The fragmenting, if not collapsing, social trajectories of the early 21st Century seem to be cutting chords and severing ties between relational partners in a number of life-threatening ways. Technologies have been developed to help us to better communicate, but in actuality, most of what they often do is amplify hash-tagged versions of our speaking selves. Long story short, we鈥檝e stopped listening. We鈥檝e stopped listening to ourselves, to each other, and to the more-than-human world around us.

My fundamental belief is that health is found in belonging, and that our felt sense(s) of belonging dictate much of our acting in the world.

If we follow the lead of systems thinkers who remind us that every intrapersonal experience began as an interpersonal event, then we may come to see how we perpetuate our experiences (or lack thereof) of belonging鈥攐f connection to self and to other鈥攊n integrous ways. In other words, our internal worlds come to be symbolized and replicated in our external worlds, and our external worlds become the theater by which we enact our internal living.

Connections within foster connections without, and vice versa. We were designed in, by, and for relationship (in the image of an intensely relational God), and it is therefore in relationship where our greatest sense(s) of belonging reside. Moreover, we listen from such place(s) of residence, both inside and out. Deep listening, then, points to a willingness to get past the buzz and hum of hotspots and other WiFi connections. It means not just listening with one鈥檚 ears, but with one鈥檚 whole being. Deep listening is a whole-bodied activity.

Ironically, I鈥檝e become keenly aware of this reality in the last couple of years, as the hearing in my left ear has faded, and I鈥檝e now joined the world of hearing aid users. In working with my audiologist this past year, I鈥檝e learned how much listening requires brain activity, and specifically a 鈥渞eady to listen鈥� posture in one鈥檚 brain. My ears may do the work of the hearing, but my brain contributes to the work of listening. Moreover, listening is mental activity, and not just the product of one鈥檚 cochlear functioning.

Speaking of brains, Dan Siegel, founder of the field of interpersonal neurobiology, talks about the multiple brains we have in our body. We have our upstairs brain, or the three pounds of cerebral tissues that make up what most of us refer to as our brain. Siegel also notes, however, the importance of the brain we have in our bellies: the one that often gets associated with one鈥檚 鈥済ut鈥� or 鈥渋ntuition.鈥�

Siegel and other scientists who study such things as bodies, brains, and emotions, help us to know that there are versions of listening that happen much deeper within our bodies than just between our ears. With help from the vagal nerve, which runs from our bellies to our upstairs brains and back again, our bodies are always listening within: listening and responding, without much conscious awareness by the person who lives and dies according to this circuitry. Maybe we鈥檇 like to think that we know what鈥檚 happening in and around us at any given time, but the science tells us otherwise.

So what does all of this have to do with our work here at 天美视频? Well, everything in fact.

In preparation for this current academic year, the faculty of 天美视频 voted in a name change for the series of courses previously called Practicum. Our new name for this important part of our curriculum is Listening Lab, and its new name is meant to mark and to signify our return to the essential nature, quality, and service of listening. If much of the work of Listening Lab is to support a student as they prepare to move from self to service, then listening (and maybe best said deep listening) is one primary path in that direction.

A quick drive by a few of the required texts for Listening Lab reveals that listening requires attention to be paid not only to the words one is offered in a relational moment, but also the fullness of affect and emotion that accompanies the spoken word (Weinberg, 1984). To that end, listening requires a mobilization of the self-engagement system (Siegel, 2010), which includes a full-bodied, full-minded approach to making space in one鈥檚 self for another. Said differently, such (deep) listening is a form of remembering or putting back together that which has been previously fragmented.

From self to other, and from self to service, bearing witness (deep listening) to that which has been lost or broken is a primary means of serving 鈥淕od and neighbor through transforming relationships.鈥�

The soul does not need to be fixed, it needs to be witnessed (a nod to Parker Palmer, here). Bearing witness is an essential element in any healing journey, and the 21 st Century American world finds many of its constituents in need of healing: in need of those who are willing to engage with the pain of fragmentation and the vicissitudes of social isolation. Our society needs a resurgence of priests, or those whose charge it is to call others to re-member. Remembering requires receiving and receiving requires deep listening to that which is being received. To remember is to receive the gift of memory. Listening means holding space for another to remember and therefore (re)connect. Moreover, listening is the pathway to Connection.

