Grace Leads to Joy: Spiritual Formation and the Examen

Abstract

The purpose of this portfolio was to study how best to lead church congregants in Christian spiritual discernment toward spiritual formation. This portfolio begins with the author’s spiritual autobiography and with that knowledge the model of spiritual formation was developed. The spiritual model can be pictured using an image of a wheel where Christ is placed at the hub (the center) of one’s life and is connected to all the spokes (or parts) of one’s life. The model works to encourage people to move Christ closer to the center of their lives, where they can live and have their being in their “true selves,” as God’s will intends. Using this model of spiritual formation, a field research project was developed to help spiritually form the spiritual leaders of the Oakridge Presbyterian Church congregation towards a greater unity in Christ. Using the Examen as a spiritual practice helped guide participants to focus and be intentional about noticing God’s presence in all things and therefore helping to keep Christ as the centre of their life. The field research component helped determine how the congregation’s spiritual leaders had deepened their awareness of the presence of God in daily life.