Eric Magnusson led a discussion on becoming human through becoming divine. He discussed how humanity is created in God's image and our spiritual life involves image-bearing and union with God. This involves contemplative prayer which allows us to participate in God's life through concepts like eros, perichoresis, and kenosis from a Trinitarian perspective. Social action is also discussed as participating in God's justice. Information was provided on the MSFL program at SAU Online, including its curriculum, residencies in Guatemala and the US, and admissions requirements.

1. Virtual Webinar:
Becoming Human by Becoming Divine
Presented by Eric Magnusson, Director of SAU Online MSFL Program

2. INTRODUCTIONS
Moderator:
Erin Brackman
Guest Speaker:
Eric Magnusson
Director of
MSFL program
Guest Speaker:
Cynthia Love
Admissions
Representative

3. • Guest Speaker Eric Magnusson leads discussion:
Becoming Human by Becoming Divine
• Humanity as created in God's image
• "Becoming": A Trinitarian Ontology
• Contemplative prayer and participating in God's life
• Social action and participating in God's justice
• About the MSFL program at SAU Online
• About SAU Online
• Questions & Answers
THE AGENDA
#MSFLSAU

4. BECOMING
HUMAN BY
BECOMING
DIVINE:
W H Y T H E T R I N I T Y I S
I M P O R T A N T T O L I V I N G
T H E S P I R I T U A L L I F E
#SFLSAU

5. Creation, Salvation and the Imago Dei
• What is the first and most fundamental theological claim in Scripture about what it means
to be a human person?
"Then God said, ‘Let us make humankind in our image, according to our likeness; and
let them have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the birds of the air, and over
the cattle, and over all the wild animals of the earth, and over every creeping thing that
creeps upon the earth.’ So God created humankind in the divine image, in the divine
image God created them; male and female God created them.”
(Genesis 1:26-27)
• What does that say about the spiritual life?
• The spiritual life is about "image bearing" rooted in creation and union with God.
HUMANITY IN GOD’S IMAGE

6. • How we think of human "being" has everything to do with how we think of God's "being.“
• "God is Love": Trinitarian relationality and being
– Eros: Yearning or desire for union with another.
• Out of the plenitude of God's longing love in the Trinity, divine desire for humanity
invites full ecstatic participation in the divine, Trinitarian, life.
• "[God] is carried outside himself in the loving care he has for everything. He is
beguiled by goodness, by love, and by yearning and is enticed away from his
transcendent dwelling place and comes to abide within all things...”
(Ps-Dionysius, DN 712B).
– Perichoresis: Communion of eternal mutual self-giving and receiving.
– Ekstasis & Kenosis: Decentering movement out of one's own life and into another.
“BECOMING”: A TRINITARIAN ONTOLOGY

7. • Salvation is a transforming communion or "at-one-ment."
We are becoming like God (divine) as we are becoming
more fully human.
• Contemplative prayer enacts that union with God:
– in an act of yearning love (eros):
– we are drawn out of ourselves (ekstasis);
– invited into participation in the life of the God
(perichoresis);
– while the image of God is renewed in us (theosis).
• Contemplative prayer is a decentering: "hidden in God"
(Col 3) to "participate in the divine nature" (2 Pet 1) so that
we are transformed into God's image (2 Cor 3).
" B L E S S E D T R I N I T Y "
B Y M A R L E N E S C H O L Z
CONTEMPLATIVE PRAYER AS A PARTICIPATION IN GOD’S LIFE

8. CP AND PARTICIPATING IN GOD’S LIFE
"O blessed Love, This has always been your task, and still is: To bind
together God and the human soul. That shall be your task forever...”
- Mechthild of Magdeburg, 13th C
"And in our creating he joined and united [knit and oned] us to himself,
and through this union [oneing] we are kept as pure and as noble as we
were created. By the power of that same precious union [oneing] we love
our Creator and delight in him, praise him and thank him and endlessly
rejoice in him.”
- Julian of Norwich, 14th C

9. CP AND PARTICIPATING IN GOD’S LIFE
"To those listening properly to the divine things the name 'love' is used by
the sacred writers in divine revelation with the exact same meaning as the
term 'yearning.' What is signified is a capacity to effect a unity, an alliance,
and a particular commingling in the Beautiful and the Good …
"This divine yearning brings ecstasy so that the lover belongs not to self
but to the beloved … This is why the great Paul, swept along by his
yearning for God and seized of its ecstatic power, had this inspired word
to say: 'It is not longer I who live, but Christ who lives in me.'”
- Ps-Dionysius, 5th-6th C

10. CP AND PARTICIPATING IN GOD’S LIFE
"Fire, when applied to wood, first dehumidifies it, dispelling all moisture and
making it give off any water it contains. Then it gradually turns the wood black,
makes it dark and ugly, and even causes it to emit a bad odor. By drying out the
wood, the fire brings to light and expels all those ugly and dark accidents that are
contrary to fire. Finally, by heating and enkindling it from without, the fire
transforms the wood into itself and makes it as beautiful as it is itself.
Once transformed, the wood no longer has any activity or passivity of its own,
except for its weight and its quantity that is denser than the fire. It possesses the
properties and performs the actions of fire: It is dry and it dries; it is hot and it
gives off heat; it is brilliant and it illumines; it is also much lighter in weight than
before. It is the fire that produces all these properties in the wood.
Similarly, we should philosophize about this divine, loving fire of contemplation …
As the soul is purged and purified by this fire of love, it is further enkindled in love,
just as the wood becomes hotter as the fire prepares it.”
- John of the Cross, 16th C

11. SOCIAL ACTION AND PARTICIPATING IN GOD’S JUSTICE
• Contemplative prayer and social action both are rooted in attentiveness.
– Contemplative prayer draws us into God's Trinitarian life and cultivates
a deeper attentiveness to God.
– As we share God's life, we learn to live God's Trinitarian rhythms in and
for the world: eros, perichoresis, ekstasis, and kenosis.
• God's justice in the world is rooted in God's yearning love (eros). Our
participation is about attentiveness and openness to the real needs of real
people in the real world.

