Evangelicals on the Ignatian Way

Swimming in the Streams of Christian Faith

 

 

Swimming in the Streams
of Christian Faith

Take the plunge, enjoy the waters.

 

I am an evangelical who loves the rich diversity of authentic spirituality in the 2000 years of Christian tradition. 

I have not always loved it. In fact, for a long time, I wasn't even aware of it, much less understood or appreciated it. In the last dozen or so years, I have been immersing myself in the waters of our ancient faith.

Well, that's not exactly right. I started out dipping my toes in the water. Than slowly wading in up to the knees. Looking around. Acclimating to these brisk waters. And finally, taking the plunge into certain inviting pools.

Let me be clear that I am speaking about Christian traditions of spirituality. There is no need for me to go outside the Christian faith to find wisdom and guidance in other religions. Some contemporary pluralists advocate other religious faiths as needed to correct the deficiencies in Christianity. I disagree, but that is a matter for another time.
 

(Note: As one who is interested in world religion and missional engagements with the world, I have read a fair amount in the field of world religion. But I do this from a position of faith and fidelity to Christ, who is for me, the supreme and unique revelation of God to us. The uniqueness of Christ means there are significant differences between essential Christian spirituality and that of other religions. But as I said, that is for other posts. The Jesus Way by Eugene Peterson is a good place to start to discover just how unique is the way of Jesus.)
 

The Christian tradition(s) are wide and deep and beyond most of our capacity for total exploration, discovery, and integration. 

There are times when I lament my lack of time to sufficiently explore my own primary tradition, much less excursions in to the other inviting waters. In recent weeks, I have spent a lot of time reading classics in my own spiritual tradition. Some of these were new to me. Others I had read a long time ago. But the re-reading was a deeper, better reading for me. I came away with a list of about twenty other books that would be worth reading (in my own tradition).

In this new year of 2012, I am planning on reading many of these spiritual (and theological) classics, allowing their wisdom to seep in to my heart and soul, and morph my life with Christ. I am excited about this.

But I also plan to read widely, and in a few cases, deeply in these other Christian spiritual traditions. In the next several posts, I'll give some thoughts on how you can do some exploration (swimming around) in these streams of living water.
 

Brian K. Rice  
Evangelicals on the Ignatian Way  
Leadership ConneXtions International  
www.lci.typepad.com

 

Ancient Future Faith

 

 

Ancient Future Faith

When the past makes a lot of sense
and the future doesn't seem as scary

 

This is what the LORD says:
“Stand at the crossroads and look;
ask for the ancient paths,
ask where the good way is,
and walk in it,
and you will find rest for your souls.
But you said,
‘We will not walk in it.’ 
Jeremiah 6:16
 

The other week I read an author (I’ll keep him anonymous) who basically said much of (and maybe “most of”) what Christianity has believed and how Christianity has been practiced in the past is now irrelevant and even a hindrance to faithful missional service in the world. RADICAL new ways of understanding and living the faith are needed.

And of course, this writer believes he is wise enough to stand as the judge, jury and executioner on 2000 years of Christian faith, and discerning enough to be the useful guide for the church’s future

When I read this author, I am struck by how lifeless his writings are, even though he tries to be passionate and to stir up the reader with his theology/spirituality. Intellectually edgy – yes! But spiritually impoverished.

I am throwing my lot and making my way with another group of Christ followers who believe in an Ancient-Future faith.

I love this language.

It is evocatively rich for me. And it is wisely faithful in its strategy.

I was first introduced to this “idea” in the writings of Robert Webber’s book, Ancient Future Worship.

We are always “rooted” in a specific historical-cultural context. We live in the NOW.

We experience the PRESENT. We are called to be faithful to Christ TODAY.

But the TODAY in which we live is anchored to and shaped by the ANCIENT

But while we live in TODAY, we are anchored and shaped by the ANCIENT and we have an eye toward the FUTURE. My today only makes sense in light of the Ancient-Future.

Karl Rahner, the Jesuit theologian may have been a source for Robert Webber. Rahner, in 1967 said, “The contemporary Christian is . . . the person who preserves what is ancient and anticipates the true future.”

This is the way set forth in Jeremiah 6:16. These were the words of the Lord to His people when they were in a time of looming crisis. They must be rooted in the ancient ways, as they are in the crisis of the present. And now they must figure out creative new ways of living out those ancient ways so they may move in to the future as a faithful people of God.

