Companions In Christ

Companions in Christ is designed to develop you as a leader in guiding the spiritual life of your congregation. This resource gives you an overview of the Christian spiritual life and the practices that help people enter into the formative pattern of Christ's life: a life of prayer, study and service. Help your small-group members move from information (knowledge about) to experience (knowledge of) in the means of grace--ways in which Christ meets people, renews their faith, and deepens their life together in love. This revised Leader's Guide provides detailed guidance for leading a small group through the 28 weekly sessions. The plans have been tested and refined by groups in churches across the country. This books contains all you need, including --the Getting Started Guide, which was formerly a separate piece --a revised plan for a Closing Retreat --Weekly Needs at a Glance --page references for both the comprehensive 1-volume Participant's Book and the new 5-volume series

Are you bogged down in your spiritual journey? Does church seem to hinder more than it helps? Here is a welcoming and realistic guide for all who may be feeling spiritually jaded. Whatever your circumstances, Companions of Christ will show you how to embark on a journey of the heart, starting wherever you happen to be and no matter how unfit for the journey you may feel. In Companions of Christ popular British writer Margaret Silf unearths the gold mine of spiritual wisdom to be found in the legacy of Ignatius Loyola, founder of the Jesuits. Ignatian spirituality sets out an engagingly down-to-earth vision of connecting with God in everyday life. Neither a recipe for a privatized spiritual life nor an agenda imposed by someone else, the Ignatian vision is centered on companionship, which means literally to "share bread" with another. It latches onto God's presence in stories, in other people, in the created universe, and even in God's apparent absence. Perfect for those whose faith in God or patience with the church is flagging, Companions of Christ contains very practical teaching on great Ignatian themes -- imaginative scriptural meditation, spiritual discernment, and honest prayer. Incorporating helpful spiritual exercises throughout, Silf shows both tentative and seasoned believers how to keep faith despite the odds.

Over 28-weeks, the Companions in Christ Participant's Book moves through five areas: -- Embracing the Journey -- an exploration of spiritual formation as a journey toward wholeness and holiness; -- Feeding on the Word -- several ways of meditating on and praying with scripture; -- Deepening our Prayer -- an experience of various classic forms and styles of prayer; -- Responding to Our Call -- a presentation of gifts and call; -- Exploring Spiritual Guidance -- different ways of giving an receiving spiritual guidance. Well-known writers for Upper Room Ministries introduce weekly themes. Gerrit Scott Dawson, Adele Gonzalez, E. Glenn Hinson, Rueben Job, Marjorie Thompson, and Wendy Wright combine personal, firsthand accounts with wisdom from the Christian tradition to provide focus and background for the weekly exercises. Following each reading are five daily exercises that help participants reflect on the theme more deeply and prepare for the group meeting. These exercises involve some combination of scripture reading, spiritual practice, and reflection questions. Responses are recorded in a journal each day and reviewed during the opening portion of the weekly gathering.

There is an increasing sense of uncertainty in the world. The Way of Discernment offers participants a way to discover God's will in their lives both as individuals and as a community of God. Whether experienced as a simple desire to follow God's way, a deep longing, or a satisfaction when we find a fulfilling path, discernment beckons believers. This 10-week study focuses on the ancient spiritual discipline of discernment for the individual, congregations, or larger bodies of the church. It follows the familiar Companions in Christ format of a weekly reading, daily exercises, and a weekly 2-hour small-group meeting. More of a journey in discernment than a how-to guide, this study for groups gently leads to the prayerful path of a richer, wiser life both for individuals and the larger church. Also available is a Leader's Guide with clear suggestions for the structure of meetings, leadership suggestions, and specific entering and guided prayers.

This Companion offers an integrated introduction to the study of Jesus.

Have you ever felt emotionally wrung out from an ongoing trial? Though suffering often leaves us feeling isolated, God invites us into the community of the Trinity and offers us many companions in Scripture. Journey in these pages with Wendy Alsup through her story of suffering, and more importantly, with the God who walks with us in the wilderness.

Embracing the Journey: The Way of Christ focuses on an exploration of spiritual formation as an individual and corporate journey toward wholeness and holiness through the grace of God. This book is the first segment of a five-volume study of the original 28-week Companions in Christ resource. The five-piece participant series is designed for groups who will take breaks between the other four volumes: --Feeding on the Word (scripture) --Deepening Our Prayer (prayer) --Responding to Our Call (vocation) --Exploring Spiritual Guidance (spiritual companionship)

A haunting, prophetic collection of writings by the six Jesuit priests of the Central American University massacred by Salvadoran soldiers in November, 1989. In a moving memoir Jon Sobrino recalls years of work with each of the priests and celebrates the ideals they embodied.

Based on interviews with youth and youth ministers, this book allows young people to articulate their struggles, beliefs and fears and helps older people to better understand their spiritual needs. It provides useful ideas on how to companion youth in a variety of settings.

It's said that prayer is so primal an urge for humankind that we're born into the world praying. Yet, something so natural and seemingly so easy comes hard sometimes. The Way of Prayer is a 10-week small-group study about the nature, practice, and results of prayer. "All prayer, formal or informal, is about our relationship with God," the authors write. "Somewhere deep inside us resides the experience of being so deeply connected to God that we long to express the wonder of that relationship. We pray because we can.and must." Honor the ways you were taught to pray while expanding your understanding to include new ways to pray. Topics covered include: How Do You Pray? Images of God Praying by Heart Praying with Music Praying by Gaze Praying with Our Bodies Scriptural Prayer Contemplative Prayer Praying with and for Others Prayer and Social Transformation