How to Join the SOP:

1. Please carefully look over this page, the overview page, & watch the informational videos.

2. Engage a prayerful, discerning conversation with a close spiritual friend, a pastor, or a spiritual director.

3. Fill out and submit the inquiry form.

   Then we will setup an in-person or zoom meeting with you!

Context

Those who seek a life devoted to God have attempted various spiritual disciplines. Some may have even crafted something like a rule of life or what Dallas Willard calls a “curriculum of Christ-likeness.” Yet, most of us seeking devotion struggle to establish a consistent, daily, year in and year out life practice that leads to deeper transformation. Almost all of us fail at these intentions because we are practicing alone without the necessary encouragement, grace, patience, and forgiveness of a community.

Most who pursue the disciplined, devotion of a rule of life are working through the wilderness in the second half of life. The first half of life is all about flourishing as we conform, as we con “with” form in a community. In the second half of life the Spirit invites us into the painful journey of moving into our deeper selves to participate more freely in God’s love. This is necessarily a bewildering movement away from the affirmation of community into solitude to be intimately alone with God.

The local church is a first half of life institution and is not yet dynamic enough to free adults to enter their solitary journey into the wilderness. The Invitation does not intend to replace the local church. In fact we hope to serve the church as it matures to become such a place.

In the SOP we create a time and space for wilderness dwellers to come alongside each other, to become a safe, graceful community of those learning solitude. We hope and pray that those who complete the SOP will bear witness to the blessedness of the wilderness journey to their respective worshipping communities. We hope this for the sake of renewal in the church both near and far.

Communal Rule of Life September through December

*15-20 minutes of daily prayer and Scripture meditation.
*Each Wednesday, a moderate fast of one medium meal, two small meals, no snacks, desserts, alcohol, or sweet drinks.
*An intentional reduction or elimination of access to social media, news, and entertainment (TV shows, movies, sports, etc).

*Journal writing.
*Weekly exercise.
*Seven hours of sleep each night.
*Moderation in uses of money.
*Individually discerned practice of Sabbath keeping.
*Some weekly form of service to church and/or community.

Contemplative Spirituality
Justice
Spirituality of Study
Vigilance or Awareness
Spiritual Discipline
Lectio Divina
Sabbath Keeping
Confession

Fasting/ askesis
Solitude
Community
Spiritual Direction
Silence
Prayer of Examen
Service
Risk

TWO TYPES OF COHORTS:

We are accepting interest in two possible formats.
8-10 people in a local or a hybrid local/zoom cohort. This will be a 2-2.5 hr session on a weeknight. In the past, we've done this on Monday or Thursday nights starting at 6:30pm EST

- or -

2-4 people in a zoom cohort, 90 minute weekday session. This has made it more possible to include pastors and therapists who don't want to be away from their families in the evening. I suppose we could develop a local version of this if there was interest. 

**Cohorts will be formed by August depending on interest and availability.

SAMPLE SCHEDULE FROM A PREVIOUS YEARS

August 27 Opening Retreat
August 29
Sept 12 & 26
Oct 10 & 24
Nov 14&28
Dec 12
Jan 9 & 23
Feb 13&27
March 13&27
April 10&24
May 6 Closing Retreat