The Art of Holiness

Today we're talking to Dr. Susan Muto, who has spent more than five decades helping people slow down and pay attention to their inner life. Dr. Muto serves as Dean and Executive Director of the Epiphany Academy of Formative Spirituality and the Epiphany Association. She holds a PhD in English literature from the University of Pittsburgh, where she specialized in post-Reformation spiritual writers. Her work has earned her a doctor of humanities degree from King's College, a lifetime achievement award from the Catholic Historical Society of Western Pennsylvania, and the 2014 Aggiornamento Award from the Catholic Library Association. She has written more than 30 books, and co-authored forty more … among them Twelve Little Ways to Transform Your Heart, which draws on the life and spirituality of St. Thérèse of Lisieux. Her book, Gratefulness: The Habit of a Grace-Filled Life touches on the redemptive power of prayer. And A Feast for Hungry Souls is her widely acclaimed survey of 30 Christian masters and mystics spanning ancient, medieval, and modern spirituality. Dr. Muto is with us today to talk about the prayers of St. Patrick and the spirituality that formed them. 

Dr. Keith Jagger is a university chaplain, Dean of Christian Formation and Assistant Professor of Biblical Studies at John Brown University — a private Christian university in Arkansas. Dr. Jagger provides leadership for the ongoing spiritual growth of the university community. He holds a masters degree in New Testament from Asbury Theological Seminary (which I mention so I can give Asbury a shout-out) a certificate in Formative Spirituality from Epiphany Academy (led by Dr. Susan Muto) and a PhD in Early Christianity from the University of St Andrews, where N.T. Wright was his advisor. We’re talking with Dr. Jagger about Thomas Merton, the 20th century Trappist monk who lived as a resident of the Abbey of Gethsemane in Kentucky for 27 years and as a willing hermit for the final three years of his life.

Thomas Merton was devoted to contemplative prayer and mysticism, always seeking a more direct, wordless communion with God. He wrestled with the Jesus prayer, which we’ll explore in another episode, and with uncertainty and humility and trust. This is what led him to write what we now call Merton’s Prayer of Unknowing, published in his book, Thoughts in Solitude. 

This week we kick off in earnest a series called “Durable Prayers” — contemplating the prayers of desert fathers and historic leaders in the Christian faith who have shaped our faith through their prayer life. 

Today we begin with the prayer of St Francis, which … spoiler alert! … wasn’t written by him. We’ll look also at other prayer’s that were written by Francis and we’ll talk about the spirituality beneath the prayers. Winfield Bevins is our guide. Here’s a Franciscan Prayer of Detachment that captures my attention: 

I pray you that the fiery and honey-sweet

power of your love may detach my soul

from everything under heaven,

so that I may die for love of your love,

who out of love for your people

did die on the tree of the cross. Amen.

 In Jon Thompson’s book, Presence, he follows a pattern of thought around what it means to carry the heart of God into the world. This is a strong defense of evangelism and a model focused on radical hospitality -- but not the kind you're thinking about. He is hopeful, and theological and practical as he shares what it means to live as a follower of Jesus in a global, repaganized, pluralistic world. We’ll end this conversation where our fall series begins … with some conversation about how to stretch our prayer lives to hold the world in our hearts. 

In this episode of Art of Holiness, the four of us discuss what we have loved about using this podcast as a mentoring tool for three young women just entering the ministry. We also talk about what's ahead for AoH ... which is still very much a work in progress so stay tuned ... 

Jonathan Edwards is our faithful and gifted producer of this podcast. He listens to every episode and every once in a while we get together and recap what we’ve experienced through listening to the amazing people who make these conversations worth it. I hope you enjoy … 

Ryan Barnett serves on the teaching staff of Truett Theological Seminary (Baylor University), and with the leadership team of the Mid-Texas Annual Conference of the Global Methodist Church. He spent twenty years as a local pastor and learned a lot about evangelism by growing congregations that were focused on winning those who had not yet professed faith in Jesus Christ. In his zeal for seeing the Global Methodist Church become more than a migration of churches from one tribe to another, he has created a resource for the local church focused on organic evangelism – drawing on some of the best Wesleyan voices practicing evangelism in the U.S. and beyond. This conversation will be about what his workbook is about … how to winsomely invite the next ones into the family of Jesus. Find Christ For All here. 

BIO: Timothy Jones is a pastor and author known for helping people uncover greater warmth and depth in their relationship with God. His books include Awake My Soul: Practical Spirituality for Busy People; The Art of Prayer; and Celebration of Angels. Tim enjoys good stories and playing old-time banjo music. He lives near Nashville with his wife, Jill.

While many theological texts treat the Trinity as a complex doctrine to be studied, this book reframes it as a community of affection to be experienced. Rather than complicating our view of God, the Trinity warms the picture. Jones presents the Father, Son, and Spirit not as a puzzle, but as the ultimate blueprint for connection, inviting readers into a life-changing relationship. 

Al Gordon is a Christian leader, pastor, and voice in the global creative movement within the church. He is the founder of Renaissance, a movement focused on helping artists, leaders, and innovators reclaim their God-given creative calling. He leads SAINT, a church in East London with a mission to bring hope and renewal to the city. He is known for working at the intersection of faith, culture and creativity. He has collaborated with artists, musicians, and designers, and is a sought-after communicator in Christian creative spaces. Al consistently pushes one big idea: The church should not just consume culture—it should create it, becoming “a cathedral of creativity.” And because we believe in creativity here at the Art of Holiness, we wanted to learn from Al what it means to be live within our created design. 

Friends, this is such a rich conversation on the Wesleyan doctrine of assurance -- everything Katherine has learned in her recent deep dive into the topic. You don't think you need this, but by the end of the conversation you'll be saying, "Wow ... I needed this."