels of communication that are similar to the ones I have laid out in regard to prayer. Intuitive communication is the level which has taken the longest degree of time to mature, and it has developed in response to millions of transmissions of audible data between us How are you today? What time do I need to be home? Can you take out the trash? I forgot to pay the light bill. There have also been many transmissions of passionate sweet nothings, compliments, and platitudes exchanged between us. All of these have nurtured the unitive art of discernment between my wife and me. We know how the other thinks (not precisely, but with a good degree of accuracy). We can finish each others sentences, and when we sit together silently on the sofa when I return home from Vanderbilt, we enjoy our deepest communion of simple presence. It is at this level of fellowship that Centering Prayer seeks to connect humanity with the Divine. At this point, let us examine how to introduce this level of prayerful communication into the life of a rural congregation.

Plowing the Garden: Modeling Silence Before the first seed of contemplation hits the ground, the field must be plowed in preparation to receive it. Silence is a phenomenon that is assiduously avoided at all costs in our technological culture. The radio and television industries pejoratively refer to silence as dead

Wills 21

air. Silence in our daily lives seems to make us very uncomfortable, and this psychologically conditioned response may frustrate us greatly in the beginning of our spiritual experience with it. While I was on a silent retreat in 2006, in Sewanee, Tennessee, I noticed that the priest who led our retreat intentionally interjected long pauses of silence into our daily Eucharistic services. Ironically, I was shocked to witness silence in the order of corporate worship. I remember how profound the pauses were and how the timing accentuated my experience of the Sacrament. Thus, I agree with Kent Groffs encouragement for pastors, priests, and worship leaders to intentionally weave extended pauses of silence into their worship services. 33 This is one, inoffensive way to slowly increase empirical awareness of the value of silence. Henri Nouwen also describes the value of silence in preaching in his book The Way of the Heart. In this little book, he instructs preachers to consciously integrate meditative preaching into the worship service as one way to practice the ministry of silence.34 He states that such preaching moves the attention of a listener from the pulpit to the listeners heart, revealing an interior abode of silence. For example, if a preacher will read the phrase The Lord is My Shepherd and refrain from expounding upon it, and read it again after a slight pause, then allowing for a longer pause, something transformational can take place. Nouwen argues that the Word will lead a listener to the silent pastures where [he/she] can dwell in the loving presence of [God] in whose Name the preacher speaks.35 Most rural congregations who use the lectionary do not sing a Psalm response, rather they responsively read it; a lector can easily add a minute of silence after a line the congregation echoes before reading her or his next line.

Kent Ira Groff, The Soul of Tomorrow's Church: Weaving Spiritual Practices in Ministry Together (Nashville, TN: Upper Room Books, 2000), 61-62. 34 Henri J. M. Nouwen, The Way of the Heart (New York: Ballantine Books, 2003), 53-54. 35 Ibid., 54.

33

Wills 22

Another point in the liturgy of the worship service that is a very natural fit for silence is the Methodist litany of Word and Table. It is unfortunate that Communion is not as highly esteemed in rural Methodist contexts as it is in urban ones. During the early days of Methodism in the United States, Methodist churches were widely scattered across the frontier. This geographical situation coupled with the low supply of ordained ministers and the economic limitations of supporting them forced the development of traveling preachers called Circuit Riders. This evolutionary breed of clergy traveled between Methodist parishes serving communion when they were able to visit a community. The historical infrequency of communion carried into the worship praxis of many rural churches. While stronger urban churches enjoyed the benefits of a full-time, ordained ministry, the rural parishes were forced to become pragmatic and make the best of their situations. This economic/educational pattern continues to this day and is an important reason for the development of this project on Centering Prayer. Many rural Methodist churches have grown up devoid of sacramental education in communities surrounded by non-sacramental traditions. This has resulted in many Methodists accepting non-Methodist theological frameworks. When I started preaching at Carters Valley in Greene County, the persona of my congregation was very far removed from traditional Methodist characteristics. I am the first seminary student this small congregation has ever had, and during the past five years of my ten year tenure, I have been working to gradually steer our worship back to a more sacramental nature. Nurture, education, and patience are required to make drastic changes in any congregation. Other churches in similar contexts may require a great deal of preparation before they can even begin contemplating the idea of contemplation!

