Equipping Lydia to Host Two Training Sessions with Keith Jagger

Welcome Keith Jaggar

The ministry of Equipping Lydia is excited to announce that Keith Jagger will begin offering spiritual direction and group formation experiences for men.

As a spiritual guide, Keith offers one-on-one as well as small group spiritual direction, which aims at gently removing obstacles in the path of your life’s purpose. Whether your life has crashed, stalled, or simply needs a reboot, Keith invites you into an environment designed for spiritual alignment with God.

A little bit about Keith’s background:

• Bachelors of Arts in Religion, Classics, and Music, Augustana College, 2000.
• Masters of Arts in New Testament Studies, Asbury Theological Seminary, 2008.
• Certified in Formative Spirituality, Epiphany Academy for Formative Spirituality, 2011.
• Member of the Kentucky Conference, United Methodist Church
• PhD Candidate in Early Christianity, University of St. Andrews 2015

Spiritual Direction Appointments:

(See the Equipping Lydia ministry calendar to schedule appointments with Keith). Upcoming Formation Groups:

Journeying through Trauma in the Spiritual Lives of Men

Every man experiences trauma in his life. A fallen world demands it of us. Maybe our childhood caretakers neglected or abused us, or perhaps we’ve suffered a major health shock or have born the burden of caring for a loved one in the midst of their physical or mental pain. Maybe we’ve lost our ability to function in every day life, or perhaps we’ve suffered a deep fracture in relationship with those closest to us. Maybe we’ve had a lifelong dream ripped from us, or maybe we’ve simply self-destructed.

Every man holds a story of their own trauma, but there are some of us who have become crippled spiritually by our shock. In the wake of a recent or long-held trauma perhaps we struggle today to experience God’s embrace and hope that follows. Perhaps we find that our faith as we knew it seems no longer to work for us. Many men suffer through this alone. We believe that, in addition to good counselling and therapy, men in recovery from trauma need one another’s support through shared prayer and spiritual conversation.

We are seeking a group of 8-10 men who self-identify as a man who is struggling with or who has struggled through the effects of debilitating trauma in their spiritual life. For this beta group, these men should be willing to commit to three sessions and would consider themselves open to finding God afresh. Doubt is certainly welcome; but this is not a group of people struggling with unbelief, or a strident agenda to disprove God. This is not a therapy group; we cannot offer help in managing dysfunction resulting from our traumas. But we can share our stories and listen together for God’s voice in our lives. Our hope is that by sharing three sessions of prayer and spiritual conversation, we would find ourselves just a little more in touch with God’s love for us and his desire to heal others through us.

Location: Southern Hills, Lexington, KY

Dates

We’ll eat together from 11.30-Noon (bring your own sack lunch), and pray and converse from noon-1.30pm.

Register

Men of the Cross Formation Group

Christian men, three essential questions impose themselves upon us: What would you give up to ensure that your life ends well? What in your personal life now promises to derail you from that goal? And what are you going to do about it today?

This short-term spiritual guidance group believes that the health of our future lives, our families and communities, depends in great part on our recovery of wisdom about manhood, repositioned around Jesus’s own journey from boyhood to manhood. We believe Jesus offers us essential wisdom about our relationship to our societies and our families of origin, on bearing embarrassment, becoming gardeners, what to do with pride, the importance of suffering, how to turn our childhood wounds into gifts for the world, appreciation of our limits, forgiveness, how to relate godly with women and brothers, the importance of faithfulness, and how to find peace with God.

This semester’s four sessions, spread over the course of three months will focus on the themes of turning childhood wounds into gifts for the world, appreciation of our limits, and forgiveness. Sessions will include shared conversation, where appropriate, on personal reflections assigned between meetings.

Location: Richard Allen Chapel, Asbury Theological Seminary

Dates

Register

Equipping Lydia is experimenting with expanding the number of spiritual directors serving with the ministry. If you are a trained spiritual director and would like more information, contact Laura Beach.

If you are interested in spiritual direction training, consider this program offered at ATS in conjunction with the Center for Spiritual Formation beginning this fall.