5-Day Academy for
Spiritual Formation

Christian spiritual formation resources and teachings have primarily come from Western spiritual traditions. Our current approach to formation comes out of that way of thinking and being, communicating that the white experience of God is the norm and authority.

Cindy S. Lee proposes that we as the church need a new way to engage in spiritual formation. To thrive in our increasingly diverse contexts, we need an unforming and reforming of our souls. We need to unform the ways Western-dominated church leaders have understood formation. We need to reform–to imagine and create a more intricate spirituality that includes diverse experiences of God.

Our Unforming is organized into three cultural orientations and eight postures. Lee proposes that when we consider non-Western cultural ways of being–turning from linear to cyclical, from cerebral to experiential, and from individual to collective–the formation journey shifts. We live out these movements through postures, ways of entering into deeper spiritual transformation. The eight postures reflect our experience of time, generations, imagination, uncertainty, language, work, dependence, elders, and harmony.

Lee offers a more robust spirituality to hold the complexities of a multicultural God and the God-human relationship. Our Unforming is sure to inspire further conversation as it shifts how we approach formation in our diverse communities.

Cindy S. Lee is a Taiwanese-American spiritual director and aspiring mystic. She leads retreats in the areas of Christian mysticism and BIPOC-centered spirituality. She also mentors and trains spiritual directors and is particularly interested in supporting BIPOC spiritual directors. As an affiliate, she teaches in the area of Christian spirituality and spiritual direction. In addition, Dr. Lee serves as the doctoral projects administrator for the DMin and DGL degrees at Fuller Theological Seminary. Prior to Fuller, she served overseas in Beijing and Taipei. In her free time, she enjoys street art, coffee, and exploring the city.

Today one of the most serious issues facing humanity is the climate crisis. This transformation of our global ecology is apocalyptic in the true sense of that word: it is revealing the flawed and problematic relationship that the modern industrial age has had, and continues to have, with the rest of the reality we call ‘the world.’ The magnitude of this crisis is, honestly, overwhelming and in response to the vastness of what lies before us people are reacting with feelings of fear, anxiety, and despair.

Facing this crisis, we may be tempted to think that the life of prayer is of little use or purpose. How can my prayer life change the carbon dioxide levels in the atmosphere? And while it cannot, praying in the face of an apocalypse has a long history in our faith for such times of revelation are fertile ground for spiritual transformation. In this Academy course, we will discover a wealth of contemplative resources that can help us remain grounded as our world is in turmoil, creation demands our attention, and we seek God’s Wisdom to relate to what lies ahead in a loving and just manner.

Daniel, a Presbyterian minister, is co-founder of the Minnesota Institute of Contemplation and Healing (MICAH). He has been a student of the spiritual life since age 21 and has taught in the fields of psychology and spiritual formation in numerous settings. In addition to his retreat and teaching work, Dan provides counseling and spiritual direction services at MICAH. He is also the author of “Leading a Life with God, the practice of spiritual leadership”, “Creating a Life with God: the call of ancient prayer practices”, co-author of “Meeting God in Virtual Reality”, and most recently, “The Collapse of the Three Story Universe: Christianity in an age of Science.”