Wills 23

Insertions of inoffensive intentional silence into the worship liturgy may be the most effective entry point for preparing a congregation to reap the fruits of contemplation.

Sowing the Seeds of Lectio Divina

My conviction is that if people are never exposed to some kind of non-conceptual prayer, it may never develop at all because of the overly intellectual bias of the Western culture and the anticontemplative trend of Christian teaching in recent centuries. --Father Thomas Keating

After exposing the congregation to the potency of silence through meditative preaching and responsive reading, a contemplative practice should be taught and mentored. Father Thomas Keating suggests that the ancient practice of Lectio Divina may be one of the best ways to familiarize someone with contemplation. Lectio is a mode of reading Scripture that seeks transformation above information. Assuming that many rural congregations are centered in Biblical authority, it seems reasonable to assume that this may be a very practical avenue through which a minister can move his/her community toward Centering Prayer. After demonstrating intentional silence for a few weeks, try holding a Praying the Scripture Bible study. Begin this study (which is really not a study) by explaining the process and formative purpose of Lectio Divina. Lectio has four stages: lectio, meditatio, oratio, and contemplatio. It may be helpful to translate those words into: reading, reflecting, responding and resting. It may also be beneficial to compare the methodology with the agricultural context of bovine gestation. After a cow ingests its food, it later regurgitates that food as cud, chews on it some more and re-swallows it to another stomach. This process is called ruminant digestion and is similar to the task of mental rumination with Lectio Divina. The practice of Lectio is a

Wills 24

cyclical process of reading-responding, reading-responding, reading-responding and readingresponding. One small passage of text (usually taken from the Daily Office or the Upper Room Devotional) is selected and slowly read four times. A period of silence and reflection is interjected after each reading. In the Lectio/Reading Stage, the text is slowly read aloud. While the text is read in this stage, the participants are asked to listen for a word or phrase that grabs their attention. This will be the context for the rest of the practice. Three minutes of silence are then given after the reading allowing the participants to internally listen for their personal location within the text. In a group setting, the word or phrase can be shared after the silent reflection. Then the process moves to Meditatio/Reflection. This stage begins with a rereading of the passage followed by three to five minutes of silence for reflection on the word or phrase each person received in stage one. Encourage the group to reflect on the word or phrase each person gleans, and ask the participants to try to have an experience with it. For example, if the word selected was fire, one might think about campfires, matches, or warmth. One might try to smell smoke, or think about a song that fire inspires in his/her mind. After the period of silence, members of the group are allowed to share briefly their experiences. The next stage is Oratio/Response. I call this the So What Stage. Here the passage is slowly re-read and the members are asked to enter a five minute period of silence with the question So What? in their minds. Other questions such as the following may help lead one into the responsive period of silent reflection of Oratio: Why am I being drawn to this context?, Why am I thinking about these things?, or What is God inviting me to do? This time of silence is crafted to inspire a dialog with the Divine. So far, we have been listening. Now is the time to ask questions, seek guidance, petition, and/or praise. After the silence is complete, those who would like to briefly share their experiences are invited to do so.

Wills 25

Contemplatio/Resting is the final stage of the process. After the passage is read this last time, the period of rest which follows is a time of simple resting in the presence of God. This five minute period of silence may be the first and longest period of time many people have been asked to sit still without engaging any thoughts. This stage is a true sampling of what a twenty minute session of Centering Prayer is like. Inform the group that this stage has no agenda and it is a time to rest with God. If thoughts arise in this period of silence, assure the group that it is normal and okay. Once you notice a thought entering your consciousness, simply allow it to pass and return back to your period of rest. After the period of silence is complete, have the group read a liturgical prayer, or say the Lords Prayer for a dismissal. After the group has practiced Lectio a few times, encourage the participants to practice it at home by themselves. Journaling the responses to each stage is a powerful way to integrate the rhythm of Lectio into a devotional practice of spiritual formation.

