The Gap We're Addressing

We are convinced, here at The Center for Embodied Faith, that fragmented discipleship ignores how people are actually formed and transformed. So, big picture, we seek to fill in this gap by integrating attachment theory, neuroscience, and Christian formation so faith can take root in real life.

We have done this in our books, in our 6-week trainings, and through our 3-year Doctoral Program. But there is a still a gap in forming and equipping leaders in a way that requires longer than 6 weeks but shorter (and cheaper) than a 3- year doctoral program. 

This 6-month, advanced-level program seeks to deepen the attachment of leaders to God so that they can create cultures of healing and sustainability for others.

The Longing That Drives Us

We long to see pastors and leaders work from a sustainable and transformative relationship with God so that they can lead their teams and communities into seasons of healing, growth, and impact.

At the base, our longing is to cultivate faith, hope, and love in pastors and leaders, to they can do the same for others. We long for you to build a confident faith that forms people who can remain resilient through stress, conflict, and uncertainty. We long for you to have a courageous hope so you can remain present to hard realities while trusting that, with Jesus, deep change is possible. And we long for you to develop a connected love where true transformation begins with being loved by God and others, not with trying harder.

This 6-month leaders training is all about connection and change. 

Connection: The two main connections this training will make are between the leaders and between science and spirituality. 

Leaders: Ministry is hard and lonely, so we are making this training cohort exclusively for leaders in hopes that you will develop deep and sustainable connections with others. We will also be training you in the practices of connection (with yourself, with others, and with God). 

Science and Spirituality: This training also seeks to make deep connections between the science of God has made us and the spirituality of how God is forming us. The church has always relied upon the best medical and therapeutic understandings of how God has made us, and brought them into conversation with being remade in the image of Christ. This training seeks to give an in-depth introduction to attachment science and related fields to deepen our attachment to God.

• Understand how the story about the Bible is all about attaching to the family of God.
• Understand how theological anthropology and attachment theory reinforce each other.
• Understand how your specific attachment strategies might show up in staff dynamics, small group settings, and corporate worship.

Change: The two main changes this training seeks to promote are within the leader as a person and within the relationships in which they work.

Leader as a Person: Each leader will be changed through a deepening of their attachment to God, and would grow in their understanding of their own attachment strategies and how they affect life, family, and church. And our goal is that each leader would develp specific practices through which God meets them and helps to move them deeper into the pasture of peace and joy.

Leader Leading: This training will also lead to sustainable change within the teams, communities, and churches they serve as leaders implement and extend what they are leading for themselves into their contexts. 

• Learn how to cultivate ministry cultures of joy, gratitude, and peace.
• Learn how to connect discipleship pathways to attachment strategies.
• Understand how the different cognitive and affective processing pathways affects our discipleship pathways.
• Learn how different attachment strategies show up in staff dynamics, small group settings, and corporate worship.

What to Expect

Program Structure

This 6-month training combines personal study, group learning, and peer practice. You'll engage in multiple modes of learning that support your own formation.

This training is spread out over 7 months from late September to late April (with a break from mid-December to mid-January).

Core Components:

Opening Retreat
We begin together in embodied community to set the foundation for the journey ahead. Retreat dates are Sept. 21-24, 2026, at the Spiritual Life Center in Wichita, KS.

Large Group Zooms
2 per month for 90 minutes.
Interactive discussions, teaching, and communal processing of course material.

Small Group Zooms (Practice and Process)
2 per month for 90 minutes
Practice sessions in smaller groups with observation and feedback from the trainers.

Regular Practices
Weekly practices to deepen your attachment with God, others, and self.

Self-Study
Ongoing
Pre-reading, asynchronous learning materials, and personal reflection & practices throughout the program.

(Optional Closing Retreat)
Immediately after finishing this training cohort, the Center for Embodied Faith is partnering with The Kineo Center to host their first-ever national gathering, The Antifragile Discipleship Gathering in Minneapolis on May 6-8, 2027 (details coming soon).

Time Commitment

Expect to invest 6 hours per month in scheduled gatherings (Zoom teaching & practice/processing groups) plus additional time for reading, reflection, and self-study.

Program Costs = $2,483

Retreat Lodging & Meals = $600

Total = $3,083

Here is a breakdown of the value of the program:

Program & Retreat Costs

• 12 large group virtual training sessions = $1,440
• 3 full days of training in person at retreats = $1,350
• 3 nights of lodging (private room) + all meals = $600

Access to all of the online resources from the Holsclaws

•  2026 Attaching to God Summit all-access pass = $147
•  Attaching to God (6 modules) = $267
•  Rooted: Integrative Tools for Lasting Change (6 modules) = $267

PDFs of Geoff & Cyd’s books

•  Does God Really Like Me? = $20
•  Landscapes of the Soul = $19

Actual Total Value = $4,110
You Pay = $3,083 (25% discount)

This training is for pastors and leaders from all levels of churches and nonprofit organizations who want to learn more clearly how the insights of relational neuroscience connect to the truths of scripture, and how it all connects to help form people who are deeply attached to God and ready to offer God's love to the world. 

This training will be broken into 4 parts, each based around forming leaders in a specific and guided way. 

Part 1: Presence and Formation (during the September Retreat). 

• This part will focus on the science and theology of presence, and on how we shift between protection and connection in regard to ourselves and others.
• This part will also look at the history of spiritual formation and discipleship, and will look at practicing the new self. 

Part 2: Faith and God's Delight (October through November)

• This part will focus on the science of attachment and how it connects to the gospel and the story of God. 
• This part will also introduce spiritual practices to examen your life and build awareness. 

Part 3: Hope and God's Transformation (December through February)

• This part will look at the science of change and our part and God's part in spiritual transformation.
• This part will also continue to look at the role of the imagination in spiritual formation.

Part 4: Love and God's Mission (March through April)

• This part will press into your personal calling and vocation as the basis for a sustainable movement in ministry.
• This part will include a 10-week mini-Ignatian Retreat to finish the training. 

This training is rooted in Christian tradition and centers on our relationship with Jesus, who brings us into the Father's family through the power of the Spirit (Gal. 4:1-4; Romans 8), but it's not limited to any particular denomination. Participants may come from Catholic, Protestant, Orthodox, or non-denominational backgrounds.

The theological framework of this training draws from ancient Christian orthodoxy and from aspects of the Ignatian Spiritual Exercises.

We affirm the theology of the global evangelical community, as represented by the Lausanne Movement and it more recent Seoul Statement.

We'll be using Zoom for all virtual gatherings (large group sessions and small group practice/processing).

Zoom links and meeting details will be provided to enrolled participants. You'll need a reliable internet connection, a computer or tablet with a camera and a microphone, and a quiet space for video calls. The program is hosted through Kajabi (a course management system).