Want to connect? Interested in what you鈥檙e hearing here? Sensing the rumblings of a priestly
call? I hope so.

To learn more about studying at 天美视频, visit our graduate programs page or email admissions@theseattleschool.edu.听

The post Listening with Your Body: The Importance of Deep Listening appeared first on 天美视频 of Theology & Psychology.

Annie: 鈥淲hile I鈥檓 concerned about what you would think of as politics鈥攚hat would be in the political section of a newspaper鈥擨鈥檓 also thinking about the politics of being human, the politics of church, the relational dynamics between people and between groups. That鈥檚 kind of what I mean by political in the broader sense.鈥�

Annie is the host of , a podcast exploring the long and often problematic story of Christianity in the United States, grounded in the hope that by better understanding where other perspectives are coming from, we can be better conversation partners across difference and contribute to sustainable, collaborative social change.鈥� Her work is primarily concerned with two questions, she says: What do we believe it means to be human? And what do we believe is true about God? On God Help Us, Annie and her guests wrestle with how both of those questions inform our relationship to each other and our response to events in the world around us.

Annie: 鈥�God Help Us is about information, it鈥檚 about what are our commonly held beliefs in this country, how are they informed by our Christian heritage? […] I鈥檓 hoping, on a more meta level, that it鈥檚 also a way of modeling those conversations, so we can feel defensive and have all the human range of emotions while we鈥檙e disagreeing with each other and still continue to talk to each other.”

Much of Annie鈥檚 work can be connected to the category of spiritual darkness, which was the focus of her Integrative Project at 天美视频, 鈥淢aking a Home in the Dark.鈥� In our 2018 Integrative Project Symposium, Annie offered this insight into what draws her to working with spiritual darkness: 鈥淚 think that in those times when everything has been stripped away, we also lose hold of the lies we have believed about ourselves, about each other, and about God. So I鈥檓 left only with my desire and the question of what to do with it, and the question of what to do with this new reality. And I find that the only option really is to come home to myself. And in those places, I find that God is waiting for me there.鈥�

Annie: 鈥淲hen we recognize that we have put our faith in something like patriarchy, it doesn鈥檛 let us go easily. These periods of darkness, of feeling completely lost and at our wits鈥� end, both communally and individually鈥攊t forces us to give up hope in what we鈥檝e put our hope in. And that is this great gift that we can then decide we鈥檙e going to do something different now.鈥�

In an era of fragmented relationships鈥攁nd, therefore, fragmented politics鈥攚e are deeply grateful for the insightful, far-reaching conversations Annie is hosting. Here鈥檚 to listening deeply, speaking boldly, and returning again and again to our connections with each other.

Resources to Go Deeper

• You can learn more about Annie鈥檚 work, including God Help Us, at . And if you have ideas for future topics or guests on the podcast, email godhelp.podcast@gmail.com.
• As this conversation turned to purity culture, it brought to mind an article by Lauren Sawyer (MA in Theology & Culture, (鈥�14). Shauna asked Lauren to record an excerpt for this episode, and here鈥檚 the full article from Feminist Studies in Religion:
• To be fair, Annie鈥檚 reference to is more tangential than thematic. But it really is a great film!
• Shauna references an episode from NPR鈥檚 Invisibilia podcast about the relationship between uncertainty and dogmatism, and what we do when we don鈥檛 know what to do.
• Annie mentions being inspired by this article from Tyrone Beason at the Seattle Times:
• Just in time for summer, we got a bunch of book recommendations from Annie. Happy reading!
  • by Dr. Tina Schermer Sellers
  • by Frank Schaeffer
  • and by Amber Cantorna
  • by Mary Daly
  • by Miguel A. de la Torre

The post Politics, Theology, and Spiritual Darkness with Annie Mesaros appeared first on 天美视频 of Theology & Psychology.

Dr. Roy Barsness, Professor of Counseling Psychology at 天美视频, developed Relationally Focused Psychodynamic Therapy from his qualitative research conducted in the realm of psychoanalytic psychotherapy. The result of that research culminated in his collaborative book, .