Sowing the Seeds of Centering Prayer

Silence is Gods first language. Saint John of the Cross

After several months of Lectio, some of the participants may be ready to move into an extended period of Contemplatio known as Centering Prayer. Father Thomas Keating, one of the primary founders of Centering Prayer, instructs practitioners to select a sacred word that will be used as a tool to re-center throughout the prayer. Cynthia Bourgeault describes the sacred word as a spiritual equivalent of a little piece of red string tied around your finger. It helps jog your memory, reminding you simply and promptly to let go of whatever thought youre thinking and

Wills 26

return to that naked intent direct to God.36 It should be a short one or two syllable word such as God, Love, Jesus, Listen or Peace. This word will be silently spoken every time you realize you are entertaining thoughts during your intended time to be present with God. Centering Prayer is about intention more than anything and is demonstrated in Father Keatings Four Rs of Centering Prayer Resist no thought, retain no thought, react to no thought, and return ever so gently to the sacred word.37 To encourage beginners, Father Thomas Keating often shares a story about a nun who after a session of Centering Prayer spoke of her frustration with thinking twenty thousand thoughts. Keating reassured her saying that she had demonstrated an intense desire to be with God showing God twenty thousand times that being in Gods presence was her deepest intention. He goes on to say that you cannot fail at Centering Prayer if you are willing to simply show up.38 Once a word has been chosen, the method of Centering Prayer is very simple. While comfortably seated, have the group members take a few breaths and close their eyes. Then read a small passage of scripture or offer a short prayer of dedication for this time before entering into a twenty minute period of silence. At the end of twenty minutes gently bring the group back together by inviting it to slowly recite the Lords Prayer with you. Jane Vennard says that Centering Prayer is simple but not easy. She aptly notes that due to our cultural attachment to productivity, we may get discouraged with Centering Prayer and feel that nothing has happened, and we may in the beginning feel more anxious after the first

37

Cynthia Bourgeault, Centering Prayer and Inner Awakening (Cambridge, MA: Cowley Publications, 2004), 25. Cynthia Bourgeault, "Centering Prayer as Radical Consent," in The Diversity of Centering Prayer, ed. Gustave Reininger (CNew York: Continuum, 1999), 42. 38 Ibid.

36

Wills 27

few sessions of Centering Prayer.39 Centering Prayer is like planting corn. When one seed is planted, it takes time before it germinates. It must rest in the silence of the earth for some time and the farmer must wait to see the benefits of his/her labor. Just as it takes time to develop an ear of corn, it also takes time to develop an ear of contemplation. According to Michael Casey, Our contact with God is not immediately profound, but reaches profundity only after many years continuance. Therefore, our initial experience must necessarily be superficial, although at the time we could not realize this. The full benefits of revelation are not accessible to a rapid perusal.40 Some pastors may wish to substitute the label Centering Prayer with another identifier such as Silent Prayer, The Prayer of Intention, Prayer of Stillness, or some other contextual phrase if they are fearful of strong opposition and association with Eastern Meditation. Once people have become familiarized with the practice, the technical term may be more readily accepted.

Advent: A Prime Planting Season

For everything there is a season, and a time for every matter under heaven: a time to be born, and a time to die; a time to plant, and a time to pluck up what is planted. Ecclesiastes 3:1-2 (NRSV)

Advent is a season that may be strategically beneficial to recover our sacramental and contemplative spirituality. I began my experiment with Lectio in my congregation during the Advent Season of 2005 after I had spent a year in practicing Lectio and Centering Prayer. Playing on the purpose of Advent as a season of anticipation gave me an extra leg to stand on by introducing a practice that nurtured that goal. Caseys comments on the season have inspired me
39

Jane E. Vennard, A Praying Congregation: The Art of Teaching Spiritual Practice (Herndon, VA: Alban Institute, 2005), 123-125. 40 Michael Casey, Sacred Reading: The Ancient Art of Lectio Divina (Liguori, MO: Triumph Books, 1996), 45.

