Quicklinks

The Leadership Institute
Craig's ministry with vocational Christian workers.

Ken Collins' Web Site
Wonderful site for beginners working with a lectionary.

Northumbria Community
Grand people who are living out a model of following Christ that we look to as guides.

Renovaré
Great resource ministry.

Pilgrims are people on a journey from one place to another. We, as pilgrims, all have this longing for life to be different than it is. Our dreams and hopes are the allurement that is the beginning of the journey.

Those who choose to follow Christ have been called pilgrims. The earliest name used by Christians was The Way, language suggesting movement toward something. The Christian pilgrimage is movement toward the allurement of Christlikeness.

Our pilgrimage must travel through the awkward outward changes that expose cultural lifestyles. This is where most of our pilgrimages end. But the full journey must continue into the treacherous and difficult regions of our inner transformation. This phase of the pilgrimage can occur only as we develop a deeper vision for what Christlikeness looks like.
Many fellow pilgrims in previous generations have marked out the distinctive terrain of what lies ahead in the stages of our inner transformations. With their suggestions and insights, we can use their tools to proceed toward our original allurement, Christlikeness.
A Pilgrim’s Process is designed to expose pilgrims to the classic tools necessary for those whose dream and hope for this life is to be transformed into the image of Christ.

The Process
Our pilgrimage toward Christlikeness is a lifelong process. No one model will take you to your final destination. Those that market the journey in a prepackaged, one-size-fits-all volume, have treated the pilgrimage as a commodity. That is why Rhythm of Grace has designed A Pilgrim’s Process to focus on learning how to live in a process as one traverses the landscape of inner transformation.

We do this through a one-year training process using retreat formats and mentoring appointments designed to help integrate the cognitive information with the real life experience of the individual.

Each pilgrim will attend four weekend retreats through the course of the year. A retreat format allows for the maximum attention to what God is doing within each individual as they venture into the next steps of their pilgrimage. The retreats are designed to combine lecture with personal time and space for reflection on God’s invitations.

The mentoring appointments between retreats allow the individual opportunity to question, to experiment, and to have the necessary support to bring about the appropriate integration.

The Retreats
Keeping with the pilgrimage theme, each retreat and the resources used will focus on a particular aspect of the journey.

Retreat One: A Look At The Map
This retreat unfolds the big picture of the allurement to Christlikeness. With contemporary images and ancient outlines, the participant will discover a clearer picture of where their heart yearns to go, the process to get there, and the means by which they will progress.

Retreat Two: Packing For The Journey
Each retreatant is given a detailed description of the survival kit necessary for any pilgrim who desires to move toward Christlikeness. They also will be exposed to an array of optional items they can take with them on their pilgrimage.

Retreat Three: Tracking the Kol Yahweh
The pilgrimage toward Christlikeness is only as successful as our ability to learn to track the Kol Yahweh, the voice of God. This retreat will equip the participant in how to listen and discern God’s voice based on their personal relationship with God.

Retreat Four: The Pilgrim’s Process
In this final retreat, opportunity is given to pack all the tools into an appropriate structure that will be designed to not only help transform their life, but will ultimately bring influence on the world around them as well as the next generation of pilgrims.

An Invitation
All the ministries of Rhythm of Grace are provided in order to assist in the process of classic Christian spiritual formation. In that process there comes a time for each individual to re-evaluate the direction his or her Christian life is heading.

Oftentimes, this evaluation comes during natural changes in a person’s lifestyle or it may come through a crisis. These can be times of darkness or times of simple curiosity about the Christian life and questioning, “Is this all it is? Is my life really different than before I came to Christ?”

That is why Jesus’ invitation seems to strike such a cord with so many people. “Are you tired? Worn out? Burned out on religion? Come to me. Get away with me and you’ll recover your life. I’ll show you how to take a real rest. Walk with me. Work with me—Watch how I do it. Learn the unforced rhythms of grace. I won’t lay anything heavy or ill-fitting on you. Keep company with me and you’ll learn to live freely and lightly.” (Matt. 11:28-30 The Message)

I, too, want to invite you to consider joining us on this Pilgrim’s Process as we learn from Jesus to walk in the unforced rhythms of grace. Contact us about dates and fees for the next cycle of A Pilgrim’s Process.