The Invitation

Continuing on with Fr Laird's wonderful text A Sunlit Absence, the second book of his three book series on contemplative prayer. Please be sure to subscribe to keep up with the Invitation Podcast, its retreats, and classes www.invitationpodcast.org/subscribe

This is an update as we transition from summer to the fall. Work with Fr Laird's A Sunlit Absence will resume soon. In the between weeks, Josh is working to recruit and set up the School of Prayer in in-person and perhaps also in distance learning formats. Much of this episode is focused on a guided prayer through questions of racism. We begin with a selection of readings from the first two chapters of Dr King's collection of sermons, Strength to Love. Then Josh presents an essay he recently wrote as a produced prayer meditation on white supremacy. The essay can be found on the Invitation website. Information about the School of Prayer along with video updates can be found:https://www.invitationpodcast.org/school-of-prayer Thanks for listening! Be blessed even in the midst of this difficult time!

Part XI of marks our journey halfway through Fr Martin Laird's A Sunlit Absence. This episode is the third movement with chapter four. We've spent more time with chapter four because it is the most difficult. If you are having difficulty getting your heart and mind wrapped around chapter four, you are not alone. Press on ahead if and when you sense the goodness of the Holy Spirit drawing. Do not force or fake your way. Read and practice your prayer. Practice your prayer and then come back to pray. All worship and prayer is a continual, ever-deepening rehearsal of the Gospel. As Fr Laird shares Teresa of Avila's words with us: "It is all about love melting into love." If you sense a further drawing into this love and would like some help and guidance this fall, consider The Invitation School of Prayer: https://www.invitationpodcast.org/school-of-prayer

Part X of our journey through Fr Martin Laird's A Sunlit Absence puts us squarely in the middle of the book. This is the second of three treatments of chapter four of the book. As we wade deeper into these waters, Josh wants to give listeners participating more freedom to not only stop listening and working through the book but to even perhaps take a break from the Invitation Podcast altogether. The awkward, strange, and even painful discovery is that as we move closer to God we are invited into more and more sacrifice, more death of self, more shifting of our priorities, and surprisingly more bewilderment. During the time of covid-19, anti-racism protests, and a presidential race we need to find ways to be careful and patient with ourselves. Further commitment to spiritual discipline can anchor us, yet we cannot strive or force ourselves along the way. Sacrifice always needs to be a response to cooperate with and deepen our love of God. If we attempt to earn God's love through contemplative prayer in a spirit of striving, we will drown. For those who sense the Holy Spirit's leading to go further into the discipline of prayer yet who would like further guidance along the way, please consider the Invitation School of Prayer launching this September with online resources for your growth: www.invitationpodcast.org/school-of-prayer Also, make sure to subscribe: www.invitationpodcast.org/subscribe

In the context of covid-19, the Invitation has been focusing on A Sunlit Absence, the second of a three-book series on contemplative prayer by Fr Martin Laird. This episode is Part I of two parts comprising an 1.5 hour conversation that Fr Laird so graciously shared with us. Here Josh opens with a brief, guided prayer. Fr Laird shares some opening thoughts about contemplation in the context of all suffering we are experiencing throughout the world. Then we are able to interact with two questions from Invitation Podcast listeners who joined in to our zoom conversation. The next episode, No 60, will be Part X of our journey through A Sunlit Absence. Shortly after Part II of this conversation of Q&A with Fr Laird will be available to you. Thanks for listening and continuing the journey. Subscribe to the invitation to stay updated about new episodes, classes, and retreats available from the Invitation: https://www.invitationpodcast.org/subscribe

Part IX of our journey through Fr Martin Laird's A Sunlit Absence takes us into chapter four which is also titled, "A Sunlit Absence." This is the thickest and most challenging chapter of the book, so before diving into chapter four Josh spends ample time reviewing what is contemplation and why we are bothering with it especially in our present, painful time of pandemic and political strife. The pursuit of contemplative practice is at times bewildering and challenging, but with patience and persistence we will gain the reward of God's presence and friendship.

