Copyright © 2009 Transform Work UK. All rights reserved. Christian Spirituality Sue Howard and David Wetton Spirituality Consultants : Holistic Leadership November 14, 2009

2 Copyright © 2009 Transform Work UK. All rights reserved. Christian Spirituality – what are the issues?  Transform work is initiating a debate on the subject of Christian Spirituality as applied within workplace settings.  What are your questions?  Your issues?  Your thoughts and experiences?

3 Copyright © 2009 Transform Work UK. All rights reserved. ‘Spirituality is not religion; it is not about beliefs, creeds or dogmas. It is about being fully alive, relationships and that which gives meaning and purpose to life.’ (Lamont, G., 2002, The Spirited Business, Hodder & Stoughton, London, p.2) What is spirituality?

4 Copyright © 2009 Transform Work UK. All rights reserved.  All-inclusive, non-hierarchical, democratic ‘desire for spirituality beyond religion’ (King, U., 2009, The Search for Spirituality, p.16-17)  Spirituality is difficult to define without making it too superficial or narrowly focused. (Smith, J., 2009, Spirituality in the Workplace: Defining the Territory)  Spirituality in the workplace is about people seeing their work as a spiritual path, as an opportunity to grow personally and to contribute to society in a meaningful way. (Neal, J., 1997, Journal of Management Education, Vol 21: 1, p.122) Spirituality – some definitions… In every human being there is a desire to be in relation with God, even in those who overtly deny the existence of God. “Spirituality refers to the ongoing realization or actualization of the human capacity to move beyond the self in knowledge, freedom and love in and through relationship with others and with God.” Downey, M., 1997, Understanding Christian Spirituality, Paulist Press, New Jersey p.35

5 Copyright © 2009 Transform Work UK. All rights reserved. Christian Spirituality – some examples of definitions  “Christian Spirituality concerns the quest for a fulfilled and authentic Christian existence, involving the bringing together of the fundamental ideas of Christianity and the whole experience of living on the basis of and within the scope of the Christian faith.” (McGrath, A., 1999, Christian Spirituality, Blackwell, Oxford, p.2))  “As a lived experience, Christian Spirituality is a way of living for God in Christ through the presence and power of the Holy Spirit.” (Downey, M., 1997, Understanding Christian Spirituality, Paulist Press, New Jersey, p.43) The distinction between Christian doctrine and spirituality: Knowing God, not just knowing about God; Experiencing God to the full; Transformation of existence on the basis of Christian faith; Attaining Christian authenticity in life and thought

6 Copyright © 2009 Transform Work UK. All rights reserved. Christian Spirituality – Meeting God through creation

7 Copyright © 2009 Transform Work UK. All rights reserved. A Christian view of ‘Spirituality’  “Human beings are spirit in the world.” (Rahner, K., quoted in Downey, Ibid, p.33)  All human beings are spiritual in that they have the capacity to know and be known, to love and be loved, to be free and to enable others to be free.  All human life, activity and events are capable of disclosing the presence and action of God, that is God’s grace.  Spirituality is rooted in everyday life, the ordinary, the hum-drum and the familiar.  Transformation that God’s life brings perfects human nature which, though tainted by sin, is still essentially good because created in the image of God.

8 Copyright © 2009 Transform Work UK. All rights reserved. Why do we check in our Christian Spirituality? “First and foremost, people want to bring their whole selves to work, the complete package so to speak.” (Mitroff, I., Organisation, Vol 10 (2), p ) For Henri Nouwen, openness to others expresses the heart of Christian hospitality. We can be ‘fellow explorers’ - interested in relationships, open to the possibility of learning from one another, whilst being a real articulate presence – sharing our own beliefs and way of life. (Adapted from Runcorn, D., 2006, Spirituality Workbook, p.193)

9 Copyright © 2009 Transform Work UK. All rights reserved.  Spirituality is concerned with our participation in relationships with others in community and in wider social spheres  “The call of the Spirit of Christ is to be discerned wherever and whenever human beings are striving to promote authentic growth in knowledge, in freedom, and in loving relationships with others.” (Downey, Ibid, p.31) Spirituality and Relationships Christians must be willing to be in a relationship of mutuality and dialogue with all those who are sincerely seeking to advance the truly human. Downey, Ibid, p.31

10 Copyright © 2009 Transform Work UK. All rights reserved. Jesus and Deep Listening  'With the gift of listening comes the gift of healing, because listening to your sister until she has said the last word in her heart is healing and consoling. It is possible to listen a person's soul into existence'.  Jesus demonstrates this kind of 'deep listening’ in the story of the Samaritan woman at the well in John 4 (Doherty, C., 2000, Poustinia, Madonna House Publications, Combermere)

11 Copyright © 2009 Transform Work UK. All rights reserved. Listening to, with and for others- and being heard!  God’s salvation can never be understood in wholly individual terms. It is about reconciliation between human beings in the formation of a new community.  Relationships are the starting point for God’s work  ‘Shalom’ – the presence of right relationships, not simply the absence of conflict  The greatest contribution to a change process is to create space to reflect, share and trust

12 Copyright © 2009 Transform Work UK. All rights reserved. Spiritual Mentoring  Christian life is an adventure, an exciting journey with God.  We live in a God filled world and our job is to awaken to his presence.  Spiritual mentoring is about ‘holy listening’ - not to create, but notice, not to invent, but discern (Above adapted from: Horsfall, T., (2008), Mentoring for Spiritual Growth, p.24-25) We all need other people to come alongside us and help us make progress spiritually. Just like the Ethiopian was helped by Philip (Acts 8:29-31)

13 Copyright © 2009 Transform Work UK. All rights reserved. Spirit-Led Companions : Holistic Leadership Thank you for listening and taking part We offer spiritual mentoring for business leaders