Learning to Pray With C.S. Lewis
A SUMMER COURSE AND A STUDY GUIDE - COMING SOON
Just after I began serving as Dean & President of Trinity Anglican Seminary, two institutional legends stopped by my office for a long visit followed by lunch at Alexander's. Their visit bore witness to the collegiality and mutual care that has defined Trinity's formation of Christian leaders since its founding. Steve Noll began serving Trinity just a few years after its founding and had a distinguished career as Professor of New Testament and Academic Dean. After a long career at Trinity, Steve went on to serve as Vice Principal of Uganda Christian University where he helped develop the institution into one of East Africa's most prestigious universities. John Rodgers left a post at Virginia Theological Seminary to join Trinity's founding faculty - first as Professor of Theology and then as our longest serving Dean & President.
It was a wonderful visit, full of very helpful and practical advice. The nature of their visit and of their pastoral care taught me as much about the institution as anything we discussed. While various institutional matters occupied our conversation, one piece of wisdom has lodged itself permanently in my mind. Namely, John's insisted—with Steve's agreement—that I absolutely must maintain a teaching presence in the classroom, and that advice has remained something of a burden to me in the last few years. "It is important," John said, "that students know and trust you not merely as an administrator but as a theologian and priest." Moreover, he emphasized that I needed to be known by all our constituents as a theological leader—someone whose vocation visibly embodies Trinity's mission to serve the church and her ministries.
John’s advice spoke to something essential about Trinity's identity—that leadership here has never been merely administrative but fundamentally formational and theological. Unfortunately, it has taken me too long to act upon this good advice, but I'm happy to say that I am now ready to get back into the classroom - for at least one course per year - beginning with "ST/PT 655: Learning to Pray with C.S. Lewis."
This June 2025 intensive course represents one expression of Trinity's broader commitment to forming Christian leaders through rigorous theological education. The course aligns with our institutional vision by exploring prayer not merely as devotional practice but as a theologically significant dimension of redemption—what might be described as the restoration of divine-human communication fractured in the fall. Like many offerings in our curriculum, it seeks to integrate doctrinal substance with formational practice in service to the church and her mission.
C.S. Lewis once wrote to an Italian priest that he hoped to write "a book about private prayers for the use of the laity, especially for those who have been recently converted to the Christian Faith." Though Lewis never completed this project in the form he initially envisioned, his wrestling with the theological complexity of prayer—particularly petitionary prayer—led him through profound philosophical and theological territory. Lewis's journey parallels our own contemporary struggles with prayer, making him an ideal companion for exploring this vital aspect of Christian formation.
Our course will begin, perhaps surprisingly, with Lewis's The Abolition of Man —a text that might initially seem distant from prayer's concerns. Yet this prophetic work provides essential diagnostic tools for understanding our cultural moment. In it, Lewis identifies the philosophical currents that have eroded our culture's capacity to perceive the voice of God in the “given” order of creation, which is foundational for all true christian prayer. Only after carefully diagnosing this "modern pathology" can we properly appreciate the nature and importance of prayer in the christian life. My hope is that this course will model what Trinity, at its best, has always fostered: theological reflection that is intellectually rigorous, spiritually formative, and ecclesially focused.
The course will be open to all students—whether pursuing certificates, diplomas, master's or doctoral degrees—as well as those simply wishing to audit. If you have any interest in joining us on campus from June 9-13 of 2025, you can register at the link below:
ST/PT 655: Learning to Pray with C.S. Lewis
I am currently working on an in-depth study guide available to all, whether enrolled in the course or not. The guide will include 15 study sessions, and each session will include the following:
A list of primary readings from Lewis's works (I’ll provide a list of all readings for the course with my first post).
A narrative providing theological context and definitions of key concepts - all intended to help you better understand and appreciate Lewis’s writing
Questions for reflection and discussion
Practical exercises to enrich your private and corporate practice of prayer
I will post these sessions one at a time over the next few months until the study guide is complete. Those who register will use this guide in preparation for our intensive week, but I'm happy to make it more widely available through this Substack newsletter. Consider this an invitation to follow along, share this work with others, and perhaps join us on Trinity's campus during the week of June 9-13, 2025.
Yours in Christ,
Bryan