Spiritual Formation

May 12, 2023

By X. Nader Sahyouni

Anxiety and Prayer: What Works, What Doesn't, and Why?

Anxiety drove me into the arms of Jesus. And over the years, I began to see patterns of how some ways of prayer mirror psychotherapy techniques that help reduce anxiety. Going further and studying spiritual formation, I was exposed to even more ways to pray in ways that are helpful. I was intrigued that the little bit of neuroscience that had informed my early graduate work helped me make sense of new discoveries about the brain and how it’s shaped by anxiety and reshaped by various forms of prayer.

April 07, 2023

By Drew Larson

The Boredom of Good Friday

Behind Good Friday’s violence lies something more startling and, in some ways, even closer to our daily experience: Good Friday’s boredom.

March 23, 2023

By Benjie Shaw

Interruptions as Invitations — Lenten Reflections

As we enter into Lent, a season marked by repentance and contemplation of the death of Jesus for our sins, let’s ask the Lord to rid us of our pride in our schedules.

March 02, 2023

By Nathan Peterson

That Initial Yes, the Ultimate Yes & the Mundane, Crazy, Terrifying In-Between

So even when it’s hard to say yes, know that on the other side of that yes, on the other side of your fear and uncertainty, there is a better, richer intimacy with Jesus.

February 02, 2023

By Steve Tamayo

Reading the Bible with a Diverse Community

Each of us wears cultural lenses. Our culture lenses shape our worldview, our relationships, our behavior … even the way we read the Bible.

January 26, 2023

By Drew Larson

“What Does God Want Me to Do?”: Urbana 22 and the Heart of God

In a way that is so holy and sacred and perfect that it’s almost incomprehensible, God wants.

November 18, 2022

By Drew Larson

Highway Hypnosis & Self-Reflection as a Spiritual Practice

But the phenomenon of highway hypnosis reveals that there are many, many ways in which you are not the boss. You are so not the boss of you, in fact, that your conscious mind can take a full daydream holiday while you’re driving and some other part of you will manage that unbelievably complex task quite well.

October 28, 2022

By Steve Tamayo

How Accountability Friendships Work

Healthy accountability friendships give us space for self-discovery and for deep and genuine friendships. This leads to less anxiety, higher performance at work and school, and spiritual transformation.

August 18, 2022

By Adam and Christine Jeske

Advice for College Freshmen (and for Anyone, Really)

Each fall brings a few million new students to campus in the U.S., and the transition to college is one of the great hallmarks of life in our culture. Or, to put it more colloquially, it’s freakin’ crazy. In fact, here's an ode written especially for that experience we all know as Freshman Move-In Day...

July 14, 2022

By Nathan Peterson

Broken Toes, Bouncy Balls & the Search for Life

Inherently, we know that the act of breathing, blinking, existing isn’t enough. We were made for more. We want to feel alive. And whether we’re aware of it or not, the way we go about our lives shows what kinds of things we believe will give us life.

Spiritual Formation

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