鈥淧sychology is once again turning its attention to the understanding that actual change occurs by focusing on the unfolding narrative between therapist and patient,鈥� says Dr. Barsness. 鈥淭he implication of this shift is the need for training in theoretical and practical constructs that attend to motivation, emotions, early attachment/developmental issues, the role of the unconscious, and attention to the research in the neurosciences that notes shifts in affective regulation through genuine encounters with others.鈥�

鈥淧sychology is once again turning its attention to the understanding that actual change occurs by focusing on the unfolding narrative between therapist and patient.鈥�

Decades of research indicate that the provision of therapy is an interpersonal process in which the nature of the therapeutic relationship is a central component for change and healing. For 21 years, 天美视频 has distinguished itself as a program rooted in the belief that we are created, known, wounded, and healed in the context of relationship. Our incarnational theology informs our theory of change, and our psychodynamic methodology develops thoughtful, committed practitioners. The RFPT certificate is designed for practitioners to continue their learning by equipping them with new insights and skills, helping clarify their methodology and theory of change, and offering a network of clinicians for ongoing support, community, and consultation.

This post-graduate certificate represents 天美视频鈥檚 intentional movement toward hybrid learning opportunities that are more accessible than ever, so that participants can continue to learn and grow even as they pursue their day-to-day work. In the RFPT certificate, clinicians will participate in a practice-focused, experiential training program delivered through bi-weekly online clinical consultations and twice-yearly in-person weekend intensive retreats. In the contexts of community and their own practice, participants will pursue an in-depth exploration of how they position themselves in the therapeutic dyad, how they reflect on the conscious and unconscious dynamics that unfold, and how they engage those dynamics with courage, discipline, and insight.

鈥淟earning doesn鈥檛 stop once you enter the field,鈥� says Dr. J. Derek McNeil, Acting President and Provost. 鈥淚鈥檓 pleased to be offering clinicians this opportunity to deepen their own learning and refine their practice in the context of community.鈥�

You can visit the program page to learn more about the Relationally Focused Psychodynamic Therapy Post-Graduate Certificate, including schedule, tuition, program outline, and the application process.

The post 天美视频 Launches Relationally Focused Psychodynamic Therapy Certificate appeared first on 天美视频 of Theology & Psychology.

If you鈥檝e ever worked in ministry or a helping profession鈥攐r any work that requires your full self鈥攜ou know this matters: the rate of burnout is too high, and the cost too steep, to not take seriously the need for resilience. We launched Resilient Leaders Project to help leaders and communities respond to that deep need in the midst of a changing church and fragmented culture.

Kate: 鈥淩esilient Leaders Project is about trying to come alongside leaders in their context to help them construct lives that support their good work, instead of feeling like their lives are at the cost of their work.鈥�

In reflecting on what drew them into this work, Kate and Laura Wade share about their histories with the Church and how they came to believe it could be a space that would welcome them fully and unequivocally, in all of their brokenness and trauma. Because it turns out that it鈥檚 impossible to talk meaningfully about resilience without also talking about trauma.

Kate: 鈥淭here鈥檚 a depth of experience that you must learn to narrate in your own life if you鈥檙e going to integrate the really hard pieces of your life. It鈥檚 not simply bouncing back to the shape that you were before something hard happened, it鈥檚 saying 鈥楬ow did this really difficult situation, this suffering that I went through, actually form me to be in some way more human, more compassionate, and therefore more divine?鈥欌��

鈥淭here鈥檚 a depth of experience that you must learn to narrate in your own life if you鈥檙e going to integrate the really hard pieces of your life.鈥�

Laura Wade: 鈥淩esilience, to me, is finding healing and freedom and voice in the midst of those harmful places, and being able to meet the Spirit and meet God there to be different, to be more of who we are created to be. That鈥檚 the linking of resilience and trauma. I don鈥檛 think you can have resilience without some level of trauma.鈥�

Shauna: 鈥淎nd maybe you can鈥檛 be a human and not have trauma.鈥�

As we gather to reflect together on the trauma of Christ鈥攖he violence, betrayal, death, and resurrection鈥攊n the Church we might also find space to reflect on our own trauma, to lean into a community of others who can help us find language and meaning for that which is beyond words. This is a beautiful hope, that reflecting on the wounds of Christ in community might help us heal from our own wounds, but it is also a risky, vulnerable hope鈥攐ne from which it is all too easy for many leaders to shy away. The rigorous demands and unspoken expectations of leadership often mean that leaders鈥攅specially in church, ministry, and nonprofit settings鈥攁re left feeling as if they cannot disclose experiences of trauma or uncertainty, and like there is not room for them to receive care.

