What Makes Contemplative Christianity Different?
About This Event
For many, Christianity has become about division, performance, or pressure — more about who’s in and who’s out, and less about how we grow in love. Contemplative Christianity invites us into a more spacious path, rooted in inner and outer transformation, radical compassion, and the lived experience of God’s presence in all things.
Gather with us online for What Makes Contemplative Christianity Different? live on September 14, 2025, from 4:00 – 5:30 p.m. PT. All who register by September 13 will get replay access within a week of the event for a full year. Find the event in your time zone.
In this live online gathering, explore pillars of contemplative Christianity such as:
- Honoring Experience
- Practicing in Solitude and Community
- Spirituality as an Ongoing Conversation
- Radical Love
Whether you’re just beginning this journey or looking to deepen it, these pillars offer tools and touchstones you can carry forward into your daily life.
“Our Christian tradition teaches us that [contemplative practices] are pathways into the direct experience of Divine presence and love.”
—BRIAN MCLAREN
Event Details
Contemplative Christianity is a conversation — with ourselves, with reality, with other traditions, and with those with different worldviews. What Makes Contemplative Christianity Different? is a unique 90-minute gathering, with CAC faculty Brian McLaren, James Finley, Carmen Acevedo Butcher, and
The Very Rev. Michael Battle, Ph.D.
Explore teachings, conversations, and practices designed to help us explore what makes the contemplative Christian movement unique. Participants will need a device with reliable internet access, such as a smartphone, tablet, or computer to access Zoom.
Registration
Registration for this event is open from August 6, 2025, through September 13, 2025. This event will be recorded. All who register by September 13 will have access to the replay for one full year. Replay access will be emailed within one week of the event.
Cost
The standard cost for this event is $95. While this price reflects the true cost of creating and offering this event, we are committed to reducing financial barriers to participation. That’s why we’re offering additional price levels—$30, $10, and $5—so you can choose the one that best aligns with your current financial circumstances.
These reduced options are made possible by the generosity of our donor community, who help ensure that seekers from all walks of life can engage the wisdom that calls us toward healing, wholeness, and deepening love.
“CAC’s online events were instrumental in fostering who I am today and who I will be tomorrow.”
—Lora C., CAC Community Member
Featured Teachers
Brian McLaren, Dean of CAC Faculty
Former evangelical pastor Brian McLaren is a champion for a more loving, inclusive and contemplative Christianity. A faculty member at the Center for Action and Contemplation, he teaches ways to reconnect with the message Jesus lived and died for — unconditional love. Brian is the author of “Faith After Doubt,” “Do I Stay Christian,” “Life After Doom,” and host of CAC’s acclaimed podcast “Learning How to See.”
James Finley, Core Faculty
Student of Thomas Merton and clinical psychologist, Dr. James Finley teaches how connecting to our Divine indwelling can transcend fear and shame and awaken to our True Self. A faculty member at the Center for Action and Contemplation, James is the author of “The Healing Path,” “Merton’s Palace of Nowhere” and the host of CAC’s popular podcast “Turning to the Mystics.”
Carmen Acevedo Butcher, Core Faculty
Dr. Carmen Acevedo Butcher is an award-winning author, poet, and translator of spiritual texts — she has translated the books, “The Cloud of Unknowing,” and “Practice of the Presence.” Carmen is a faculty member at CAC and teaches at UC Berkeley, focusing on language evolution and inclusive communication. Her work highlights the power of words and the connection between personal and global healing.
The Very Rev. Michael Battle, Ph.D., Guest Teacher
The Very Rev. Michael Battle, Ph.D. is the Extraordinary Professor at the Desmond Tutu Centre for Religion and Social Justice, the University of the Western Cape, South Africa, and Theologian in Community at Trinity Church Boston. In 1993 he was ordained a priest by Archbishop Desmond Tutu. Battle has published nine books, including “Reconciliation: the Ubuntu Theology of Desmond Tutu,” and “Ubuntu: I in You and You in Me.” Battle’s latest book is: “Desmond Tutu: A Spiritual Biography of South Africa’s Confessor.”
Registration opens August 6. This event will be recorded. All registrants will have access to the replay for one full year.
Contemplative Christianity provides a pathway to discover love for ourselves, our neighbors, and our enemies. CAC encourages authentic conversation in our various online experiences. We expect all participants to abide by our community and conversation guidelines.
Event details are subject to change. If you have any questions, please look through our Event FAQs. If you can’t find your answer there, contact our Community Support team.
Frequently Asked Questions
Participants will need a device with reliable internet access, such as a smartphone, tablet, or computer to access Zoom.
Even if you are unable to join live, we recommend registering for the event, as all registrants will receive access to the online gathering recording for one full year.
Online gathering recordings will be sent to all registrants via email the week following the online gathering. Event recordings are available to view for one calendar from the event date.
To cancel your online gathering registration and request a refund, please send your request to our Community Support team.
If written notice of your cancellation is received by CAC on or before September 10, 2025, the amount of each cancelled online gathering registration will be fully refunded to the credit card used to register.
Unfortunately, we cannot refund online gathering registrations canceled after September 10, 2025.
Registrations for the online gatherings are individual registrations. We ask that you do not share event access outside of individual or household viewing.