A Reformed Pastor and Catholic Theologian Walk Into a Bar…. No. This isn’t the lead into a joke. These two friends didn’t walk into a bar, they sat in my office in August 2018 to talk about contemplative prayer, the Lord’s prayer, catechism, and theological orthodoxy. As a pause from our series through Fr Martin Laird’s A Sunlit Absence, Pastor Dominic Palacios and Dr Jared Ortiz speak candidly about the tensions within the church to engage the deeper levels of transformation available in contemplative spirituality. The greatest gift these two men offer is a way of sharing what they have in common in Jesus Christ rather than focusing on what makes them different. In the context of our very divided society and its culture wars, this conversation displays that there is peace, love, hope, growth, unity, fellowship still possible even today! Please subscribe to the Invitation Podcast to stay informed about the new episode, retreats, and classes we offer: https://www.invitationpodcast.org/subscribe

Part VIII completes chapter three of Fr Martin Laird's book, A Sunlit Absence. Josh offers some more context of Fr Laird's writing by looking at one saying of Abba Arsenius from the 4th century desert sayings. The question for discernment before us is what kind of daily practices, rhythms, disciplines each of us need to cultivate and nurture inner silence so that we can remain open to the love and life of God. You are invited to join our Zoom chat with Fr Laird Thursday, July 9 at 2pm EST. To find more information be sure to subscribe: www.invitationpodcast.org/subscribe

his is part VII of our journey through Fr Martin Laird’s A Sunlit Absence, the second of his three books on contemplative prayer. In the last episode we looked at how the opposite of the contemplative life is not the active life, but the reactive life. In this episode we consider how silence leads us to justice, to an honest awareness of what is broken, sick, and failing inside of ourselves. Fr Laird is working out the teachings of Jordon of Saxony, a 13th century Augustinian monk who writes, “Through silence a brother begins to cultivate and practice justice by which virtue he is informed so as to live his own life honestly. Not to harm others, and to each each one his due. Such formation as this carries anyone so formed on to the state of perfection. On the other hand, from the breakdown of silence, disturbance of mind arise. Quarrels are borne.” A simple summary of Jordan of Saxony goes like this: the children of silence: peace of mind and cultivation of justice. Please sign up to stay informed about the date and times of our two Q&A sessions with Fr Laird here: https://www.invitationpodcast.org/fr-laird-qa-webinar If you have not already subscribed to the Invitation Podcast, please do so: https://www.invitationpodcast.org/subscribe It is a gift and honor to serve you through the Invitation Podcast. We hope you are well wherever you are during these difficult times. Peace of Christ!

This episode is part SIX of our journey through Fr Martin Laird's book A Sunlit Absence. Here Josh completes a guided study and practice through chapter two. It is not too late for you to join into this journey especially if you want to join into the webinar Q&A session with Fr Laird. Information and signup to be involved in the Q&A is found here: https://www.invitationpodcast.org/fr-laird-qa-webinar Due to Covid-19 the date and time for the first of these two sessions is TBA. In this time of quarantine and as we face the racism in America, we invite you to contemplation for two reasons: 1. Contemplation is a practice of Divine healing, where the Holy Spirit can have more access to reach the trauma, exhaustion, and despair we are experiencing. 2. Contemplation is a de-centering practice that open us to listen to God, and others, especially open to see how we are complicit in racism and in other arenas of sin. For more help with facing racism, please visit: https://www.invitationpodcast.org/facing-racism

In the context of the growing race protests across America, Josh checks in with one of his favorite conversation partners, Chris Hoke of Underground Ministries in the Skagit Valley of Washington State. Chris initially appeared in episode 19 in January of 2018. Chris has been a prison chaplain and now also is involved connecting former convicts with local churches. Josh especially wanted to reach out to Chris to discuss the question of race after the killing of George Floyd. Chris will become a regular monthly contributor to the Invitation Podcast to help create conversation that connects the dots between deep, spiritual formation and the outcasts of America's industrial incarceration system. ALSO, we are continuing our journey with Fr Martin Laird's A Sunlit Absence this summer. Sign up for our two webinar Q&A sessions with him at www.invitationpodcast.org/fr-laird-qa-webinar

