'Deep change or slow death’: Johannine Critique and Ignatian Resolution

Deep change or slow death’ has been adopted by writers on both Christian spirituality and church leadership. This paper suggests that the Gospel according to John sets out an understanding of death and its relationship to change which is markedly different from the ‘deep change’ paradigm. It further suggests that the re-appropriation of a traditional Christian spirituality, that of the Spiritual Exercises of Ignatius of Loyola, offers the possibility of achieving the desired outcomes of ‘deep change’ within a Christian framework.