Our spirituality is who we are, and our spiritual journey is as long as the days of our lives.
At the end of our lives, each of us will have spent it on something; something will have consumed us.
As christians, we hope to be consumed by christ, or, as the apostle paul states, “to live our lives for christ, who loved us and gave himself for us.”
This is a sacred quest in response to god’s continuing grace.
Consumed is a 3-year journey geared toward providing you with the foundation and tools for a spirituality of knowing god, learning and living jesus, and leading others into just such a quest.
What you can expect
- Weekly reading assignments.
- Weekly Zoom meetings with your cohort and a facilitator.
- Access to a forum where you can interact with your cohort anytime.
- Two in-person retreats a year with your cohort and a teacher (located at Queen’s Housein Saskatoon, Saskatchewan).
- A certificate upon completion of the program.
The courses
Term 1: Spirituality and Scripture
Scripture is not simply a history book to be studied, nor for that matter a book simply about theology. It is a book about people sought by God and their response; it is a book about spirituality. In this first course, students are encouraged to approach scripture through this lens, while maintaining the importance of proper interpretation. Core outcomes include learning to apprehend God in scripture and to read scripture for formation (not just information).
Term 2: Spiritual theology
Our doctrines formulated from Scripture are truths to live by – transformative truths which call believers to live faithfully in response. Theology is the attention we give to understanding God as revealed in scripture; the term ‘spiritual’ refers to the living out of what we have come to understand about God. This course looks at the practical side of Christian doctrine, which involves not only a proper understanding of God but also conversion in our day to day lives.
Term 3: the disciplined life
Having laid a foundation of scriptural spirituality and spiritual theology, this course looks at the varied ways we can respond to the grace of God which aid in our ongoing transformation. This includes working through the spiritual disciplines as well as taking a look at our varied personalities and therefore unique ways people may draw closer to God.
Term 4: learning and living jesus
Jesus lived a holy and virtuous life before Father God in the flesh. We know Jesus is God, but sometimes we forget he was also fully human. In his humanness he lived virtuously. In this course we will go deeper in looking at our unique personalities, including the virtues and vices we face. Each student will then articulate a plan (rule of life) for themselves which will aid them in cultivating a virtuous life.
Term 5: spiritual formation and ministry
Our spiritual formation, by nature, overflows in our interactions with others. Each follower of Jesus is also one who ministers unto others as we enter into relationship. This course will deepen the students’ understanding of the solicitude of God and how this serves as a foundation for our own ministry. Secondly, we will revisit the spiritual disciplines with a ministry focus.
Term 6: spiritual leadership
This final course will focus on securing a biblical understanding of leadership which is: reliant on the Spirit, has shepherding as a motif, and takes into account the biblical themes of shema, sabbath, and shalom. These elements will be discussed in relation to Jesus as savior, with the understanding that spiritual leadership ought to foster Jesus’ continued ministry.
The teacher
Richard Hovey
Richard has over 25 years of ministry experience, currently serving as a pastor for Leonardville and Lords Cove Churches of Christ on Deer Island (New Brunswick). Richard also serves as adjunct faculty at Briercrest Seminary where he teaches spiritual formation for ministry. His desire is to see people transformed as they encounter the wonder of the love of God. Educationally Richard holds a BA in Sociology (Crandall University), MA in Pastoral Counselling and MA in Theology (Briercrest Seminary), and a DMin in Leadership and Spiritual Formation (George Fox University).
Richard will be teaching terms 1 and 2 retreat weekends.