Faithwalking

An Ongoing Spiritual Formation Journey

Why Faithwalking?

What is Faithwalking? Why is it needed, and what is it all about? Well, uh, it’s complicated….

In the video below, Ken Shuman addresses this complexity, explaining clearly and concisely what Faithwalking is all about and what its impact on people is as a powerful tool of personal and spiritual transformation. The bottom line is that we at Faithwalking desire to lead people in the way of Jesus. In an increasingly anxious, reactive, and polarized world, it is more and more difficult to live as our best selves, in ways consistent with our values and beliefs and the teachings of Jesus. Faithwalking helps people uncover issues beneath the surface that are preventing them from being on mission with God. It gives them a process and a set of tools that work to bring real change – bringing wholeness to every dimension of people’s lives and, by extension, the world we live in.

 

 

Audio version below

 

 

Abracadabra

As we continue to work to make the mission and vision of Faithwalking a reality in the lives of those we serve, we would like to introduce you to Faithwalking Foundations, a new set of Faithwalking offerings launching next month. Click here for more info and to register for our upcoming courses, Faithwalking Foundations Module 1 in both retreat and online format. Details are below.

Module 1 Retreat (FULL – registration closed)
Friday and Saturday, September 14-15
Friday 6:00 pm-9:00 pm/Saturday 9:00 am-6:00 pm
St. Andrew’s Presbyterian Church
Houston, TX

Module 1 Online
Beginning Monday, September 10 from 6:30-7:45 pm Central Time for 10 weeks (Zoom)

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Below is a teaser of what is to come in our Faithwalking Foundations curriculum. You can download a PDF at the bottom.

Giving Your Word to Yourself

I’m sure all of us are familiar with the word “abracadabra.” What you might not know, however, is that “abracadabra” comes from two Hebrew words, abra and kdabra. “Abracadabra” means “to create as I speak.” “Abracadabra” expresses the idea that we create with our words.

When God created the world, God spoke it into existence. God didn’t just think about it. God said, “let there be…,” and there was. God spoke it and it appeared. In Faithwalking we believe that we can create good things in our lives, through the power of our words. We believe that God invites us to “co-create” a preferred future for our lives.

In Matthew 17:20 Jesus said to his disciples, “Truly I tell you, if you have faith as small as a mustard seed, you can say to this mountain, ‘Move from here to there,’ and it will move. Nothing will be impossible for you.”

I believe that Jesus invites us to join our word with God’s word to make big things happen.

The Declaration of Independence of the United States of America is an example. The founding leaders of this country declared that they were free. The day they made this declaration they weren’t free. They had to work and fight to make this declared freedom a reality. We are now living into the future that they created. They created this future when they made a declaration.

In Faithwalking we believe that personal declarations have the power to change our personal futures. Positive and powerful personal declarations are keys to overcoming our vows and the things that trigger us. We exchange our negative vow(s) with a positive declaration of our own preferred future.

A declaration is action that is taken through language. It is language that creates a possible future for us. A declaration speaks a possible future into existence. It’s more than a dream or just a hope about our future. A declaration is a statement about our own future that we commit to creating. We take charge of our lives, and we become the authors of our own future.

We establish a declared future for ourselves rather than living into a default future. Until we become aware of our negative vows and replace them with positive declarations, we will live into a default future and nothing will ever change.

In essence, we give our word to ourselves and then we keep our word with ourselves. We determine for ourselves who we want to be and then we give our word to becoming what we have declared. When we stumble or mess up we simply honor our word by cleaning up the mess and recommitting. You have the power within you to give and keep your word with yourself.

I use the following process every time I get triggered and stopped. Here is how the process works:

1st Reflect. Spend some time reflecting on your negative vow(s). Ask yourself some deep questions such as: What are you protecting yourself from? What is the threat? What is it that triggers you and why? The clearer you can get about what the threat is, the more powerful your declaration will be.

After asking these questions, begin to think about who you would like to be instead. How would you prefer to show up in situations when you are triggered in the future? What characteristic or behavior would address what you are being threatened by?

2nd Declare it. Make a positive declaration for your future. Use language that is powerful enough to move you into action in a new direction. Write the declaration down so this it is accessible when you get stirred up and triggered.

