The Dance of Faith: Spiritual Formation as Interactive Dance with Jesus and How the Examen Creates Self-Awareness in Leadership.

Abstract

The motivation behind all of my ministry has been to walk alongside people and help them know the God in Jesus that I have come to know and to whom I grow closer. As my life has drawn me toward leadership roles my interest became more focused on the formation of leadership, particularly those in churches. The strain of leadership, and expectations on leaders in parishes, led me to search for ways to encourage healthy emotional and spiritual formation for these leaders. My model for spiritual formation describes formation using the metaphor of dance. This model allows for the ebb and flow of our spiritual formation and led me to utilizing the Prayer of Examen as a way of helping leaders become aware of that ebb and flow in their lives. Participants used the Examen for 7 weeks, reflecting on the experience in a journal. Participants became much more aware of the presence of God throughout their day. They also became more aware of their interactions with both God and others the longer they practiced the Examen. The main contribution this work has made to my own ministry is to highlight the importance for leaders of self-examination in the presence of God.