Episode 1: Ruth Haley Barton

April 19, 2017

In this Episode, Jedd interviews Ruth Haley Barton — founder of the Transforming Center and author of a number of excellent books on the spiritual disciplines.  Ruth shares practices and habits critical for sustaining work of justice and mercy for a lifetime.

In this episode, you'll discover

  • Why spiritual disciplines are so vital to the Christian life generally and especially critical for people who are involved with hard, often painful justice work. 

  • Specific practices for cultivating the kind of inner life in Christ that can sustain us in long journeys of justice and mercy — both individually and as teams.

  • Restoring the joy and "first love" of our mission when we've lost it.

  • The benefits of a weekly Sabbath, patterns of prayer within the work day, and times away in solitude and silence.

Key Quotes:

"Silence is a place where we wait on God in the midst of the great unfixables of our lives. " - Ruth Haley Barton

"When we get involved in mission, we are carried out to the edges, where human wisdom fails, where we see the limits of what we can do in terms of solving the problems and the issues of the world. In silence, we wait on God. Psalm 62 says, ‘For God alone my soul waits in silence; from him comes my salvation.’ " - Ruth Haley Barton

"The most important thing we have to offer others is our transforming selves. " - Ruth Haley Barton

Meet Our Guest

Ruth Haley Barton
Award Winning Author, Conference Speaker, Founder of the Transforming Center 

Ruth travels widely, teaching and consulting with leadership teams in the areas of leadership transformation, corporate discernment, and spiritual community. She has served on the pastoral staff of several churches, including Willow Creek Community Church. Ruth has taught at the Wheaton College Graduate School, Denver Seminary, Northeastern Seminary and Mars Hill Graduate School and is a senior teaching fellow for the Renovare Institute. She has recently joined the faculty of Northern Seminary as an adjunct Professor of Spiritual Transformation.

The breadth of Ruth’s study and learning in a variety of settings contributes to the strength of her teaching and writing. While she values all that she has gained from the teachers and institutions in which she has studied, this does not imply endorsement of everything taught in these environments. Ruth’s teaching and writing have been most profoundly shaped by her commitment to “examine the Scriptures to see if these things are so.” (Acts 17:11)

The ministry of the Transforming Center exists to strengthen the souls of pastors, Christian leaders, and the congregations and organizations they serve. Ruth is the primary teacher and spiritual director in our core program for leaders, the Transforming Community experience. Learn more about a growing movement of individuals and churches who desire to become a Transforming Church.