The following are a few examples:

  1. I am courageous.
  2. I practice crucial conversations where I am completely honest and fully present.
  3. I am enough.
  4. I am a fully engaged, collaborating leader.
  5. I live a balanced life.
  6. I take a stand for my own voice without being stubborn, defensive, or rude.
  7. I give my word to wholeness and workability.

(For each of these declarations, I have multiple bullet points under them, fleshing them out more completely.)

2nd Commit to it. You must put everything you have into the fulfillment of your declaration. You must be committed to your preferred future. The signers of the Declaration of Independence said, “We mutually pledge to each other, our lives, our futures, and our sacred honor.”

3rd Fight for it. A future created by our words is not a certainty. We don’t get to just say it and then it happens without effort. We must fight for what we declare, every day.

As we fight for our own personal declarations, we will win some battles and we will lose some battles. Some days will go well, and other days will not go so well. Victory comes when we stay in the fight until we win the war.

When we fight for our declaration we are practicing showing up in a new way. We are developing new habits. Don’t be defeated by one setback. Don’t think you’ve failed if you’ve had one bad day of practice. Stay at it until you are living out your declaration without even thinking about it.

In conclusion, here is what we are asking you to do. Renounce your negative vow(s). Renounce the negative vow as a lie.  Repent – change your mind and then re-order your life in a new way. Make a positive declaration of who you want to become. Live into the positive declaration.

Giving Your Word to Yourself (PDF)

 

Creating Wholeness with Our Families of Origin

This fall, Faithwalking will be offering its first open course, “Creating Wholeness with Our Families of Origin.”  Below you can read and watch some of the testimonies of those who participated in the beta group for this class. For more information, click here.

Natalie

I was invited to be a part of the pilot of the Creating Wholeness with Our Families of Origin Faithwalking class at a unique point in my life. In general, everything was going well (far better than it was during Faithwalking 101, 201 and 202). And, really, I personally was doing far better than I’d ever been doing (thanks in large part to Faithwalking 101, 201 and 202). Frankly, things were going well enough that, while I knew I’d probably benefit from the class, I was dreading it – fearing that it’d be as intense as the other classes had been for me and would adversely impact my currently nice, calm life. But I’m so glad I went ahead with the class anyway! Little had I known when I was initially invited that, while participating in this pilot, my estranged mother would pass away and I’d get engaged. I’m so so grateful I had the space to process the many expected and unexpected facets of these two events with others who had been or were currently on similar journeys.

I can say lots of positive things about this class. For instance, it was so helpful to be with others who were in the Faithwalking “family,” who knew the language and the processes, and who were courageous and committed to doing this hard work, too. It was encouraging to be around others who had similar but different struggles with their parents and families of origin, to really know that I wasn’t alone and my experience wasn’t unique. And, more than anything, it was so helpful to have the space to process parent and family-of-origin issues at a deeper level – especially during these two major life events. This chance to go deeper into these issues, after having had the very helpful foundation of the earlier Faithwalking classes, was priceless. The work wasn’t any easier this time than it was in the former classes, since there’s always work to be done if we’re brave enough to keep pressing into it. BUT, it was quicker. Pieces came together faster. Truths were grasped more eagerly. Challenges and encouragements by Todd, the facilitator, were received more openly. And really, the kingdom vision of getting to live as the “fully alive Natalie” while also having a deep and rich relationship with my father was (and is) so alluring that the hard work, anxiety and discomfort were worth it. I’m not “there” yet (as in, that vision isn’t fully realized yet), but the hope of that vision is. And, this class was definitely a big catalyst in my allowing that hope to emerge and in believing that its eventual fulfillment is possible.

Angela

Throughout Faithwalking, I have been told that doing this work with your family of origin has the most impact. This course solidified that for me. I realize the importance of continuing to push into my family of origin to learn how to show up in a healthier way. This is impacting my relationships with my family of origin. This is impacting how I see myself and how I see them. I have found additional healing from the past. I have found freedom in that healing.

Hearing other people’s stories and doing this work alongside them is a really powerful experience. There is so much learning and it is encouraging to know you are not alone in hard family relationships. I don’t think this is the type of work that can be done alone. God used these other voices in my life to show me places of grief, disobedience, thankfulness, and truth.

This is hard work. My autopilot shows up the strongest with my family of origin. The intentionality of this course to dig into that stuff is allowing me to see my automatic reactions more quickly and has allowed me to make progress in changing those unhealthy reactions. I am not successful every time but have made progress.