To introduce Part V of our journey through Fr Martin Laird's A Sunlit Absence, Josh takes a moment to wrestle with the point of contemplative prayer in the midst of America's current racial upheaval. The two main gifts of contemplation for us as we heal of our racism is: 1. contemplation is divine therapy. It is a safe place to rest, to find healing, and to draw in the life of God as we continue in these very difficult race conversations and continue in our protesting. 2. Contemplation can lead to the de-centering that is necessary to see ourselves, to see our own contribution to the racism of America, and to hear, listen and see our black and brown brothers and sisters. Read more about this episode on our website: https://www.invitationpodcast.org/

While protests continue to erupt across America, we continue here on a journey into contemplative prayer knowing that contemplation is not an escape from the brokenness around us. Contemplation is not a comfortable way of hiding from the justice that we should all be crying out for today either. Contemplation will deepen and clarify our understanding of justice. Contemplation will help us identify each of our own unique responses to the crises that beset us, and contemplation will also help sustain and nourish our much needed activism to address the racism that continues to have a stranglehold on us. In fact, it may only be via contemplation that you are freed from your ego long enough to catch a glimpse of how you are contributing to the oppression of the marginalized and are a part of the problem! In this fourth episode working through Fr Martin Laird’s book, A Sunlit Absence, we finish up chapter one and should by now have a working definition of contemplation. In this episode we consider how through practice, the mechanical nature of this prayer movement will eventually become familiar and more graceful. The exciting news is that Fr Laird has committed to two separate Q & A sessions with Invitation podcast listeners. The specific details are being worked out, but the idea is to meet with Fr Laird after chapter four and then again at the end of the book which will likely take us through most of July 2020. It isn’t too late to dive into this valuable book and for you to come up with your own questions that you may very well be able to ask Fr Laird yourself. If you haven’t already, please subscribe so that we can contact you with the further details about these two online events. https://www.invitationpodcast.org/subscribe Also, in this episode Josh mentions his song, “Silence.” The song can be found at the end of the episode, at 22:40. This is a more recent version of the song that includes Josh’s wife, Susanna Childress as well as strings performed by Jared Demeester. The greatest gift you can offer back the invitation is to invite a friend to the Invitation. Please share the Invitation! If the Invitation has been of help to you, and if you would like to see the Invitation grow sustainably, your financial help is much appreciated. https://www.invitationpodcast.org/donations Peace of Christ to you in these very bewildering times. Amen.

This third instalment of our journey through A Sunlit Absence by Fr Marin Laird continues in chapter one. Chapter one is a summary of Laird's previous book, Entering the Silent Land. The intention here is to offer a substantial definition of contemplation as well as offering some practical descriptions of how contemplation is practiced. Bless you for continuing on this journey. May you be blessed even in the midst of this covid pandemic. Subscribe to this podcast to stay updated when new episodes, classes, and retreats are made available www.invitationpodcast.org/subscribe

Part two of a journey of guided prayer, reading, and commentary through A Sunlit Absence by Fr Martin Laird. Buy your own copy of the book and read more in-depth on your own or access the journey through this transformative book with the podcast. A new episode will be offered every second or third day. Questions and comments are welcome. Email josh at invitationpodcast dot org. If you have not already subscribed, please join the journey www.invitationpodcast.org/subscribe Peace of Christ to you during this quarantine wilderness.