I found this crossroads image on this delightful blogsite.

What is truly sad is God’s people said, no to this. “We will not walk in it.” We are not interested in the ancient ways. We will make our own autonomous, self-generated path in to the future. They did and they walked into disaster and destruction!

Jeremiah was called the “weeping prophet” for a reason!

I love the spiritual richness, the theological substance and the practical outworkings of the classics of the ancient faith. They are called classics for a reason. They have stood the test of time.

What that means is they have provided meaning and purpose, they have given birth to faith, hope and love, they have comforted, rebuked, taught and trained generation after generation of those who love God.

My task, as Karl Rahner stated, is to imbibe their wisdom and to innovatively contextualize and “flesh it out” in my TODAY. How I do that will have both continuity and discontinuity with the PAST. How I do it will look different from how you do it.

In part, simply because the PAST is so vast and sweeping that we are all selective in what we appropriate, adapt and truly live in to and out of. 

I have the time and interest to read widely and then at times to go deeply in parts of that tradition. As you know, I an especially keen on the worthiness of the Ignatian Way. I am greatly indebted to that ancient way as I seek to be an Evangelical innovator on the Ignatian Way.

Standing with you at the crossroads of our exciting times.

Brian K. Rice  
Evangelicals on the Ignatian Way  
Leadership ConneXtions International
www.lci.typepad.com 

 

The Dictionary of Christian Spirituality

 

When is a Dictionary Not Boring?

When it is a goldmine of wisdom for those interested
in understanding the spiritual life . . .
 

This compendium is a labor of love and scholarship.

It is a treasure trove of wisdom and insight about the spiritual life.

There are 34 substantial articles on Christian spirituality on biblical, theological, historical and practical subjects.

There are about 700 shorter, alphabetized offerings ranging from Abandonment, Aelred of Rievaulx and Angels through  Ware (Kallistos), Willard (Dallas), Yoga and Count Zinzendorf . . . and everything inbetween.

850 pages... $40.00... hardback... a companion for many years.

I am reading a few pages a day in 2012 until I work my way through it.

Most Christians are mainly interested in the practices of the spiritual life (prayer, fasting, solitude, silence, sacred reading of Scripture) for the sake of experiencing God. By the way, all those topics are covered in this book.

Those of us who are called to teach, train, mentor, direct, and equip the body of Christ with the resources of spiritual formation need to go beyond the basics and move deeper into a wise understanding of the spiritual life.

This well written, overview is highly recommended to give you an exposure to the breadth and width of Christian spirituality . . . and to be a stepping stone for moving in to new depths which you would not normally consider.
 

Brian K. Rice  
Evangelicals on the Ignatian Way  
Leadership ConneXtions International
www.lci.typepad.com

 

We are "EVANGELICALS" on the Ignatian Way

At the start of this new year, I'll share a bit of my story and some of my core convictions as an Evangelical on the Ignatian Way.

First, a bit of my story . . .

Of the six great spiritual traditions Richard Foster describes in Streams of Living Water, my original and core tradition is that of the Evangelical, Word-Centered Pathway.

I have journeyed for many years in other streams and my life, my story and my journey are better, richer, fuller, deeper and more glorifying to God because of that... but the Evangelical Way is the fertile soil in which my life and minsitry are rooted.

While it is many things, above all, the Evangelical way is a passionate commitment to the truth of the Gospel and the full integrity, beauty, majesty and transformative power of the Holy Scriptures of Old and New Testament.

I became a follower of Jesus through the ministry of Campus Crusade for Christ. Even though I do not like the name of the organization, I am joyfully grateful for their presence in my life in shaping the experience of my conversion and the early years of discipleship.

I learned to treasure the Scriptures from the very beginning. The first year I was a Christian, I read the Living Bible in four months. I then bought the New American Standard Bible and read it in eight months. For many years after that (at least 10-12) my practice was to read through the Bible once a year. Each time I would use a different translation.

I learned to do inductive Bible study. I did this for two reasons. One, because I wanted to more fully understand the Scriptures. Two, because from early in my Christian life, I had opportunities to teach the Bible to others. I was invovled in discipleship ministries and all discipleship was shaped by the teaching of the Bible (and for me, the teaching of the master Discipler - Jesus).

