Shaped by the Word: The Power of Scripture in Spiritual Formation
M. Robert Mulholland Jr.
ISBN-10: 0835809366
Upper Room
This book explores the role that scripture plays in spiritual formation. Examines obstacles often encountered in spiritual reading and introduces a new approach to reading that will enliven the scriptures. He also compares informational reading (reading to be informed) with formational reading (reading to be spiritually formed).
Armchair Mystic: Easing Into Contemplative Prayer
Mark E. Thibodeaux
ISBN: 0867164301
St. Anthony Messenger Press
This user-friendly book blends theory and practice, gently and concretely taking the reader through the first steps of contemplative prayer. Armchair Mystic begins with the necessary details of time and place to pray, then presents the maturation of the prayer life in four stages: Talking at God, Talking to God, Listening to God, and Being with God. Each chapter begins with an Orientation and ends with a concluding summary. Step-by-step exercises throughout the book provide concrete examples of how to use the concepts discussed. An excellent book for pastors.
Working the Angles: The Shape of Pastoral Integrity
Eugene H. Peterson
ISBN: 0802802656
Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing Co.
In “Working the Angles” Peterson opens with the statement “American Pastors are abandoning their posts, left and right, and at an alarming rate. . . they have gone (...) after other gods. What they do with their time under the guise of pastoral ministry hasn’t the remotest connection with what the church’s pastors have done for most of twenty centuries” Ouch! This is preeminently a book for pastors, but the teaching on spiritual rest and praying the Psalms is worth the price of the book and will prove invaluable to anyone interested in a deeper life with God.
The Deeper Journey
M. Robert Mulholland Jr.
ISBN: 978-0-8308-3277-4
Intervarsity Press
As you journey deeper in the Christian pilgrimage, you come to realize that the Christian life is more than merely replicating particular spiritual disciplines or practices. You begin to understand that at the core of Christian faith is the transformation of your very identity… If the goal of the Christian journey is Christ-likeness, then you must reckon with the unhealthy ways that you root your sense of being in things other than God. “For many seeking to walk in the Way of Christ but struggling with religiosity, one chapter, “The Idol in the Box: Religious False Self” may be worth the price of the book”. (Leadership Journal, Fall 2007)
The Gift of Being Yourself
David G. Benner foreword by M. Basil Pennington
ISBN: 978-0-8308-3245-3
Intervarsity Press
Calvin began the Institutes of the Christian Religion with these words: “Without knowledge of self there is no knowledge of God”. Benner develops this fundamental premise in this useful and readable little book. Benner writes, “Christian spirituality involves a transformation of the self that occurs only when God and self are both deeply known.”
Surrender to Love
David G. Benner
ISBN: 978-0-8308-2302-4
Intervarsity Press
Explores the twin themes of love and surrender as the heart of Christian spirituality. Through careful examination of Scripture and reflection on the Christian tradition, Benner shows how God bids us to trust fully in his perfect love.