One sentiment offered on social media this past week went something like this: “let's not return to normal. Normal wasn't working. If we try to return to normal, we won't have learned the costly lesson." This is the truth of all transformation. COVID 19 is just a very severe, collective opportunity for us to move beyond "normal." This episode no. 48 is the first of a new series of reading, studying, and praying through Fr Martin Laird’s book A Sunlit Absence. Fr Laird helps us reform a consciousness that can embrace the transformation that is at hand. You are invited to buy the book to follow along in your own reading or to simply listen and pray with the podcast. If you have not subscribed yet to the podcast, please join the journey https://www.invitationpodcast.org/subscribe And also, please consider inviting someone to the Invitation. Let someone know about the goodness of going deeper with God with the Invitation Podcast. Peace of Christ to you during this troubling time wherever you are in the world.

This episode turned out to be two meditations, connected to each other but each worth separate listens. First, Josh walks through some questions for us to consider regarding our experience of being in quarantine. How free are you to accept the trauma of this crisis and to talk to God about your suffering? Then, at around 12 mins in, the episode moves on to Nathan Foster of Renovare guiding a prayer through Psalm 19:14, "Let the words of my mouth and the meditations of my heart be pleasing in your sight, my Rock and Redeemer." This is an invaluable prayer to direct our hearts and mind while we are in the midst of this pandemic. May you be blessed in your prayer. Please subscribe to this podcast and share it with someone! https://www.invitationpodcast.org/subscribe

It's hard to sit still in the midst of confinement and suffering. You are not alone in your struggle. This episode is a re-release of guided prayer through Psalm 131 by Nathan Foster from 2018. We will also be posting a meditation on Psalm 19:14 he also offered in 2018 but was never released. More prayer resources to come soon!

In the midst of our current crisis, I'm re-releasing a guided meditation on Ecclesiastes chapter 3 originally released on Dec 2, 2017. One-third of the Psalms are psalms of lament, yet most of us recoil from speaking honestly with God about our questions, anger, pain, and disappointment. Surely this is a time where we especially need the sacred space of lament. We need to give ourselves and each other permission to speak to God freely and honestly. The peace of Christ to you during this crisis. Please subscribe to the Invitation so that we can keep you updated about new episodes, retreats, classes, and other events. https://www.invitationpodcast.org/subscribe

In the midst of this bizarre, unsettling spread of covid-19, we invite you to continue on your Lenten journey with this episode on chanting the Psalms. Here in episode no. 44, Josh has a discussion with Lacy Finn Borgo of Good Dirt Ministries and Renovare about how singing the Psalms can get this holy, prayer book of the Scriptures into our bodies. What a great help for us always and especially as we face our current trials, to have the vocabulary of the Psalms deep inside of us to help us speak honestly with God! Included in this episode is a recording of a Fuller Seminary, DMin in spiritual direction cohort chanting on September 27, 2017. Audio of the full-length of their chanting of Psalms 67, 25 & 26 led by Lacy is available at www.invitationpodcast.org/downloads The book Josh mentions in this episode is The Body Keeps the Score: Brain, Mind, and Body in the Healing of Trauma by Bessel van der Kolk. Also, please check out Lacy’s new book: Spiritual Conversations with Children: Listening to God Together. It is an encouraging, inspiring, and practically helpful way for us to nurture faith in our children and is sure to become a lifegiving resource to parents, aunts and uncles, grandparents, and anyone ministering to children. Thanks for listening and joining The Invitation on a journey deeper into the life and love of God. It is an honor to create with you time and space for God. Please subscribe to the Invitation and stay updated on new releases as well as the classes and retreats offered by the Invitation. www.invitationpodcast.org/subscribe If the Invitation has been fruitful in your life, please share the podcast with a friend, consider a one-time donation, or become a sustaining donor by visiting www.invitationpodcast.org/donations Peace of Christ to you!