Kate: 鈥淲ounded healer is language that we usually use, but we gloss over the wounded part, which means that we often have healed wounders in those roles.鈥�

鈥淲ounded healer is language that we usually use, but we gloss over the wounded part, which means that we often have healed wounders in those roles.鈥�

Toward the end of the conversation, Kate and Laura Wade share about their experience in the first full year of RLP, inviting leaders into intentional connection, thoughtful reflection, and new practices that create room for their full selves鈥攊ncluding their trauma, doubt, and brokenness鈥攖o be present in their work and relationship. This integrative work is a central part of building resilience, and it is a gift to journey with leaders as they step into that.

Kate: 鈥淢y hope for the Church is that God鈥檚 not done. And it might not look like the church that it looked like in our parents鈥� or grandparents鈥� ages, it might not be focused on Sunday morning worship, but I think God鈥檚 not done in gathering people in a certain type of way. I want to be part of making that happen, and I want to be part of helping resource the creative and courageous people who are stepping into this unknown territory.鈥�

Resources to Go Deeper

• You can learn more about the Resilient Leaders Project鈥攊ncluding our newsletter, upcoming events, and the application process for our next cohort鈥攁t theseattleschool.edu/rlp.
• Kate shares a poem by an anonymous survivor of rape, which reads in its entirety: 鈥淚 can鈥檛 forget what happened, but no one else remembers.鈥� When she was a student at 天美视频, Kate wrote this moving reflection about the installation and about church as a community that remembers and holds.
• Laura Wade recommends a book about integrating the feminine and masculine parts that live in each of us. The book is by Tami Lynn Kent.
• One of the practices Laura Wade mentions that she has returned to because of this work is running. You can read her reflection about how running helps her return to spiritual health in this blog.
• For more on resilience, you can watch Nikkita Oliver鈥檚 stunning talk from our 2018 Humanity Through Community gathering, and you can listen to Nikkita鈥檚 conversation with Shauna Gauthier from an earlier podcast episode.

The post Resilience, Trauma, and the Hope of the Church appeared first on 天美视频 of Theology & Psychology.

Shauna: 鈥淚 want to hone in, in this next season, on dropping down into the topics that have this weightiness to them that have to do with this particular period of time in the world.鈥�

Derek: 鈥淢ore lately, I think of text.soul.culture as being a vehicle of service. So I鈥檓 sure I鈥檒l be asking a lot more questions about serving. […] This season will be around us trying to figure out how do we serve?鈥�

If you鈥檝e listened to past episodes, you鈥檒l notice some differences in Season Three, including changes in production and episode structure. At the end of this episode, Nicole talks with Beau Denton, Content Curator, about some of these updates. We hope these changes reflect continued growth and innovation, while remaining true to our original mission for the text.soul.culture podcast: Grounded in the hope of fostering faithful dialogue, we are guided by a commitment to understanding narrative, wrestling with intersections, resisting reactivity, and fostering radical hospitality.

Beau: 鈥淎s an institution, we prioritize human dialogue. And that鈥檚 so different than one person speaking a monologue or writing a blog on their own. This is about conversation. […] My role here will be kind of an emcee to help facilitate the good work that our hosts are doing.鈥�

Stay tuned in coming weeks as we feature compelling conversations with alumni, faculty, and other thought leaders about living as wise, engaged, and courageous people in times of division and fragmentation. In the meantime, we would love to hear your feedback! If you have questions, responses, or ideas for future conversations, you can email us at communications@theseattleschool.edu.

