Possibilities of transformation at heart of Miller's Lenten resource
By Melissa Lauber
The Rev. Rod Miller and the Center for Vital Leadership have created a unique resource – a banquet of spiritual exercises that combine cutting edge thinking about neurological pathways that influence behavior with Wesleyan disciplines and faith practices.
The result is “Living Like Christ,” a 40-day online daily resource now available on the Baltimore-Washington and Peninsula Delaware Conferences websites.
“I think the wisdom of this resource is the possibility of transformation, of change, of growth, of not growing out of ourselves, but growing into ourselves. – becoming more who we are,” Miller said. “I really think that’s the purpose of church, to become more who we are.”
Miller wrote the resource as a “banquet of exercises for people to investigate, explore, try, practice, and maybe integrate into their spiritual lives.”
He drew upon his passion and expertise in coaching, which had led him to be a pioneering voice for spirituality in the emerging community working on Positive Intelligence.
Positive Intelligence, popularized by a book of the same name by Shirzad Chamine, explores the science behind how people self-sabotage their performance, happiness and potential. In the Positive Intelligence approach, developing new neural pathways allows people to form new habits through consistent daily practice.
Miller immediately saw how engaging in spiritual practices, and John Wesley’s spiritual disciplines of practicing acts of worship, devotion, compassion and justice, could enrich the Positive Intelligence practices. He began to weave Positive Intelligence into his daily practice of centering prayer.
As he wrote the Living Like Christ resource, Miller incorporated Centering Prayer and many other contemplative practices as a way of “entering into a relationship with Christ that is deeper than words.”
I included a lot of invitations to various kinds of spiritual disciplines. I put a whole lot of different possibilities out there,” he said. “Not everybody will love all of them. But I wanted to encourage people to try something that may be unfamiliar, just to see where it lands for them. … They’re worth trying, and I think they’ll be a blessing.”
Miller wrote the resource in the season leading up to Lent. It was a meaningful exercise as he put his heart and soul into it. He’s now hopeful those who read Living Like Christ will have a similar experience.
I’m grateful to have an opportunity to share this resource,” he said. “I’m hoping you will be able to put your heart and soul into your life. It may not be through writing something, or even doing something religious; it may be something that is about living into what’s possible for you – what you may have dreamed about. I’m hoping people will listen to their hearts, listen to the spirt, listen to the whispers – God’s whispers, which are always there. … This is an invitation. I hope it’s fun.”
This spring, Miller and the Rev. Jack Shitama, of the Center for Vital Leadership in the Baltimore-Washington and Peninsula Delaware Conferences, will be using Living Like Christ as a springboard for those who want to use Positive Intelligence to grow deeper in their faith and leadership. They will be offering a seven-week course. Registration will open soon.
Miller has recently been using the principles of faith and coaching in the business world, working with corporate leaders.
“What they’re asking is for a deeper sense of connection as leaders. They’re talking about transcendental leadership, that’s the phrase I’m hearing in the business world,’ Miller said. “We can engage transcendental leadership. We can bring our heart, mind and body, soul to what it is we’re about in the church and invite everybody else to do the same. And when we do that, think about what’s unleashed, what’s possible, what kind of churches might emerge, who we might reach that we haven’t reached, as well as what kind of culture we might be creating.
Miller is convinced that God is speaking to the church and to the world through a lot of different voices right now.
“When we are open to the Spirit’s moving and immersing ourselves in practices which can help make us available for God’s movement in our lives, all kinds of unexpected things become possible,” he said. “Let’s see where God might be moving and go with that.”