Eventually I would pursue an M.A. in New Testament at Gordon-Conwell Theological Seminary (minored in theology while there) and then a Th.M. in theology at Westminster Theological Seminary. Now I learned to do the more serious work of exegesis and hermeneutics, as well as theologizing. A careful study of the Scriptures and thoughtful theological reflection on the Scripture was and is a passion and a commitment.

Now a few of my convictions . . .

As an Evangelical I deeply believe:

• That Scriptures are the normative words of truth.
• That we are responsible for a careful and sustained study of the Scriptures.
• That we have tools of study and interpretation to help us in this.
• That we also need the guiding, teaching work of the Holy Spirit to lead us into truth.
• That our minds need truth, but the eyes of our heart must be enlightened about that truth.
• That we must not merely be excited about biblical ideas, but we must relish and delight in the truth and even more, of the Living Word who has taught us the ways of God.

I also believe:

*  That many of us have a mainly intellectual apprehension of biblical ideas with hearts that are not passionate, nor wills that are subdued, nor lives that are reordered by the truth. 

*  That somewhere along the line, the powerful, cutting, piercing word of truth has become blunted for many of those who have specialized in the study of the Bible.

*  That there is such a thing as dry orthodoxy, in fact, dead orthodoxy is possible as well.

*  That there are legalistic ways of approaching the Bible and learning it and wielding it.

*  That for some (perhaps many) the Bible is more important than Christ and we have forgotten that the Scriptures are the Word of Christ and the Scriptures are the signposts to Christ and the steppign stones to deepening intimacy with the living God. 

*  That it is much easier to study the Bible than to be friends with Jesus. It is far easier to handle the Word which we can see than it is to pray to the invisible God.

I know this because I was one to whom this happened and I work with many evangelical leaders who have had the same experience. I also know this because I work with communities of Christ followers and I know the pain of"un-transformation" in their lives and I know how much so many struggle to be "friends with the Most High." 

That is why, while I remain a passionate Evangelical, I also needed the resources and the ways of the other spiritual traditions of the Christian faith. 

In particular, I have found Ignatius to be a mentor who affirms what I affirm (as an Evangelical) about the importance of Scripture... and who shows me a way for a deeper relational and transforming engagement with the living words of the Gospel. 

Ignatius (and others) teach me how to prayerfully reflect through lectio divina readings of the Word.

Ignatius teaches me how to prayerfully converse with the One True God about the great things that matter the most (which have been learned from his Word).

Ignatius teaches me how to be discerning of the teaching, guiding work of the Holy Spirit who illumines the truth to my heart, while at the same time, warming my heart to receive that word implanted as a seed.

Ignatius also teaches me how to be alert to the presence, work and Word of God that is with me throughout the day. While the Word is preeminently clear and normative as the Holy Scripture, God communicates in many other ways as well (the inner witness, through the voice of a restored conscience, through the words of others, via written words of good authors, through the events of the day, in nature, in my experiences, desires and affection . . . and more). But all these other ways are assessed, interpreted and  received in light of the Old and New Testaments.

As I am an Evangelical on the Ignatian Way, I find that the Bible has become more clear, more powerful, more compelling and more received into my life. I find that truth is more transformative than ever, because my heart capacity for truth is wider open than ever. I find that Jesus has become more precious, more real, more of a friend and even more exalted as my God and my Savior. 

For all this, I can only say as did Ignatius . . . 
 

Ad majorem Dei gloriam
For the greater glory of God
 

Brian K. Rice  
Evangelicals on the Ignatian Way  
Leadership ConneXtions International  
www.lci.typepad.com 

 

 

Trusting you Each Had a Blessed Christmas Eve and Day

Back after the first of the year.

Grace and joy, love and peace to all.

Brian

"Vocational Mystics"

I have always loved biographies and autobiographies.

I especially enjoy those of leaders, as well as the great spiritual writers and read several such books every year. Two of the more significant ones this year, for me, were The Pastor by Eugene Peterson and All is Grace by Brennan Manning.

I also have a biography/study of Vincent van Gogh I have been just waiting to read (hard to find the time for this luxury), At Eternity's Gate: The Spiritual Vsion of Vincent van Gogh by Kathleen Erickson.

Ignatius is one of my primary Historical Mentors (an idea from Bobby Clinton's work on mentoring) and I have now read over a dozen books about the life of Ignatius and I have two more sitting on the shelf waiting to be read. I also have several older, out of print biographies on Ignatius on the Kindle.
 