Resources to Go Deeper

• In Season One, Derek engaged in conversations with Dr. Soong-Chan Rah, Jimmy McGee, Dr. Caprice Hollins, and 天美视频 faculty including Dr. Ron Ruthruff, Dr. Chelle Stearns, Dr. Angela Parker, and Dr. Stephanie Neill. You can catch up on all the episodes from Season One here.
• In Season Two, we introduced occasional 鈥渕inisodes,鈥� short conversations around the building about Lent, 天美视频鈥檚 Artist Residency, and what it means to be heard. We also welcomed Shauna Gauthier as a host and shared 鈥淔rom the Field鈥� episodes with Smruti Desai and Jeremy Dew, and we featured conversations with Nikkita Oliver, Dr. Curt Thompson, Dr. Dwight Friesen, and more. Listen to Season Two here.

text.soul.culture Hosts

Dr. Derek McNeil is the Acting President and Provost at 天美视频. He has a PhD in Counseling Psychology from Northwestern University and an MDiv from Fuller Theological Seminary, and his research, writing, and speaking have focused on issues of ethnic and racial socialization, the role of forgiveness in peacemaking, the identity development of African-American males, and marital intimacy. Learn more about Derek here.

Shauna Gauthier received her MA in Counseling Psychology from 天美视频 in 2010. She previously worked in the Denver Metro area as a therapist and a nonprofit program manager; she also helped launch 天美视频鈥檚 Colorado Alumni Chapter. After returning to Seattle, Shauna now serves as the Alumni Outreach Coordinator. She also enjoys writing and speaking about motherhood, feminism, and faith. Learn more about Shauna here.

The post Season Three of text.soul.culture appeared first on 天美视频 of Theology & Psychology.

We鈥檙e reminded of the power of place every year when we host 鈥攁 gathering of hundreds of leaders and practitioners from around the world, grounded in the conviction that the nature of our service should be shaped not only by our individual identities and callings, but by the very particular stories of the places we serve. Dr. Dwight Friesen, Associate Professor of Practical Theology, is one of the organizers of Inhabit, and he helps equip 天美视频 students to explore the intersections between their stories, the story of God, and the story of the places they inhabit.

鈥淧art of my work here at 天美视频 is to attend to what it means to be located. We are not just souls, and we鈥檙e not just bodied souls. Our bodies are actually placed somewhere,鈥� says Dr. Friesen. 鈥淚n fact, I would say that one of the greatest teachers God gives us is the place where we are, the ecosystem that gives us life and invites us to attend to what our presence looks like, what our footprint is in the everyday stuff of life.鈥�

鈥淥ne of the greatest teachers God gives us is the place where we are.鈥�

The intersection of those threads鈥攜our story, God鈥檚 story, the story of your place鈥攊s where transformative relationships happen, and it鈥檚 where we are most able to step into the sort of wise, creative, and hospitable service that our world so desperately needs.

鈥淲hen we hide behind doctrine or ideology or even an 鈥榠ssue,鈥� it allows us to become almost adversarial toward those who do not hold the same view. When you stay located in place, however, all of a sudden those issues are not issues. Those issues are actually people, people with names who you are encountering. It takes it out of abstraction and into relationship. That鈥檚 what we try to do here at 天美视频.鈥�

We鈥檒l be diving into this April 26-27 at the Inhabit Conference, two days of inspired teaching, energizing stories, and thought-provoking workshops.

The post Place as Teacher appeared first on 天美视频 of Theology & Psychology.

I鈥檝e never enjoyed gardening.

The thought of tending a plot of land is rife with childhood memories of aching knees and fingers, straining to feel the pull of the weed鈥檚 roots instead of the snap of the stem. As an adult, traveling in Poland, I signed up to stay at a purported organic farm, part of the WWOOF network (World Wide Opportunities on Organic Farms) where travelers exchange labor for room and board. Instead, I lodged at a rustic Airbnb with a few modest garden plots and painted bedrooms for four days straight. I stayed dry from the drizzling rain, sure, but I also stayed ignorant of how to garden. My hosts鈥� English was limited, and upon learning that I actually wanted to learn about plants, the patriarch of the home took me on a walking tour of the garden plots, politely pointing out various plants and saying their Polish names, all the while sipping on some home-brewed liquor, and then asked me, at the end, to repeat everything he had just said. Frustrated when I couldn鈥檛, he drove me to an agricultural museum on the outskirts of their village. While I enjoyed looking at rustic farm implements and dodging roaming turkeys, I still learned little about what to do, or how to feed myself from the earth. I left two days later, as my host鈥檚 drinking started earlier and earlier, and my reluctance to work any more reached its zenith. My desire to garden remained in Poland, dashed on the rusty implements of that agricultural museum.

