Christian Spirituality
Welcome Notes

No Tuition - Free Access
Work at Your Own Pace

I have taught in four universities and have taught 12-15 different classes. This was the topic of my Ph.D. work and thus is my all-time favorite class. Several people have expressed interest in this class, asking me for notes, so I am going to make it available on the site.

Here are some comments from my students. Most had never heard the concepts in this class and several were skeptical. Some openly voiced their disagreement in class, which is something I WANT and LIKE. The discussion/learning is ALWAYS better when there is disagreement and debate. One of the graded assignments of the class was to keep a spiritual journal. I wept while reading several of these journals. I was moved by some of the brutal honesty, but also in how our loving heavenly Father had revealed Himself to them in new ways.
Here are a few of the student written comments:

This class has helped me grow spiritually...I am so grateful. It showed me the importance
of the discipline of silence. - Stefan (Germany)

I had never heard of these ancient writers and really enjoyed reading their texts...At first I did not see the importance of journal writing, but it became a special time to "speak" to God directly. - Sara (Belgium)

The Christian Spirituality class helped to improve my ability to rest in silence and seek the presence of God...Having the chance to journal in class is something that I found really beneficial. - Jethro (Italy)

This class encouraged my spiritual journey. The time of silent prayer we did every class...
listening to God and enjoying His presence was really good. My prayer life grew this semester. - Viki (Austria)

The great discussions, times of silence, and readings from ancient writers all charged my battery each week.
The flexible and relational teaching/discipling has been a breath of fresh air. - Davy (Netherlands)

This was the perfect blend of learning...not simply learning the theoretical. Contemplative prayer had a huge impact on my spiritual life and it will go with me for many years to come. - Ben (Austria)

Most of these students grew up with missionary parents AND feel called to some kind of ministry. All of the students had sat through my church history class, so were already prepared to hear me speak positively about Catholics and "Catholic ideas."

Practical Things
• I will post my lecture notes and the various readings. Some of my lectures are actually walking through the reading and making comments - I have highlighted parts of the texts that I want to focus on. A very important part of this class is the discussion - I use the Socratic method: I ask the students questions and I expect them to share their thoughts. Student questions and comments are part of the learning experience. In this "online" class I encourage anyone who reads one of our pages to send me your comments and questions. Those interactions will become part of the Section notes.
• I will do my best to load a the next Section within another month. In our school we do one Section each week, but I think a month gives more people, more time to read/think/interact with comments and questions. We'll see how it goes.
• Once the entire class is online I will incorporate any new questions/comments into the course notes as I see fit. I might try to offer my lecture on video, making it more dynamic as a class. Again, we'll see how it goes.

I will give links to various books, readings, etc. in the right side column. Questions and comments from things in those books/papers are also an important part of thinking and learning in this class.
I will do my best to respond to Any and ALL emails.
So Let's get started!