Ignatius is such an inspiration because of the way these following things flowed together in his life:

 

organizational, strategic and empowering leadership

spiritual formation and his work of spiritual direction

missional service to the world

life long learning

Those four themes are at the heart of Leadership ConneXtions International and the leadership development work we do around the world. So, when I read Ignatius, I am constantly inspired as he models the way in these qualities and, models the way in terms of what their synthesis looks like.

HOWEVER . . .

a vital caveat must be front and center on those things mentioned above. Here is that qualifier.

Everything Ignatius did flowed out of his inner world. And Ignatius inner world was aessentially a heart that was transformed through intimacy with Christ. Once his interior world was so shaped, it then infused everything he did.

In one sense, before he was anything else (leader, director, teacher, learner) he was a mystic.

And all that I mean by that word is "A mystic is one who encounters and experiences the Presence of God."

It is the presence, the work and the Word of the revealing God that is encountered and experienced in relational, affective ways that lead to the transformation of life.

The transformation of life is:

the renewing of the image of God within us,

the flowering of the fruit of the Spirit, which is simply the moral quality of God's own life becoming ours,

the reordering of everything in our life so that it is centered around Christ, surrendered to His will and directed toward His purposes.

Such relational intimacy and inner transformation is always the gift/grace of God. At the same time, the Scriptures are unanimously affirming of the responsive engagement of the individual who receives and responds to the initiating work of God.

Ignatius lived in this reality on a daily basis and it is what created a "spirit that moved within him" and which ultimately was attractive to a generation (and in fact successive generations).

In other words, if you are called to be a leader, teacher, director, pastor, missional servant in the world, banker, nurse, carpenter, or anything else . . . you are first called to be a mystic. 

Imagine a world full of missional mystics, who are finding God in all things, and especially, in their chosen, bestowed vocations!

Imagine you being such a person.

May God give you the desires of His heart on these things.

And perhaps reading a good biography or two, of those who have gone before us and who have become who we long to become, may be a companion for you in 2012.

Brian K. Rice  
Evangelicals on the Ignatian Way  
Leadership ConneXtions International  
www.lci.typepad.com

The spirit that stirred within him . . . (A thought on vocation)

I am 55 years of age.
I feel healthy and am in better physical condition that I have been for the last 15 years!
Five to six times a week, I exercise at my local gym (and I work out hard).
My eating is a lot better (although always my Achillees heel).

Spiritually, my life is as well-ordered with a Regula and Rhythm that keeps me connected to Christ (and my family, spiritual friends, my larger church community and mission) as it has even been.

At my age, I am increasingly thinking about finishing well.

And, as it so happens, I am once again, giving a fair amount of time to revisiting my vocation and calling.

For me, who I am and what I do flow and merge together. I do not seperate those two things like some are in the habit of doing. My understanding of the Scriptures on relationship, personhood, identity, and calling at least for me, maps the way out of the unhelpful dualisms (like being vs. doing) of our time.

So when I ask - who am I and what am I called to do - these questions penetrate and shape one another.

Some recent readings about Ignatius and the Jesuits have provided some meaty substance for extended musings.

Here is the first idea that received days of consideration. Ignatius is described with these words:

"Few men in history have affected the movement of their generation more than Saint Ignatius of Loyola. It is no exaggeration to say that he produced this effect . . . mostly by the spirit which stirred within him and which he awoke in others." D. F. O'Leary

Whatever the other specifics of my vocation, I desire to be one who, through the spirit that stirs within me, awakens a similar spirit in others.

Ours is a sleepy age. A dissipated one. Distracted, tired, and in many ways depleted of vital energies. We are those who amuse ourselves to death, we are bored stiff while we watch endless entertainments, we live vicariously through the "un-real" reality TV shows.

But still, by virtue of what it means to be a human being, created in the image of God, what sleeps may be awakened.

I desire to awaken in others:

• passion for Christ,
• a willingness to pursue hard after God,
• the desire to love, know, worship, trust, follow, obey and enjoy the God we pursue,
• the capacity to live in the experience of God's Presence, Work and Word,
• and the integrity of one's inner life and the outer world in which that inner life is manifested.

Some leadership books call this:

The leader's imprint (or) modeling the way (or)the leadership leak . . .

