Appendix 4

Appendix 4 Using the Spiritual Disciplines Handbook with Small Groups The Handbook provides a user-friendly way of helping a group of two or more people attend to their spiritual journey. The study can be led by one facilitator, or leadership can rotate from meeting to meeting. Decide which way you will proceed. Take your time with each discipline. Pay attention to God-given desires and desperations. The desire that fuels the discipline is always listed first. The “Reflection Questions” section is designed to bring up authentic dialogue with God in prayer. The “Spiritual Exercises” section offers a variety of ways of entering into the discipline. The disciplines offer you a way of making space in your overwhelmed and preoccupied life for God to show up and master you. Let your practice be a humble invitation for God to make his home in your daily life. Loving God through spiritual practices will never make you glow in the dark, but over time they will root you in the deep, rich soil of God who loves you. “MAKING SPACE IN YOUR LIFE FOR GOD”: A SMALL GROUP STUDY Meeting 1 Invite each participant to share why they feel drawn to “making space in their lives for God.” Consider asking: Are you stuck or frustrated in your spiritual journey? If so, how? What desires are stirring in your soul? What would you like to receive from God through this study? Assignment: Read the introduction. Use the “Spiritual Growth Planner” appendix if it is helpful to you. Meeting 2 Begin with a few minutes of silence followed by a slow reading of Matthew 11:28-30. Invite each person to share their response to this Scripture. Ask each person to form a one-sentence prayer of desire in response to this Scripture. Pray your response. Discuss the introduction. What stood out for you? Share which letter of the acronym worship most captured the place of desire. Which desires are shared by the group? Decide on the worship category you want to focus on as a group. (You may also want to explore a particular discipline on your own.) Read the brief introduction to this category. Scan the practices, relationships and experiences offered in your disciplines category. You can begin with the first discipline or choose a discipline the group prefers. Look at the reflection questions and spiritual exercises for your discipline. Decide if you will answer all the reflections questions for next week’s meeting. (Leaders can also make the call on this.) Some reflection questions take more time than others. It may be appropriate to answer only one or two questions. The point is to reflect, not just get answers on paper. Choose one or two spiritual exercises for the week. Assignment: Answer the reflection questions. Practice one or two of the spiritual exercises for the week. Meeting 3 and Later Begin each meeting with a few minutes of silence and a short reading from Scripture (see the “Devotional Reading” discipline for ideas about this). The leader can choose the passage, or a different person can take responsibility for this each week. Check in with one another. You might ask, “Where did God show up for you this week?” Share your answers to one or two of the reflection questions. Pray together in pairs or as a small group over what you noticed about yourself this past week. Share your experiences around the spiritual exercises. What temptations or circumstances derailed you from your practice? What happened for you in your exercises? Some weeks it will feel like nothing happened. That is not unusual. Heartfelt desires can lead us into places of tension and waiting. When God trusts you with his silence don’t give up on him. He hasn’t given up on you. Decide if you will move to other exercises or continue the same exercise until you meet again. (If an individual feels called to practice an additional exercise on their own, that should not be discouraged.) When the group is ready, move on to another discipline listed in your category. There is no need to do every discipline in one category before you move to another category. You might wish to do two disciplines for each letter of the acronym worship. Then consider whether you want to begin again. Remember, the goal of the disciplines is not to master them all. The disciplines are ways we love and surrender to God. Through our partnership with the Holy Spirit in these disciplines, God masters us and leads us deeper into his own heart of love.