Taught by God : Teaching and Spiritual Formation

by Yust, Karen-Marie

• ISBN13: 9780827236493
• ISBN10: 0827236492
• Format: Paperback
• Copyright: 2006-08-01
• Publisher: Ingram Pub Services

Summary

The history of the Christian spiritual life suggests that those who truly teach the spiritual life have been themselves "taught by God." The phrase "taught by God" occurs in Christian writings across several centuries. This book draws on the teachers and teaching models that animate Christian history, bringing it into conversation with the issues and concerns of contemporary teachers and learners who seek to follow Christ. The authors contend that the various strands of the Christian spiritual and mystical tradition provide continuing guidance for Christian teachers in the cultivation of their own spiritual lives and the lives of their students. They order this book around four aspects of Christian educational ministries: the identity of the teacher, contexts in which we teach, models for teaching, and evaluation of teaching. Readers are invited to look at the world of teaching through multiple sides of a prism, refracting differently with each effort, drawing the eye toward a variety of subtle nuance, and inviting varied interpretations of the subject we see. Each chapter focuses on particular spiritual teachers (Francis de Sales, Catherine of Siena, Søren Kierkegaard), practices (monastic rules, spiritual direction, examination of conscience), and images (pilgrimage, imitation, apprenticeship) as exemplars of or frameworks for teaching and spiritual formation in the church today.

Table of Contents

Introduction: Something Old, Something New	1	(8)
PART I: Identity of the Teacher
The Spiritual Leader as Christian Teacher	9	(10)
Teaching from a Life of Prayer	19	(11)
Life Together as Teacher and Learner	30	(13)
PART II: Contexts of Teaching
The Contemporary Search for Spirituality	43	(13)
Modes of Teaching the Spiritual Life	56	(21)
PART III: Models for Teaching
Images of the Christian Spiritual Life	77	(18)
The Rule as Teacher	95	(16)
The Way of Return as Discipleship Method	111	(14)
The Cultivation of Spiritual Knowledge and Wisdom	125	(16)
PART IV: Evaluation of Teaching
Examination of Conscience as Evaluative Practice	141	(11)
Overcoming Obstacles to Teaching Well	152	(11)
Postscript: Something New, Something Old	163	(3)
Notes	166	(15)
Index	181