But my thoughts about gardening have started to change as I鈥檓 learning there鈥檚 a lot more to it than growing food. Taking Triune God and Creation, a class on ecotheology from an ecofeminist perspective, in my last term at 天美视频, I鈥檝e been forced to confront my human-centric view of the world (anthropocentrism) and acknowledge the looming global catastrophes, warming oceans, shrinking glaciers, dying species, super storms, toxic pollution, humanitarian crises related to economic inequality, and the list goes on (all in my last term!). Ecofeminist thought stresses the contextual significance of each individual and the way that knowledge is informed principally by one鈥檚 experience, and scholars stress the interdependence of all life and the necessity of acting in right relationship with all of the natural world. Ecofeminists argue that exploitation of the land is inseparable from exploitation of people and that if there is going to be justice it needs to be for all. And I鈥檝e started to learn about these principles through one particular garden, the S.L.U.G.

St. Luke鈥檚 Urban Garden (S.L.U.G.) is adjacent to my residence鈥攖wo shotgun-style cottages on the property of in the Ballard neighborhood. The cottages have been my home for two years, and in that time I鈥檝e seen the comings and goings of local gardeners, some church parishioners, and other folks with a green thumb and a desire to grow their own food. I live on the property as a part of the Relatio program, a partnership between 天美视频 and St. Luke鈥檚. Produce from the SLUG is shared with the church鈥檚 meals ministry, Edible Hope, and the space is also a hangout spot for local residents and neighbors, both housed and unhoused. Along with the SLUG, St. Luke鈥檚 has an apiary on its roof and the largest rain garden in North Seattle, and lives out its ecumencial beliefs by renting space to The Bridge, a ministry of Quest Church, and the historic chapel to Pangea, a Brethren in Christ Church in the U.S.

Gardening sustains the community and brings people together in ways that are oriented to work and to social activities. It is both a concrete reality, supplying food, and a metaphor for a way of living that aims at a just, viable relationship with the earth and the surrounding community. Ecofeminist Sally McFague writes about metaphor as a bridge between knowing that is both symbolic and embodied. In this way, being a part of Relatio has helped me realize that the community I鈥檓 living in is living out the values and the ways of being that are needed to address the catastrophes at hand. Not only is the land and the earth respected, people are welcomed in and loved, regardless of their social status, gender, race, or sexual orientation. At St. Luke鈥檚 all bodies are considered good, and the way this is communicated is through the act of feeding, body and soul. As a part of my resident project I鈥檒l be hosting an art show featuring 天美视频 artists, an act that further feeds the soul.

鈥淎t St. Luke鈥檚 all bodies are considered good, and the way this is communicated is through the act of feeding, body and soul.鈥�

I鈥檓 still not at a place where I want to sink my hands in the dirt, plant seeds, wrestle with the hellish expanse of weeds. But I am more mindful, and grateful, for the opportunity to live in a community that is supportive of life, rejects hate, and actively works against oppression. Gardens are a space where life grows and where abundance can flourish in a way that acknowledges the interdependence of the biosphere on a local, personal level. This is a flourishing that isn鈥檛 at the expense of the other. And this flourishing is indeed more, an abundance that is personal, communal, and spiritual鈥攊n short, an embrace of the desire for more that is often directed to material aims. I think of the garden when I read the words of queer ecotheologian Whitney Bauman who writes, 鈥淲e ought not deny our desire for more, but channel those desires into using wealth to create a more ecologically viable and just world.鈥�¹

¹Bauman, Whitney A. 鈥淨ueer Values for a Queer Climate: Developing a Versatile Planetary Ethic.鈥� In Meaningful Flesh: Reflections on Religion and Nature for a Queer Planet, edited by Whitney A. Bauman, 103-123. Earth, Milky Way: Punctum Books, 2018.

We are currently accepting applications for Relatio.听If you are interested in moving in at any point in the 2019-20 Academic Year, contact program director Kate Davis, kdavis@theseattleschool.edu.

The post The Ambivalent Gardener: Eco-theology, Community, and Flourishing in the Relatio Project appeared first on 天美视频 of Theology & Psychology.

