SYLLABUS: 2023-2025

DESCRIPTION:

The Way is a three-year journey of spiritual growth and formation as we seek to more faithfully follow the way of Jesus together. Together we will explore various topics that will develop greater emotional health and spiritual maturity, drawing us closer to Jesus. We will also incorporate various spiritual practices that become regular rhythms in our life, forming us into the image of Christ. If you desire greater faith in Jesus, deeper intimacy with Jesus, and to more faithfully follow the way of Jesus, then consider joining us on The Way.

OBJECTIVE:

The destination is deeper intimacy with Jesus. The way is faithful obedience to the words and the way of Jesus. The journey will lead us to grow in loving God, with our whole heart, mind, and soul, and in loving one another, our neighbor, and our enemy.

ENVIRONMENT:

We will meet as a large group every other month (odd numbered months) over the course of three years to discuss a specifc area of growth that we will have read and reflected on over the past two months. We will also introduce a new spiritual discipline during each large group session that will be incorporated over the next two months. We will be able to share our growth and our challenges with each other at the next large group session in hopes of learning from each other as we grow together.

Each participant will also meet as part of a formation group with 2-3 other participants every other month (even numbered months) following an established liturgy to discuss how the readings and reflections have impacted you, how you are growing, what has been challenging for you, and how you hope to continue growing as we seek to help each other more faithfully follow the way of Jesus.

COMMITMENT:

PRIORITIZE

• You will get out of The Way what you put into it. The more you prioritize your spiritual growth and formation, the more you will pursue it, and the more natural your pursuit will become.

• This is a 3-year commitment to participate in large group sessions once every other month (18 sessions) and in formation groups in-between each large group session (18 sessions).

• Each participant has 1 excused absence each year (excluding illness or emergency). This applies to both the large group and formation groups.

• If a significant portion of the group has a conflict, efforts will be made to try and reschedule the session.

• Arrive on time. If you will be late to a group session, communicate to the group that you will be late and with an estimated arrival time.

PREPARE

• Come to each large group and formation group prepared to discuss.

• Complete the reading at least one week prior to the large group session so that at a minimum the last week can be spent reflecting and journaling. You can expect up to 200 pages of reading for each session (over a 2-month period).

• Journal consistently throughout the two month period, revisiting reflection questions multiple times.

• Read ACTIVELY: underline, highlight, dog tag, and write in the margins of your books and journal as you read.

PARTICIPATE

• Take an active part in the large group and table discussion at each session. Our sharing will be increasingly personal and vulnerable.

• As a result, our conversations should be treated with the proper confidentiality, keeping what is shared in group only amongst group members and during group sessions (ie, no discussing another’s personal disclosures with other group members outside of sessions without that member present).

• We are not only participating by sharing, but also by actively listening to one another.

PRACTICE

• Incorporate the new spiritual practice over the two-month period in addition to the prior practices we have established.

• Every participant is asked to make weekly worship a priority, to actively participate in community with other followers of Jesus (such as in a small group at Redemption), and to actively serve on a missional team at Redemption.

SCHEDULE:

YEAR 1: 2023

• SESSION 1: Embarking on the Journey Together (Wednesday, January 18, 2023)

• SESSION 2: Being With God (Wednesday, March, 22, 2023)

• SESSION 3: Incorporating Spiritual Practices (Wednesday, May 17, 2023)

• SESSION 4: Following the Crucified Jesus (July 2023)

• SESSION 5: Embracing God’s Gifts of Limits (September 2023)

• SESSION 6: Loving One Another (November 2023)

YEAR 2: 2024

• SESSION 7: Anticipating What’s To Come (January 2024)

• SESSION 8: Identifying the False Self (March 2024)

• SESSION 9: Breaking the Power of the Past (May 2024)

• SESSION 11: Putting on Our New Nature (September 2024)

• SESSION 12: Learning to Lament (November 2024)

YEAR 3: 2025

• SESSION 13: Remaining a Calm Presence in an Anxious World (January 2025)

• SESSION 14: Living Out of Weakness and Vulnerability (March 2025)

• SESSION 15: Balancing Work and Rest (May 2025)

• SESSION 10: Seeking God’s Presence in Silence and Solitude (July 2025) - University of St Mary of the Lake, Mundelein, IL

• SESSION 16: Appreciating Beauty in God’s Creation (September 2025)

• SESSION 17: Pursuing Justice in an Unjust World (November 2025)

• SESSION 18: Creating a Rule of Life (January 2026)

SESSION GUIDES:

PUBLISHED: Thursday, November 17th, 2022, at 11:11 AM

UPDATED: Wednesday, January 17th, 2023, at 11:00AM CT (updated year 2 and 3 schedule)