Ignatius was a genius of organization. He was the founder and leader of what is one of the most successful example of "heroic, missional leadership" in the history of the church. But there was something deeper than his organizational leadership. It was a spirit that stirred within in and which awakened the same in countless others, that attracted them, empowered them, and released them as agents of grace, truth and love into a needy world.

This is at the heart of my vocation, no matter what the other specifics are of how I fulfillmy vocation.

I pray it is at the heart of your own vocation as well. May you be an Awakener this week.

Brian K. Rice
Evangelicals on the Ignatian Way
Leadership ConneXtions International
www.lci.typepad.com

 

 

Intimacy With Christ (the Missional Christ That Is!)

Devotional times - are they an escape from responsible engagement with the world (ministry, mission, vocation) or are they the essential foundation of authentic world engagements?

Here are two posts I did on my main blogsite - Leadership ConneXtions International. You don't need to read them if you haven't, but the titles set the stage for this post.

How Much Time Do You Need to Pursue God?

and the follow up . . .

Jeremiah, Paul and Martin Luther on Pursuing God.

A very good friend, who I deeply respect asked me some pointed questions that were hinting that maybe I was moving down a pietistic, divorced from real life, interior spirituality that is personally satisfying but not very meaningful to one's worldview engagement of everything that matters.

In those posts I made the case that we need to spend lots of lingering time in prayer, reflection, journaling, lectio divina and other contemplative disciplines as the pathway to connect with the Presence, Work and Word of God.

I don't back off from that for one moment or in the slightest degree!

One of my core concerns is that most leaders I work with do not have nearly enough spiritual intimacy with Christ that empowers their work, that sustains their work and that ultimately consecrates their work as loving labor for the Lord.

A second core concern is that many evangelicals do not even know how to pursue intimacy with Christ. That has not been a hallmark quality of our activist, theologically minded, bibliocentric tradition.

Another core concern is that for most Christian leaders- their ministry, or specific avenues or areas of ministry, or particular strategies and methodologies for doing ministry become their end, their goal, their purpose. Without knowing it (until it is much too late), these become the modern idols and counterfeit gods of our Christian era.

Tim Keller was wise to alert us (as he so profoundly did) about the counterfeit gods of our age - money, sex, power, status, pleasure and so on. We need someone to remind us about the other more acceptable, subtle and equally damning Gods of Christian ministry. In the words of C.S. Lewis, second things can never become the first thing. And even good, Christian second things become demonic as first things.

Christ and intimacy with Him and love for Him deserves to be pursued with no other agenda in mind. Knowing Christ is not our pursuit for the sake of some other "greater" end. 

I do not pursue Christ and knowing Christ, enjoying Christ, loving Christ, worshipping Christ, following Christ and obeying Christ) for any other reason than - Christ my Savior deserves it and Christ my Lord demands it. eNUFF said... I could end the post here.

But . . . 

The Christ who longs for me to devote myself to him is always the missional Christ. He is the missional Christ who:

invites me to be with Him . . . 

so I may learn from Him . . .

and in that holistic, enculturated, incarnational learning - become like Him (the great imitation of Christ) . . .

and now, since I am "like Christ" I am able to go forth with Christ and do His mission in His way!

Read the summary of this in Mark 3:13-18.

So, I know that if I am truly, authentically being with the missional Messiah in devotion, then this process will unfold naturally and progressively and I will become his faithful friend/servant who bears much fruit that lasts (John 15:1-17, a text that is all about "abiding in Jesus).

And my working (and experienced) assumption is that as I spend substantial, lingering time with Jeus (abiding, devoted, worshipping, praying, etc.) the learning accelerates, imitation emerges and mission becomes fruitful. 

Which is why I love the Jesuit Way of Missional Spirituality and the penetration of one's entire being with sustained, spiritual exercises that connect the follower with the Master in intimacy.

How much time do you need in this?

I'd like to suggest - most likely, a good bit more than you typically give to Jesus.

Let's together, pursue hard and long after the missional Messiah Jesus.

Brian K. Rice  
Evangelicals on the Ignatian Way  
Leadership ConneXtions International  
www.lci.typepad.com

 

 

The Ignatian Way by Charles Healey, S.J.

For those who want a very nice, short, easy to read, but yet full of substance introduction to the Jesuits, I highly recommend this little book by Charles Healey, S.J.