12. "Let us suppose that this circle is the world and
that God himself is the center; the straight lines
drawn from the circumference to the center are
the lives of [people] …
The closer they are to God, the closer they
become to one another; and the closer they are
to one another, the closer they become to God …
This is the very nature of love …
If we were to love God more, we should be closer
to God, and through love of him we should be
more united in love to our neighbor; and the more
we are united to our neighbor the more we are
united to God.” (Dorotheus of Gaza)

13. A B O U T T H E M S F L P R O G R A M
A T S P R I N G A R B O R U N I V E R S I T Y O N L I N E

14. ABOUT THE MSFL PROGRAM AT SAU ONLINE
Developed under the guidance of Richard J. Foster, founder of Renovare, Spring
Arbor University’s Master of Arts in Spiritual Formation & Leadership is a rigorous
program – one of only three like it in the world delivered online – that combines
knowledge, practice, theology, contemplation and spirituality in a way that
encourages personal and communal spiritual health and teaches you to listen
more closely to God and to identify the work of the Spirit in your life.
• Can be completed primarily online in two years
• Week-long summer residency in Guatemala: a once-in-a-lifetime experience
of not just studying social justice and culture, but also of being immersed in
the tangible realities that Guatemalans face today
• On-site domestic residencies: give you face-to-face access to nationally
known leaders and practitioners in the field of spiritual formation and
leadership; a great time for personal reflection and spiritual growth

15. Nathan Foster, Andrews Chair in Spiritual Formation, professor, author, and speaker
“Transformation of the Personality: Helped by God and Invited to Help Others”
Franciscan Renewal Center, Scottsdale, AZ – January 2016
Phyllis Tickle, contributing editor to Publisher’s Weekly, author, and speaker
“Being Christian in the 21st Century”
Michindoh Conference Center, Hillsdale, Michigan – January 2015
Rev. Elaine Heath, Ph.D., co-founder of the Missional Wisdom Foundation
“Spiritual Direction as a Practice of Evangelism”
Serra Retreat, Malibu, California - January 2014
ABOUT THE DOMESTIC RESIDENCIES
Our residency sessions are designed to give students face-to-face access to nationally known
leaders and practitioners in the field of spiritual formation and leadership. The week-long intensive
seminars consist of a mixture of lecture, small group dynamics, personal reflection, spiritual
exercises, as well as reading and writing assignments.

16. ABOUT THE GUATEMALA RESIDENCY
Since 2012, MSFL students have had the benefit of studying Social Justice and
Christian Spirituality in Guatemala. During this 10-day experience, students will
get to see firsthand the social issues that affect the poor in Guatemalan society.
Our students will also have the opportunity to have discussions with various
Guatemalan Spiritual leaders. To understand the people of God today, it is
imperative to understand the church of the global south; being in Guatemala will
afford our students this opportunity.

17. A B O U T S P R I N G A R B O R U N I V E R I T Y
O N L I N E

18. ABOUT SPRING ARBOR UNIVERSITY ONLINE
What began as a small elementary and secondary school in the late 1800s has evolved into a top-
tier ecumenical Christian university committed to lifelong involvement in the study and application of
the liberal arts, with Jesus Christ as the perspective for learning and critical participation in the
contemporary world.
At SAU, your spiritual growth is just as important as your academic growth. That is why each of our
educational programs is built on a foundation of academic and educational integrity and faith. It is
our belief that by integrating faith into education, you will advance toward your purpose in life in a
way that is needed in society and is pleasing to God.
Students of our programs either share the Christian perspective of the university or are amenable
to such perspectives while a student. This means all students are expected to govern their lives in a
way that is pleasing to the Creator, is enriching to oneself and to others.

19. ADMISSIONS REQUIREMENTS
• A Bachelor’s degree from a regionally accredited college or university
• A 3.0 GPA for at least the last two years of the Bachelor’s degree
• An official transcript from the institution granting the Bachelor’s degree, as well as official
transcripts for any graduate work
• Three recommendations: one church reference (minister or church leader) and two references
from work or school
• Submission of Autobiographical Question form
• A completed application and application fee

20. STUDENT SUPPORT
As a pioneer and leader in adult online education, SAU understands your needs and
welcomes you with an online environment specifically created to enhance your strengths
and support your journey.
• An Online Admissions Representative will help you choose a program that best fits
your needs and walk you through the admissions process.
• Our Financial Aid Staff will give you accurate information on financial resources, based
on your specific needs and circumstances.
• Your Student Success Advisor will be your personal concierge from day one to
graduation day.
• Our Tech Support team will help you with any technical issues you may have.
• A Graduate Career Advisor will help you develop a career plan and will notify you of
opportunities, experiences or resources related to your career plan.

21. FINANCIAL AID
• The majority of our students receive some type of
financial aid.
• Military active-duty and National Guard personnel enjoy
a 30 percent reduction on tuition.
• Our Financial Aid staff will walk you through available
institutional, state and federal awards based on your
specific circumstances.

22. The February start is approaching quickly….
Are you ready to start your journey toward the MSFL
with SAU?
We are now accepting applications!
MSFL @SAUONLINE IN FOCUS

23. NEXT STEPS
• The next term begins February, 2016
• Contact Admissions to learn more or for help through
the process:
Cynthia Love
517.395.2561
Cynthia.Love@learnonline.arbor.edu
• Or apply now through our online portal here

24. QUESTIONS & ANSWERS