The Benefits of Solitude and SIlence
The hermitage I stayed in. I have said before that the mentors to my generation of Christian leaders would include the following: Richard Foster, Leslie Newbign, Dallas Willard, Eugene Peterson, Mirozlov Volf and Henri Nouwen. The writing of these men have been hugely formative in my spiritual life and in the life of my ministry. I just finished WIllard's book "The Great Omission". It is a collection of past essays he has written on the lack of discipleship in contemporary Christianity. It is a great book. He makes several references to the necessity for solitude and silence in the life of Christian, and in the life of leaders. Since, I fall into both categories - Christian and leader, I paid attention. And I tried it out. Last Friday, I checked into a hermitage at a local Catholic retreat center. A hermitage is a small living space set aside for monastics who have chosen to live a life of solitude from the rest of society. Other terms include Poustina or Ashram. The herm