We had intended to release an episode on chanting the Psalms next with Lacy Finn Borgo, but this liturgy led by Maple Avenue Ministries member, AJ Westendorp was too good not to sneak in and share with you. AJ is a former college football player, a Gutamala missionary and is now on staff with Escape Ministries in Holland, MI as well as employed at a local juvenile detention center. Finally, AJ also is a volunteer who joins Josh in the prison prayer practices on Saturdays in Muskegon, MI. Before offering the Lenten liturgy, Josh shares some of his conversation with AJ to help you get to know AJ and to explore the reason why spending time with and befriending “the least of these” is at the core of the Gospel and why it’s a practice we would recommend to you for you journey through Lent. "Is not this the kind of fasting I have chosen: to loose the chains of injustice and untie the cords of the yoke, to set the oppressed free and break every yoke?” (Isaiah 58:6) We also encourage you to go back and listen to episode 39, Josh’s conversation with the Rev. Dr. Denise Kingdom Grier, Josh and AJ’s pastor. By listening to bother episodes you will discover the similarities between Advent and Lent as a time of preparation with an emphasis on God’s love of the poor. The opening reading of this liturgy is from Roddy Hamilton of the Church of Scotland. The liturgy begins at 12 mins into the episode. Please consider subscribing to the invitationpodcast.org Your financial contributions help us create this spiritual formation resource for you. Please consider making a donation today at invitationpodcast.org/donations Thanks for listening!

In episode 42 David Taylor, assistant professor of theology and culture at Fuller Theological Seminary, shares from his forthcoming book, Open and Unafraid: The Psalms as a Guide to Life. David is one of the many people who have befriended and inspired Josh over the span of many years. Here Josh and David focus on praying the Psalms in a way that will get inside of our bodies, to transform and heal us to become whole.

This long-format retreat is an audio adaptation of an expanded version Invitation's prayer guide, "40 Ways to Spend 5-Minutes with God." Here just follows a lectio divina style structure using Ephesians 2 and Matthew 6 offering reflections, questions as prompts for prayer, and extended sections of original meditative music to help you explore the depths of prayer. The original prayer guide, “40 Ways to Spend 5-Minutes with God” can be found at https://www.invitationpodcast.org/downloads The expanded, short prayer book version of the prayer guide is titled Deeper Living Space and is a work in progress. The music in this episode is created by Josh and many of his former Hope College Students as well as some friends from Oklahoma City. Artwork is a creative interpretation of the Invitation logo by Samantha Kadzban. Please subscribe, share the podcast with others, and consider helping us financially: https://www.invitationpodcast.org/donations Thanks for listening!

This is the second in a new collaborative series with the Dominican Center on the role of contemplative spirituality and spiritual direction in the context of the local church. In this public conversation hosted by the Dominican Center on Nov 13, 2019, Josh is joined by Sr Diane Zerfas and Dr Chuck DeGroat. When many are reporting the decline in church attendance, should we be alarmed? How are the signs of the times inspiring a return to deeper prayer practices? What are some specific things local churches can do to help us go deeper? These questions and more are discussed with the questions and contributions of those who gathered that day. www.dominicancenter.com www.chuckdegroat.net and be sure to subscribe to the Invitation Podcast at www.invitationpodcast.org

Advent is a season many churched Christians are relatively numb to. We struggle to enter into the deeper richness of longing and waiting. In this episode, we move from the Rev. Dr. Denise Kingdom Grier's sermon on the first Sunday of Advent to a follow-up conversation on becoming poor as we wait with expectation and eagerness for the coming of our King!

This update episode is way overdue. I miss you, so I'm finally reaching out to get you caught up on all that's been happening with the Invitation. At the end of this update, I offer a brief meditation on a timely word from The Sayings of the Desert Fathers, specifically a conversation between John the Dwarf and Abba Poemen (pictured above). It's Giving Tuesday! I would sincerely appreciate your financial support. Donatations can be made at www.invitationpodcast.org/donations

Part II of our conversation with Ruth Haley Barton is the closing Q & A session that will especially be interesting to pastors and nonprofit leaders. However, Ruth also speaks specifically to anyone who has had to go outside of her community even for a season, someone who has lost her bearings in the church not because she has lost her faith but because the Spirit is leading her to deeper surrender and freedom in the love of God. Josh offers a guided prayer after the Q & A for those discerning what is next for their organizations. Then there is also a second movement of guided meditation for those who have had to move away from the safety of their faith communities. This episode is a collaboration with the Dominican Center of Grand Rapids, MI. Please visit www.dominicancenter.com for more information, and subscribe to the Invitation Podcast at www.invitationpodcast.org