The more I do this work, the more I see this is a lifelong journey. I would recommend this course as a powerful continuation of the Faithwalking work God has started in you.

Ryan

Listen:

 

Transition

2018 is a year of exciting transition for Faithwalking. The team is working hard to navigate this transition, and we are really excited about the possibilities before us and about our future. Below is a summary of some of the changes on the horizon and ways you can help us accomplish our vision.

Beyond the transition of leadership we face as Faithwalking founder Jim Herrington has stepped down from active leadership in the organization, we are currently engaged in making large strides toward becoming a vision-centered organization rather than a leader-centered organization. We recognize this is a normal process in healthy organizations.

Expanding the reach and impact of Faithwalking is the second task at hand for us. We have reenvisioned our strategy of empowering Faithwalking Circles to use the Core Four to continue to expand the Faithwalking “movement” that is our legacy. This is really exciting, as we hope that this revamped strategy will align more clearly with our core value of being missional in the world and reaching those who are poor, marginalized, and in need.

On the other side, the very real challenge of creating wholeness and workability for Faithwalking in the financial arena has proven to be a creative force for us. On the one hand we have carefully considered an increase in our fees and implementing a scholarship structure. On the other, we couldn’t be more excited about the creation of a new Faithwalking curriculum, “Faithwalking Foundations,” and new offerings, such as “Becoming Differentiated with our Families,” that we hope to begin rolling out in September.

Stay tuned – there is more to come! For now (and as usual), we invite you to help us. We are currently seeking grants to help fund the following special projects:

  • a professional rewrite of our materials
  • a professional rebranding of Faithwalking
  • hiring a bilingual (Spanish) intern

If you are familiar with any grants you think we should consider applying for, or if would like to discuss how you might help us fund any of these projects at any level, we would love to hear from you! You can also click below to donate immediately. If you would like to designate your contribution to a particular project, you can do so in the “special instructions” box.

DONATE HERE

Contact: Angela Raley, angelaraley@faithwalking.us

Why Faithwalking? Interview – Ken Shuman

From counseling to meditation, there are plenty of transformational programs that claim to address our deepest human needs. But how do we define these needs, and what keeps Faithwalking from becoming just another program? In this video, our leader Ken Shuman discusses with Marcos Leon the deep needs we have for wholeness and workability in our lives. He explains how Faithwalking can transform us into people who grow in these areas despite living in an anxious and reactive world. Following the video, we invite you to read Ken’s short reflection, “The Case for Faithwalking,” to further explore the uniqueness of what Faithwalking has to offer.

 

 

audio version available below

 

The Case for Faithwalking

A clear statement of the need we address:

We live in a reactive culture where even the most well-intentioned people behave in less than healthy ways.

Everyone has triggers. Marriages, families, churches, businesses, communities and governments are all impacted by people’s lack of ability to work together in healthy and life-giving ways. As a result, most of the systems in our culture are impaired, and many are disintegrating. Individuals and the world remain broken and disunified. Christians inconsistently follow the path of Jesus. We miss out on the fully alive life. The world remains mostly unchanged. Polarization and impulsive bad behavior are on the increase. Simple answers get offered when the real answers lie deep within every individual.

“External conflicts are difficult to resolve before resolving the internal conflicts that fuel them.” Dr. Henry Cloud

We believe that wholeness and workability are God’s intended design. We believe that God desires peace, unity, and soundness in individuals and in systems. We believe that when God’s kingdom invades the earth that wholeness is reclaimed in everyone and that workability is established for everyone.

Reclaiming wholeness and establishing workability in individuals, communities, systems and the world is our mission.

How do we address this need?

We believe that information alone doesn’t transform but that informed practice transforms.

We teach people how to use a set of tools that lead to personal transformation and the fully alive life. We coach them in how to apply the tools in their lives. We empower them to learn to coach themselves as an ongoing way of life. We mobilize them to join with God in God’s ongoing mission in the places where they live, work, and play. Individuals are transforming and becoming more whole, and they then impact systems that become more whole and workable.

What makes us unique? Our mix of resources. Family systems theory, spiritual formation, missional theology, leadership development, and practical self-help. Our process: of information, practice and reflection Our coaching A mix of professionals and volunteers. Our end-game of wholeness and workability in individuals, communities, systems and the world.

How can others help us? Pray, Give, Coach, Volunteer