The Ignatian Way: Key Aspects of Jesuit Spirituality.

I have read a number of introductions to Ignatius and the Jesuits. The BEST one is quite long and is The Jesuit Guide to Almost Everything, but that will take a longer time to work through, even though it too is very readable.

In The Ignatian Way, Healey gives a nice biographic introduction to Ignatius. He covers the Spiritual Exercises, giving the big picture of what the Exercises are about. He talks about the themes of prayer and discernment - for ultimately, the Exercises are all about prayer and discerning the ways of Christ for one's life.

He also gives a nice explanation of the Constitutions, which are other vital documents that define the Jesuit life and mission. Very few people read these and yet, they are a fleshing out of the life intended in the Exercises. He calls attention to the requirements for those who would be the Superior General and final authority for the Jesuit society. The set of qualifications needed for leading the Jesuits is simply - beautiful.

There is a very nice summary of the core essence of Jesuit spirituality, as well as some of the contemporary issues the Jesuits are facing.

And the final pages are brief bios of about 20 significant Jesuits. Just short snapshots of who they were and what they did.

If you want an introduction to Ignatius and the Jesuits . . .

Or if you want a reminder of their essence . . .

I highly recommend The Ignatian Way.

Brian K. Rice  
Evangelicals on the Ignatian Way  
Leadership ConneXtions International  
www.lci.typepad.com

Changing Your "Regula" From Time to Time

If you are unfamiliar with the word - "regula" it is the Latin word for rule. Not a rule in the sense of a law or principle, but rule in terms of a "pattern." However, when a pattern becomes a normative way, then it also takes on the status of a law.

The idea of regula comes from the Rule of Benedict, which was both the pattern and the law that was established for the way the Benedictine monks would practice spirituality and their life together.

Benedict Giving the Rule to Monks

This idea of regula can be borrowed and adapted for individuals. As you begin to build a collection of spiritual practices, along with a consistent way of using those practices, you are designing your personal regula.

I have a well designed and faithfully followed regula of spirituality. It works well for me. It is the pathway by which I move into the presence of Christ and a mature salvation. I practice it consistently.

But from time to time, some variety is needed in one's regula. Just like in physical fitness conditioning/exercising, the same pattern can become monotonous (by the way, this was a problem that the monastic orders had to deal with).

The same practices can also become less productive. In the realm of physical fitness, trainers know that from time to time, routines must be changed. Muscle confusion from changing routines is a fundamental principle of fitness training.

I think, something similar, should be done in spiritual exercising. Spiritual Muscle Confusion. So, from time to time, I intentionally change my spiritual exercise regula, shift some spiritual practices around, set some aside and pick up others . . . change the routine a bit (or a lot).

A few weeks ago, I did a significant change and I have really liked this change. I'm not sure how long I will keep doing these additional practices, but for now, they have been very generative for my journey.

First, every week, I read in the novels of Susan Howatch that are a part of her Starbridge series. These novels are about the Anglican church, spiritual formation, the deadly sins - especially in the lives of pastors, directors, etc., and spiritual direction. I have found them deeply moving and launching of reflection and prayer.  (Glittering Images was the first novel in that series.)
 

Second, I am doing a "medium wide" reading through spiritual classics and rummaging for nuggets useful for lectio divina. My normal lectio divina practice is to read a very short passage and sit with it. But I am interested in more wider reading in the spiritual classics. So, for example, right now I read 4 or 5 of the letters of Fenelon a day. In that amount of material, I find many stepping stones for reflection. I am selective and may work with half dozen of them. I journal and pray according to those thoughts.

Third, I am using a devotional book called For All the Saints. In the past, I used this, reading the texts for a day and working with those texts. Now, once a week, I take the prayer texts for the entire week, read them, notice what language and ideas move me. I use those words to shape my own prayer. I'll spend quite a bit of time in prayer that day, praying in directions and about themes that would not normally suggest themselves to me.

This change in my regula has been invigorating. I still do other things that I have done for a long time, but I have eased off in the frequency of some of those things, and am giving time to these changes.

The idea is simply to pay attention to what you are doing in spiritual formation and from time to time, considering some new things.

Blessings, grace and wisdom as you keep in step with the Spirit's leading on your formation.

Brian K. Rice  
Evangelicals on the Ignatian Way
Leadership ConneXtions International  
www.lci.typepad.com