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the road ahead

heodyssey is a made-up word (aren’t they all?). It’s cobbled together from theos, God, and odyssey, a wandering and eventful journey. That’s what spiritual forma-

tion is all about—A wandering and eventful journey with God.

Taking the spiritual journey: tourist vs. explorerQuestions like, “Where are we going?” and “How do we get there?” are largely irrelevant on the spiritual journey. God has his own ideas about “travel,” which often confuse and frustrate the unaware. He seems more concerned about “next steps” than “getting there.” Predictably— and to our discomfort—the route is seldom predefined. This isn’t easy.

There is a world of differ-ence between a tourist and an explorer. Life would be much easier as a spiritual “tourist,” where we had some degree of predictability, comfort, and control. Say goodbye to that idea if you want to pursue an authentic relationship with Jesus.

Instead, God seems to have a thing for making us into explorers. Explorers have very little idea where the path will lead; they only know they must take it. Every day, the fabric of their lives is woven from the thread of each new encounter. As they make choices, their choices make them.

For growth to happen, God knows that he must wean us away from our addiction to indepen-dence. Instead, he invites us to the sacred work of placing one foot in front of the other, to walk the unfamiliar path of dependence.

The more we understand this up front, the better things will go for us.

The idea of a conversation There is no program for spiritual growth. Much like raising a child, the process is organic, and involves paying attention and responding to life as it unfolds in the moment. We need a place where we can explore together how to do this. We need dialogue instead of a talking head; probing questions and possibilities in place of propositions. The process needs to be authentic, where anything can happen, and will.

It’s not necessarily safe. But it’s real.

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How change happensAn overview of the ten Conversations is found on a previous pages. You will see a View-Master®, with a disk containing different “lenses” to look through. For better or worse, we all have lenses through which we understand and experience life. We have ideas and feelings about God, ourselves, and others, which have been forming from the day we were born.

What if our lens is distorted? How would we know? And what would we do to change it?

The Theodyssey Conversations engage us in the process of examining different lenses that form our faith experience.

Our starting pointWe are specifically exploring God’s perspective on how to have an authentic relationship with him as revealed in the Bible. Without at least an openness to explore what the Bible says, this may be a counter-productive pursuit for you. See what you think.

The voice The stories, narrative, and interaction are from me, David. They’re all true, even the examples. Although I’ve been a spiritual director, professor, and pastor for over 20 years, I’m still dis-covering new questions. I’m a Christ-follower, committed to the radical possibilities that can happen in our lives through Jesus.

OrientationAlong the way, various markers will guide us in the journey. Here are a few of them:

Vox humana This means “human voice”—we will see quotes from all kinds of sources.

Empty lines These are for taking notes. Doodle if you want. It’s up to you.

PRTR “Pray, Read, Think, Respond” is an adapted form of lectio divina, or, spiritual reading. It’s explained inside.

Illuminations Interactive questions where we can work-out the practical application of the principles we are exploring.

Self-directed Each Conversation builds on the previous one. But feel free to start in any order. You can work through a Conversation as an individual, or explore one as a group. Determine what pace works best. Some will take 3 weeks, others 3 months.

Journaling We strongly encourage the habit of journaling as a tool to be attentive and responsive to God. This kind of journaling involves 10-15 minutes every day, and requires just a one word response to a specific question. See “About Journaling” at the back of this book.