This is Part One of two episodes that document an extended conversation with author, spiritual director, teacher, and retreat leader Ruth Haley Barton. This episode also marks the beginning of a new collaboration between the Invitation and the Dominican Center, a ministry of the Dominican Sisters of Grand Rapids, MI. On a snow and ice covered January 19, 2019 evening Josh and a group of church and nonprofit leaders met at the Dominican Center to be led by Ruth in prayer and to discuss spiritual transformation. Please visit www.dominicancenter.com for more information, and subscribe to the Invitation Podcast at www.invitationpodcast.org

Retreat leader, spiritual director, and author Sharon Garlough Brown helps us consider the spiritual disciplines that Jesus practiced by walking us through Mark 1:35-38 in prayer and meditation. Be sure to visit her site: www.sensibleshoesclub.com to learn more about what Sharon has to offer. Also, subscribe to the Invitation at www.invitationpodcast.org so that you can be updated when new materials are available and when new events are announced. This episode features music one song by Travis Kingma that will be included on the instrumental music compilation that will soon be available for you! Thanks for listening.

This is the introductory episode in a new collaboration with The Awakening, a week-long, summer worship and arts experience for high school students. In this episode Josh engages a group of the Awakening students to consider the unique gift of a teenager's spiritual journey. In the posture of spiritual direction, we don't bring Jesus to the high school student. Instead, we join the student to discover Jesus in and through vulnerability. More info about the Awakening: https://tinyurl.com/y9uk7q23 Also, a public spiritual conversation with Ruth Haley Barton at Dominican Center: https://tinyurl.com/yd44anud AND...the Invitation's 3rd Annual Contemplative Prayer Retreat Feb 11 & 12 here in Holland, MI: https://tinyurl.com/yam9gt47 Be sure to subscribe to the Invitation at www.invitationpodcast.org Peace Peace & Big Love!

Micah Matthews recently finished and MFA in fiction at Warren Wilson. This episode is his audio essay where he describes his visits to the prison with Josh. These visits cause Micah to reflect on the spiritual good of going outside of his comfort. Without permission to take microphones and cameras into the prison, this essay is the next best way for you to come inside to taste and see the movements of the Holy Spirit in a prison. The Invitation is in the midst of a Kickstarter campaign to raise money to cover our capital budget. Please consider contributing financially so that we can create more creative spiritual formation content like this for you. https://tinyurl.com/y9gqmnha Subscribe to the Invitation Podcast at invitationpodcast.org Thanks for joining this journey with us!

In this update episode, a Hasidic tale from Heschel helps us understand the Spirit's invitation to find the treasure right here in front of ourselves, right at home. We are on the eve of #GivingTuesday. If you haven't had a chance to watch our Kickstarter video, please do. https://tinyurl.com/y9gqmnhaA We hope you can catch onto the larger vision of what the Invitation is up to as a nonprofit connecting the prison to the local church parish through spiritual direction and this podcast. If you have means, please support the Kickstarter campaign as it raises money to fund our capital budget, money that will help us efficiently and creatively offer you spiritual formation resources on a more consistent basis. Share the Invitation with your people, and pray for us on this crazy journey of trusting God. Peace & Love of Jesus to you! The picture of this episode is the home of what we are calling 'Cloudstreet' as it is under snowy construction. Cloudstreet will be the hub of our practice of spiritual direction, a retreat space, and a production space!!!

This conversation with Jonathan proves to be a "wild one" in the sense that Jonathan Wilson Hartgrove leads us into the wilderness of race politics in America. Josh offers a hearty introduction to this conversation encouraging you to enter into this wilderness desert for the sake of loving God with your strength for the sake of righteousness, which is justice." This episode is a challenging invitation for you to bring your politics under the Lordship of Jesus no matter your political leanings and affiliations. Can we trust the Spirit to lead us into the wilderness, to brave this political storm growing our faith to believe yes, everything is going to be alright?

