pat loughery

In writing my next-to-last paper for my doctorate in ministry, I’m revisiting some of my favorite books on the spiritual rhythms that root us for lives well-lived. One of my favorites is this:

“The Way of the Heart: Desert Spirituality and Contemporary Ministry” (Henri J. M. Nouwen)

In it, Nouwen writes that our contemporary culture has lost much of the creative power of words. Our words are often not tied directly too our actions, partly due to the overwhelming use of words in advertising to clutter our lives.

What else is the goal of theological education than to bring us closer to the Lord our God so that we may be more faithful to the great commandment to love him with all our heart, with all our soul, and with all our mind, and our neighbor as ourselves (Matthew 22:37)? Seminaries and divinity schools must lead theology students into an ever-growing communion with God, with each other, and with their fellow human beings. Theological education is meant to form our whole person toward an increasing conformity with the mind of Christ so that our way of praying and our way of believing will be one.

But is this what takes place? Often it seems that we who study or teach theology find ourselves entangled in such a complex network of discussions, debates, and arguments about God and “God-issues” that a simple conversation with God or a simple presence to God has become practically impossible…

There was a time when the obvious milieu for theological education was the monastery. There words were born out of silence and could lead one deeper into silenced. Although monasteries are no longer the most common places of theological education, silence remains as indispensable today as it was in the past. The Word of God is born out of the eternal silence of God, and it is to this Word out of silence that we want to be witnesses.

– Nouwen, p. 47-48

My current paper, and the following dissertation, are focused on this challenge: How can we faithfully be formed in a fast-moving culture which emphasizes busyness and productivity? How can we create patterns and rhythms of being that allow for solitude, quiet, reflection and response to the voice of God?

I hope that the future holds some teaching opportunities for me. I want to keep Nouwen’s challenge in mind, between now and then, for my own sanity and for those I interact with.