Wills 28

to offer Centering Prayer before worship during Advent this year. He states, In so many ancient Christmas sermons, wonderment is expressed that the Word should have become a speechless babe. (It helps to remember that the Latin word infans has as its literal meaning one who does not speak.)41 During the season of Advent, focus your sermons upon awe, patience and silence so that the Word being heard is in sync with the praxis you are introducing. Luke 2:19 shows us a mother in awe. In the midst of the commotion and activity surrounding the birth of Jesus, Mary is pictured in quiet reflection pondering all that has taken place. The Christmas Season is a time when many of us lose ourselves in the chaos of the holiday. Centering Prayer offers an opportunity to join Mary in the center of our holiday pandemonium and contemplate what Christmas truly means and implies. A Christmas Eve service designed around the insights of the hymn Silent Night can provide a setting for the implementation of all the techniques of contemplation I have suggested. After Christmas, the Church enters into the Season of Epiphany, which celebrates enlightenment. Meet with your contemplative group during Epiphany to discuss what the journey of Lectio Divina and/or Centering Prayer was like. If you have received positive feedback, encourage the class to continue the road of spiritual formation and open the journey to more participants from the congregation. The Upper Room provides an in-depth program of spiritual formation entitled Companions in Christ. This resource contains several activities for deepening the spiritual formation of Christians. Participation in this program promises its members that they will grow closer to each other as they seek to know and respond to Gods will. It also suggests that the entire congregation will grow as a result of the small groups implementation of its learning and formation. Two objectives of this resource are worth
41

Ibid., 44.

Wills 29

mentioning; 1) Through Companions, you will explore the depths of scripture, learn to listen to God through it, and allow your life to be shaped by the Word. And 2) Through Companions you will reflect on Christs call in your life and discover anew the gifts that God is giving you for living out your personal ministry.42 Centering Prayer is only one form of prayer, and it should not replace other forms of prayer or be presented as the best way to pray. It is my belief that incorporating this type of prayer into the life of a congregation will bring a new level of depth and appreciation to the other forms of prayer and worship in the church. Practicing contemplation should promote an attitude of awareness and reflection that can guide a congregation in self-reflecting upon every aspect of its being and lead to more focused activity in worship and service. As mentioned in earlier stages of this project, these practices are geared to develop compassion. We should begin to see concrete evidences of Marys intuitive understanding of Gods nature recorded in The Magnificat of Luke 1:46-55 by filling the hungry with good things.

Conclusion Combining contemplative scholarship with my personal mystical experiences has convinced me that the disciplines of Lectio Divina and Centering Prayer can be extremely beneficial entry points for the process of developing Christians who will become devoted to increasing compassion in their lives. I am also convinced of the promising likelihood rural congregations have to thrive with this type of spiritual direction. The overwhelming majority of rural congregants that I know have cultural contexts which are rich with potential for
42

Gerrit Scott. Dawson, Companions in Christ. A Small-group Experience in Spiritual Formation (Nashville: Upper Room Books, 2006), 7-8.

Wills 30

contemplative practices, and they live in communities that can benefit from the compassionate missions these practices promise. Jane Vennard offers some practical advice to pastors and teachers of prayer which I would like to echo. According to her, we need to be willing to accept that both progress and resistance are part of the process of becoming a praying congregation. She reminds us of the the principle of intention for those in the process of teaching prayer by stating, Know that you will not be consistent in your attentiveness to God, and consistency is not to be expected. Your task is to pay attention to where you have wandered, acknowledge where you are, and gently bring yourself back to God.live in the trust that God is waiting for you and always celebrates your return.43 Opening the door to contemplative practice guarantees an entry into an unknowable future for the life of a congregation. However, this need not be a frightening endeavor. While the specifics of what will evolve in respect to the particulars of missional praxis of ones church are unknowable, looking to the missional examples of a contemplative saint such as Mother Teresa can give us hope. We can take a step into contemplation with a hope that stems from the realization that our often simple and small contributions to Gods work hold the potential of a grain of wheat. We can be encouraged by the reminder of Jesus promise: Very truly, I tell you, unless a grain of wheat falls into the earth and dies, it remains just a single grain; but if it dies, it bears much fruit. 44 I would like to challenge you to join me in applying Sarah Coakleys understanding of kenosis and choose to enter the vulnerability of contemplation for the intentional purpose of creating a space for God in the soil of our congregations so that Gods