In this episode Josh reads a short meditation written by Jordan Bruxvoort, director of the Naomi Project in Sioux Falls, SD. This episode is a continuation of the rhythms and questions of the Summer Retreat: what is the unique gift of the seasons in our spiritual formation? This meditation resonates well with prayer exercise #25 from the guide "40 Ways to Spend Five-Minutes with God" that can be found at https://www.invitationpodcast.org/downloads/ This meditation closes with the poem, "What is Written on the Leaves" by Michigan poet, Robert Fanning. Be sure to check out Jordan's good work helping faith communities engage worker's rights: http://projectofnaomi.org Subscribe to the Invitation Podcast by visiting http://invitationpodcast.org Thanks for listening! We appreciate your friendship and support!

In this episode Josh shares a spiritual conversation with Trevor Hudson, a Methodist minister and spiritual director based in South Africa. They especially discuss the difficult and often heartbreaking work of discerning God's will. Trevor's special area of study and teaching is the spirituality of St. Ignatius of Loyola and the Protestant philosopher and spiritual author, Dallas Willard. In this conversation Trevor offers special insight into the uniqueness of his Wesleyan tradition and how it integrates with the Spiritual Exercises of Ignatius. If you have not yet subscribed, please visit www.invitationpodcast.org to join our mailing list that will keep you informed about what is available through the Invitation. Thanks for listening and joining us on this journey of faith. Peace of Christ!

This is the final movement of the Summer Retreat 2018, a retreat on loving God with all your strength. Sadly this episode does not include a conversation with our friends who have been in conversations throughout the summer. This episode uses a lectio divina format using the Message translation of Romans 12:1-2. The focus question is how does love for God in the heart, mind and soul become tangible and concrete through action. How can love become active in my daily life? With the end of this summer experiment and now that we are officially a not for profit, the Invitation is moving into a season of fundraising with a kickstarter campaign launched later in the Fall while also searching for long-term, sustaining supporters. If the Invitation has been of help to you and if you believe it will be of help to others, please subscribe to the podcast, help spread the word about the Invitation and about the crowd-funding with kickstarter, join us in spiritual friendship, and become a sustaining supporter! See invitationpodcast.org to subscribe and stay in the loop! Peace & Love of Jesus to you!

Josh meets again with a small group of young church leaders to discuss soul-spirituality in the fifth movement of the Summer Retreat 2018. These friends attempt to define the soul, describe spiritual practices that especially nourish the soul, and they consider the many layers of resistance that keep us from our souls. This intimate and candid conversation is intended to be a soul practice itself for you to join into in your own way prayerfully considering how to be open to Jesus in the deeper regions of your own self. Please feel free to write josh @ invitationpodcast.org to share your experience with the Summer Retreat 2018 or to ask any questions. The Prayer Guide “40-Ways to Spend Five Minutes With God” is available for further insight into the heart, mind, soul, and strength and is available at invitationpodcast.org/downloads.

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.

Josh has a conversation with Christopher Hall, president of Renovare and one of the three lead instructors of Josh's doctorate of ministry cohort in spiritual direction, a degree program through Fuller Seminary. Chris and Josh focus on the question of inner transformation, if it is possible and whether we believe in transformation. Chris draws especially from his expertise in desert spirituality to help us consider how to step into transformative "learning spaces," spaces where we acquire the character of Jesus.

This is prayer exercise #41 from the prayer guide, "40 Ways to Spend Five Minutes with God," available at invitationpodcast.org. Listen and discover why there are 41 prayer practices and not just 40. A brief reading is offered from G.K. Chesterton's book, Orthodoxy.

In this long format retreat Nathan Foster of Renovaré uses a reading from the 14th Century British mystic Julian of Norwich in a guided prayer. He uses several statements of how "God's wishes" us to pursue him. Visit renovare.org for more resources from Nathan and several other helpful teachers.