Almost Done With Classes

Tomorrow is the last day of the DMIN classwork for the second residency. My first year project has been accepted. My second year project and final thesis have been approved and I have been officially accepted as a DMIN candidate. Tomorrow noon (Friday), I begin the drive home. I can't wait to see you Judy, Janelle, and Jessica!

The title for my second year project is "Spiritual Exercises for Life and Blessing" (Blessed to Be a Blessing - A Way of Discipleship). What are the things that rob God’s blessing and life from people in the New Holland context? What opportunities exist in New Holland to give life and blessing? How did Jesus receive the blessing of the Father? How did Jesus bless and give life in his context? How might our church and community be transformed if we received and shared the extravagant blessing of God?

These spiritual exercises will invite people to come to God to receive God’s blessing and to go forth sharing God’s blessing with others. Through prayerful listening and dwelling in the Word, participants will be led into mutual dialogue with God and the riches of God’s spiritual blessings. When blessed by God, one cannot help but bless others. Blessing others overflows from a grateful heart experiencing the joyful blessing of God.

During the next year, I will develop an outline of the spiritual exercises and their purpose and target group. I will test one or more sample exercises in a pilot group. For the final thesis, I plan to complete the spiritual exercises, implement them in a test group and record their impact on participants. The goal is to bring spiritual renewal to our church and community by developing disciples who are experiencing God’s blessing and who are actively blessing others.