Each year, we gather our youth leaders together for rest, restoration and renewal. This year, we are excited to have Sam Lee (co-lead Pastor at Spring Garden Church) lead us through the movements of Henri Nouwen’s Life of the Beloved as part of his D.min studies for a 1-day online event.
Why should I come to this retreat?
Come and be part of exploring the spirituality of Henri Nouwen and how it relates to your own spiritual identity as a beloved child of God. Together, you will spend time with fellow youth pastors/workers from CBOQ, discovering together how Nouwen’s spirituality applies to your own life and how it can impact your ministry. Come and be part of an exciting opportunity where you can grow in your ministry and shape a doctoral research project!
Register today and you may be able to receive a FREE copy of “Life of the Beloved”. Copies of Life of the Beloved are generously donated by the Henri Nouwen Society.
You can find more details below the registration form including a personal note from Sam.
Fill out my online form.
About Sam
Sam Lee has been serving in children & youth ministry since 2001. In 2020, Sam transitioned into his current role as the Co-Lead Pastor at Spring Garden Baptist Church. He has his MDiv from Wycliffe College and is currently working on his D.Min at Acadia University with a focus on youth spiritual formation and Henri Nouwen.
A note from Sam
I am currently a student at Acadia Divinity College and serve as a pastor at Spring Garden Baptist Church. I am doing research on the value of Henri Nouwen’s “Life of the Beloved” in youth ministry and its leaders ). I will be providing you with the information on the “Life of the Beloved” and invite you to be part of this research. You do not need decide right away whether you will participate in the research. Before you decide, you can talk to anyone you feel comfortable with about the research. If there are any questions about the consent form or the research itself, please feel free to ask them to me.
Purpose of the research
There are many ways of approaching youth ministry with different focuses. My desire is to have the focus of youth ministry on spiritual formation. One concept in spiritual formation is the idea of the true/false self. The idea is that we are our true selves when we are in relationship with Jesus. Henri Nouwen has his version of the true self called the “Life of the Beloved.” I want to explore the value of Nouwen’s concept of the “Life of the Beloved” in youth ministry by looking at what the value of it would be for you and then what it might be for the youth you work with.
This research will happen over two sessions covering the four movements of the “Life of the Beloved.” In each session, I will introduce Nouwen’s material and then you will be broken up into small groups for a time of focused discussion.
From the Henri Nouwen Society
To learn more about the Society’s work, including free Daily Meditations, podcasts, and book discussion guides, please visit henrinouwen.org. Speaking of free book discussion guides, you may be interested in the one for Life of the Beloved! Here’s the link to the page: https://henrinouwen.org/read-nouwen/discussion-guides/
For any questions, contact Alvin.