ICS: Courses and Retreats

 

Embodied Spirituality: Sleep, Nourishment and the Active Life as Worship 

Dave Nixon Headshot

Embodied Spirituality Retreat

Led by Dave Nixon

Saturday, September 20, 2025 • 9:00 a.m.–3:30 p.m.

About the Retreat

This retreat addresses a critical and often overlooked topic in Christian circles: caring for our physical well-being as an essential part of worship in the 21st-century Western world.

The retreat includes four sessions:

  • Establishing a Theology of Self-Care
  • Reclaiming Our Sleep and Light
  • Reclaiming Our Daily Bread
  • Reclaiming an Active Life

Each session will include:

  • A prayerful or meditative component
  • Teaching
  • Interactive questions and conversation

Event Details

Price

$65 per person. Lunch included.

Lipscomb faculty and staff: email ics [at] lipscomb.edu (ics[at]lipscomb[dot]edu) for a $20 discount code.

Registration deadline

9 a.m., September 17, 2025

Location

Faculty Club 1891, Bennett Campus Center, Lipscomb University

Register Now 

About Dave Nixon

David Nixon’s pursuits have been broad and varied. In his early years, he focused on ancient Greek, textual criticism, and the history of the canon, teaching several languages at both university and secondary levels. He planted and pastored an inner-city parish-style church for seven years and later ran a retreat center with his wife in a former convent.

He founded the nonprofit Sustainable Faith, which grew into the largest training organization in the world for spiritual directors. He has also studied macroeconomics and monetary policy. His current passion is establishing the School of Neighborhood Life, a network of neighborhood-bound, home-centered eucharistic communities working for the good of their neighbors.

Enduring questions that guide his work:

  • How do we love well?
  • What is the experience of receiving God’s love?
  • What does it mean to thrive as a child of God?
  • How do we yield to the Holy Spirit?
  • How does the church live out its mission today?

Learn more at sustainablefaith.com.

Lance Bolay

Discover Thomas Merton: A Four-Week Online Introduction

Led by Lance Bolay

Thursdays, October 9–30, 2025 • 6:30–7:30 p.m. (CT) • via Zoom

About the Course

This October, join Lance Bolay with the Institute for Christian Spirituality and step into the contemplative world of Thomas Merton. Over four Thursday evenings, we'll journey through his life, reflect on his teachings on prayer, explore the inner work of identity and freedom, and discover how inner transformation fuels engagement with justice and compassion.

Session Themes:

  • Oct 9: Merton’s Life—Monk, Writer, Global Voice
  • Oct 16: Contemplation & Prayer—Silence, Solitude, and Awareness
  • Oct 23: True Self & False Self—Identity and Spiritual Freedom
  • Oct 30: Contemplation in Action—Merton on Peace, Justice, and Compassion

Event Details

Price

$100 for four sessions.

Lipscomb faculty and staff: email ics [at] lipscomb.edu (ics[at]lipscomb[dot]edu) for a $40 discount code.

Location

Online via Zoom

About Lance Bolay

Lance Bolay, D.Min., Director of Mission Impact at Mosaic Counseling Centers of East Texas, is a trained spiritual director (ICS & Shalem Institute), guiding others in contemplative formation since 2010 and an ICS instructor since 2015.