To that end, later this month five students will travel to Kenya for the fourth annual Engaging Global Partnerships class with Dr. Ron Ruthruff, Associate Professor of Theology & Culture, and Cheryl Goodwin, Director of Institutional Assessment & Library Services. The vision for this class grew out of Ron鈥檚 involvement with the Center for Transforming Mission and , an international network of leaders who facilitate grassroots education and training in the particular context of local communities. In his work around the world, Ron always dreamed about being able to invite students in the United States to come meet the 鈥渆ntrepreneurial theologians鈥� he was meeting and partnering with. Now, as a faculty member at 天美视频 and a Senior Fellow with Street Psalms, Ron鈥檚 continued relationships with pastors, theologians, activists, and social entrepreneurs around the world have helped him develop courses that are far more global and far more of a lived experience than what is typically offered in higher education, which often trends toward self-contained intellectualism rather than practical, engaged learning.

In the Engaging Global Partnerships class, students are invited to let their assumptions, beliefs, and practices be challenged and clarified by the stories of a place and the people who serve it. Beginning in 2016, Ron has traveled with students to learn from his friends in Guatemala. This is the first year that the class will be traveling to Kenya. In the months leading up to the class, the students have been wrestling with readings and discussions to help deepen and contextualize their time together. 鈥淲e鈥檙e taking a deep look at the history of colonialism and religion, and the relationship between a place and the people who inhabit it鈥攅specially in places of wounding,鈥� says Dr. Ruthruff. 鈥淗ow can we enter those wounds in a way that is honoring to others鈥� stories and also helps us reimagine our shared future?鈥�

鈥淲e鈥檙e taking a deep look at the history of colonialism and religion, and the relationship between a place and the people who inhabit it鈥攅specially in places of wounding.鈥�

By asking these questions and witnessing the 鈥渉eart, hurt, and hope鈥� of a particular place, students are challenged to reconsider categories including partnership, service, culture, incarnation, and mission鈥攁n essential part of discerning what their own calling might look like in their local context. As he guides students in that process, Ron is inspired by David Bosch鈥檚 work in and Martin K盲hler鈥檚 assertion that 鈥渕ission is the mother of theology.鈥� It鈥檚 not the other way around, says Ron: 鈥淭heology emerges as we listen to others.鈥�

Of course, if you hear about a group of American students traveling internationally and talking about mission, you might already have certain assumptions or images in mind. That鈥檚 why Ron is quick to clarify that, 鈥淭his isn鈥檛 a mission trip, it鈥檚 a vision trip. There won鈥檛 be any air-conditioned buses, and we won鈥檛 be digging a hole in a community that some youth group has to come fill in three months later. This isn鈥檛 about us bringing our program overseas or placing our visions on others. I hope it鈥檚 about learning to listen well, engage with our shared history, and dream together about a vision for something new.鈥�

Photo by Jesse Smith of .

The post Engaging Global Partnerships in Kenya appeared first on 天美视频 of Theology & Psychology.

During this season of Lent, as we follow the story of Jesus in the wilderness, we鈥檝e been exploring the call to affirm humanity in ourselves and each other鈥攅ven in all of our hunger and wounding and brokenness. And we believe that affirming the dignity in humanity is, ultimately, an invitation to service; it鈥檚 a call to direct our lives and our work toward worshipping God through the healing and empowerment of individuals and communities, and through the dismantling of systems that seek to deny humanity in some.

That is the arc of pilgrimage: to journey into the wilderness, to be transformed, and to return to service. It鈥檚 also at the heart of our mission at 天美视频. Through transforming relationship and the competent study of text, soul, and culture, we train people to serve God and neighbor in the unique context of their identity and calling.

鈥淭hat is the arc of pilgrimage: to journey into the wilderness, to be transformed, and to return to service. It鈥檚 also at the heart of our mission at 天美视频.鈥�

These two movements鈥攊nward change and outward service鈥攁re inseparable. Our own transformation will be stifled if it is not directed toward service, just like our work in the world will burn out or fall flat if it is not grounded in the journey of transformation. So as we move through Lent and into the rest of April, we鈥檒l continue wrestling with the themes of pilgrimage and wilderness, turning the conversation more specifically to service and the call to serve God and neighbor.

