The Invitation

In part four of the Summer Retreat 2018, Josh engages five friends who have served in local churches to explore a spirituality of the mind. This episode attempts to offer you a retreat experience wherever you are in the world. We begin with the standard three readings of a lectio divia practice praying Hosea 6. In the second half of the retreat, Josh offers 10 minutes of teaching on the mind. His friends reflect on their own knowledge of their minds, how their minds do or don't help them worship and pray. Stay tuned for the next movement of the summer retreat, prayers of the soul. Also, you can find free music downloads of some of the music used in the retreats here: invitationpodcast.org/music/. And you can find download resources on the prayer of examen and the prayer guide, "40-Ways to Spend Five Minutes with God" here at this link: www.invitationpodcast.org/downloads/

In this part three of the summer retreat 2018 Josh engages four friends who have served in local churches to explore prayers of the heart. This episode attempts to offer you a retreat experience wherever you are in the world. We begin with the standard three readings of a lectio divia practice praying Hosea 6. In the second half of the retreat, Josh offers 10 minutes of teaching on the heart, what it is, how it relates to our other internal faculties of the mind, the soul, spirit, and will. Stay tuned for the next movement of the summer retreat, prayers of the mind. Also, you can find free music downloads of some of the music used in the retreats here: invitationpodcast.org/music/. And you can find download resources on the prayer of examen and the prayer guide, "40-Ways to Spend Five Minutes with God" here at this link: https://www.invitationpodcast.org/downloads/

This episode, Part Two of the Introduction to the Summer Retreat 2018, is a conversation with Chuck DeGroat, Professor of Pastoral Care and Christian Spirituality at Western Theological Seminary in Holland, MI. The Summer Retreat is a journey through prayers of the heart, mind, soul, and strength. These two introductory episodes first consider questions around loving God with “all,” questions of Wholeheartedness, the title of Chuck’s book. Josh and Chuck discuss this book while also beginning to map out what a spirituality of summer might involve: being present and aware in counter-cultural ways that disrupt rhythms of busyness, rush and fragmentation. In the opening of this episode, Josh asks listeners to be patient with the necessary intimidations of going on retreat to approach God. On one hand the Invitation seeks to be an approachable path toward prayer, a safe and hopeful space. Yet on the other, prayer is interaction with the Living God whose love is enormous and by nature, intimidating. As Mr. Tumnus spoke to Lucy about Aslan in the Lion, Witch and the Wardrobe, “He’s not safe but he’s good.” The summer retreat intends two movements: 1. to help you learn more about your own unique spirituality type—your call to prayer. And 2. it also intends to help you stretch beyond yourself to gain a more vast knowledge of God as beautiful and holy, closer to us than we are to ourselves (St. Augustine) yet beyond our understanding. Stay tuned for the next episode, a spiritual conversation with a group of younger pastors to discuss prayers of the heart.

Welcome to the Summer Retreat 2018 Part One. In this episode Josh describes the extended prayer experience through praying with the heart, mind, soul, and strength. The two goals of this retreat are to identify your own personal spirituality and then to stretch beyond that prayer toward wholeness, to integrate into holiness. As we prepare for this summer experience Josh guides us through praying a section of C.S. Lewis' famous sermon, "The Weight of Glory." Indeed its not that our desires are too strong but that they are too weak. Stay tuned. The Introduction Part Two of the Summer Retreat 2018 is a spiritual conversation with Chuck DeGroat mostly about his book, Wholeheartedness: Busyness, Exhaustion, and Healing the Divided Self. A free song is available for download at invitationpodcast.org/music/

This is an update episode to invite you to go deeper with the Invitation Podcast by: 1. joining a summer-long, multi-episode retreat through the shema (Deut 6; Mark 12)of loving God with all your heart, mind, soul, and strength; and 2. to become a sustaining member of the Invitation as it seeks to become a non-profit. Here Josh shares the story of how he got into spiritual direction, started this podcast, became involved in the prison prayer practices...and how all these pieces fit together into a non-profit! Please subscribe to make sure you can download a free song, "Silence" that Josh and his wife, Susanna Childress (aka Ordinary Neighbors) recorded for the podcast.

Nathan Foster offers this guided prayer through Psalm 131 as part of Renovaré's month on meditation through March. This retreat is a co-release with our friends over at Renovaré. To participate in their other offerings especially this month visit www.renovare.org/podcast. There you will find a tremendous amount of resources to help you in your spiritual journey. Also, be sure to subscribe to the Invitation Podcast by visiting www.invitationpodcast.org! Stay tuned for more information about the Invitation's summer retreat. Peace, peace, more peace & love.

This short meditation is a response to #6 from the prayer guide, "40 Ways to Spend Five Minutes With God" that can be found on the resource page at www.invitationpodcast.org Josh borrows from a section of a conversation he recently had with writer, pastor, and activist Jonathan Wilson Hartgrove where Jonathan describes prayer as "begging." The full conversation with Jonathan is coming soon. Be sure to sign up for the Invitation mailing list on our website!

Josh sits down with the two collaborators of www.undergroundministries.org, Chris Hoke and Neaners Garcia. They reflect on the strange gift of solitude, a gift even for inmates who are willing to open themselves to the healing love of Jesus. Neaners and Chris tell their story of meeting in the prison and learning how to pray inside the prison. Can people be transformed? Can I be transformed? Do I want to be transformed? Readings from Ray Leonardini's essay, "What No Bars Can Hold." visit www.uspcf.org to learn more about Ray's Contemplative Prison Fellowship. Other readings from Chris Hoke's book, Wanted: A Spiritual Pursuit Through Jail, Among Outlaws, and Across Borders.

Josh recites a Meditation on Isaiah 9 for advent. This 5 Minute Prayer is based on #13 from the prayer guide, "40 Ways to Spend Five Minutes With God." The text of the Mediation and the prayer guide can be found on the resources page at invitaitonpodcast.org

This guided prayer retreat is a journey through lamentation to discover God in the deeper, painful, often hidden places inside of ourselves. The retreat is laid out in the structure of 'lectio divina' with three readings of the classic text of Ecclesiastes 3:2-8. Original music with help from Jared DeMeester and Josh Holicki.