43 44

Vennard, A Praying Congregation, 137. John 12:24 (NRSV)

Wills 31

people can emerge from silence with the courage to become powerful prophetic voices for love, peace and justice in our world.

Wills 32

Bibliography Bourgeault, Cynthia. Centering Prayer and Inner Awakening. Cambridge, MA: Cowley Publications, 2004. Bourgeault, Cynthia. "Centering Prayer as Radical Consent." In The Diversity of Centering Prayer, edited by Gustave Reininger. New York: Continuum, 1999. Casey, Michael. Sacred Reading: The Ancient Art of Lectio Divina. Liguori, MO: Triumph Books, 1996. Childress, Kyle. ""Good Work: Learning about Ministry from Wendell Berry."" Christian Century, March 8, 2005. Accessed September 23, 2010. http://proxy.library.vanderbilt.edu/login?url=http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?dire ct=true&db=a6h&AN=ATLA0001457746&site=ehost-live&scope=site. Coakley, Sarah. "Kenosis and Subversion." In Swallowing a Fishbone?: Feminist Theologians Debate Christianity, edited by Margaret Daphne. Hampson. London: SPCK, 1996. Collopy, Michael, and Jason Gardner. Architects of Peace: Visions of Hope in Words and Images. Novato, CA: New World Library, 2000. Dawson, Gerrit Scott., ed. Companions in Christ. A Small-group Experience in Spiritual Formation. Nashville: Upper Room Books, 2006. Fox, Matthew. A Spirituality Named Compassion: Uniting Mystical Awareness with Social Justice. Rochester, VT: Inner Traditions, 1999. Groff, Kent Ira. The Soul of Tomorrow's Church: Weaving Spiritual Practices in Ministry Together. Nashville, TN: Upper Room Books, 2000. Kahane, David. "Learning About Obligation, Compassion, and Global Justice: The Place of Contemplative Pedagogy." New Directions for Teaching and Learning 2009, no. 118 (2009): 49-60. doi:10.1002/tl.352. Keating, Thomas. The Daily Reader for Contemplative Living: Excerpts from the Works of Father Thomas Keating. Compiled by S. Stephanie. Iachetta. New York: Continuum, 2003. Maddox, Randy L. Responsible Grace: John Wesley's Practical Theology. Nashville, TN: Kingswood Books, 1994. Matt, Al-Misk n. The Communion of Love. Crestwood, NY: St. Vladimir's Seminary Press, 1984. Merton, Thomas. New Seeds of Contemplation. Boston: Shambhala, 2003.

Wills 33

Nouwen, Henri J. M. The Way of the Heart. New York: Ballantine Books, 2003. Paup, Ed. "Ministry With the Poor: Looking Poverty in the Face." Speech, Living the United Methodist Way: Turning Worlds Upside Down, Hyatt Regency Jacksonville Riverfront, Jacksonville, FL, January 31, 2009. Accessed September 23, 2010. http://gbgmumc.org/global_news/full_article.cfm?articleid=5444. Rack, Henry D. Reasonable Enthusiast: John Wesley and the Rise of Methodism. Nashville: Abingdon Press, 1993. Thurman, Howard. The Growing Edge. New York: Harper, 1956. Thurman, Howard, Walter E. Fluker, and Catherine Tumber. A Strange Freedom: The Best of Howard Thurman on Religious Experience and Public Life. Boston: Beacon Press, 1998. Vennard, Jane E. A Praying Congregation: The Art of Teaching Spiritual Practice. Herndon, VA: Alban Institute, 2005.