We鈥檒l hear from alumni, faculty, staff, and students about their work in the world, and about how their ability to love God is inextricably tied up with their willingness to love others. We also hope to explore the deep need for imagination in how we approach calling and service. Because鈥攏o surprises here鈥攖he world is changing, and the problems we face today are not the same as they were before; our service should not look the same, either.

May the change and healing that we have found propel us to the change and healing of our world. May we continue to enter places of both deep brokenness and deep beauty. May we never stop innovating, dreaming, and scheming. And may the Spirit be with us as we commit to hard conversations and dare to confront the wicked problems that deface the image of God in humanity.

The post Serving God and Neighbor appeared first on 天美视频 of Theology & Psychology.

It鈥檚 worth remembering, though, that therapists are not the only ones who help foster healing in others by pursuing dynamic, life-giving relationships. Most pastors and chaplains could tell you that, for them, the categories of active listening, attunement, and transformative relationships make up a more-than-full-time job. It is the ministry of presence鈥攁 deep calling to walk with congregants, clients, and neighbors as they wrestle with the risk of connection and live more fully into their own relational identities. Our alumni practicing in their local contexts are a reminder of the vital importance of connection in ministry and the helping professions, and their work and stories are a constant inspiration to us.

(And just in case you hear 鈥渞elationship鈥� and think first and foremost about the particular relationship of marriage, here鈥檚 Emily McBroom鈥檚 [MDiv, 鈥�17] crucial, incisive presentation on )

鈥淢ost pastors and chaplains could tell you that, for them, the categories of active listening, attunement, and transformative relationships make up a more-than-full-time job.鈥�

In Martha Wood鈥檚 (Master of Divinity, 鈥�15) Integrative Project, we鈥檙e reminded that our earliest relationships shape how we develop our identity and style of relating鈥攊ncluding how we relate to God. If our childhood attachments are marked by experiences of abandonment or misattunement, our conceptions of God may feel very much the same. Martha argues, then, that in the work of Spiritual Direction, helping others foster a deeper connection to the divine is intimately connected to the need for healing in their human connections.

As they pursue relational healing that fosters divine connection, spiritual directors, chaplains, and pastors walk with others as they come face-to-face with their experiences of trauma. For her Integrative Project, Jessica Dexter (MA in Theology & Culture, 鈥�18) explored Jessica, who now works as an Associate Chaplain with the Mental Health Chaplaincy, argues that our biggest questions about God should not be written away with easy answers that deny the gravity of trauma. Instead, by wrestling in the midst of community with the pain of trauma and its very real, ongoing effects, we may begin to arrive at a new understanding of the divine.

In this work, it is crucial that ministers and leaders鈥攏ot just therapists鈥攔emember that spiritual health cannot be separated from physical and mental health. To forget that may amount to a form of spiritual neglect, argues Molly Erickson (MATC, 鈥�17) in her powerful Integrative Project about Molly鈥檚 thesis is that 鈥淪ome of the ways the Church responds to people with anxiety and depression can be classified as a form of spiritual abuse or neglect,鈥� ultimately exacerbating symptoms, furthering alienation, and damaging the connection to God. Pastors and leaders who hope to build healthy, generative community, then, must be willing to acknowledge and support the challenges and needs related to mental health. And this requires鈥攁s we鈥檝e said before and we鈥檒l say again and again鈥攐ffering a space in which the work of healing can unfold through the context of relationships.

While time spent in class is a crucial part of learning to offer that space, we know that transformative learning must also occur outside of the classroom, through embodied, day-to-day work with others. Just as the work of healing is intimately connected to human connection, so is the work of learning; it is through relationship that theory becomes practice. That鈥檚 why all of our students being trained for pastoral care, chaplaincy, and ministry leadership are required to participate in immersive field experience outside of our building.

In this video, Dr. Ron Ruthruff shares his dream that our city and world might be a laboratory of learning for students, a place where they are invited and trained to ask beautiful questions about themselves, their communities, and the Church. 鈥淧ractically speaking, that happens by getting students out of the classroom,鈥� says Ron. 鈥淭hat鈥檚 my dream: that we鈥檙e in the world, and that we鈥檙e in real places doing real work.鈥�

The post The Ministry of Presence appeared first on 天美视频 of Theology & Psychology.