Summary: Story can help us envision God as beautiful, good and true in ways that proposition cannot fully show. I have read five previous books by James Bryan Smith so I was initially not going to pick this up assuming that there was not much here that I had not absorbed previously. But I found … Read more
Summary: We are saved by grace but by grow by discipline. I am very supportive of the Spiritual Formation work of James Bryan Smith and his mentors Dallas Willard and Richard Foster. Theologically I really do agree that a theology or spiritual practice that focuses on conversion but stops there without leading into the grace … Read more
I am reposting this 2011 review because the Kindle Edition is currently on sale for $1.99 as part of the Big Deal Sale Takeaway: Heaven is not just a promised place (fire insurance), but really is a place we should look forward to. This is a short semi-fictional novel by a primarily non-fiction author and … Read more
Summary: Spiritual growth is not accidental, it is intentional and it needs to be intentional as part of a community. The Good and Beautiful Community is the last book in a trilogy of books that started with The Good and Beautiful God and The Good and Beautiful Life. These books together are intended to be a … Read more
Takeaway: There are many false narratives that detract us from the real God. Purchase Links: Hardcover, Kindle Edition, Audible.com Audiobook The Good and Beautiful God is the first in a three book series that is intended to be read as a group, particularly in a group context. I am reading them by myself, but … Read more
Summary: Discipleship and spiritual formation are not primarily about gaining new information but being formed over time through habit and worship. I have been influenced by James KA Smith over the past several years more than almost any other author. In the last three years I have read five books and a number of shorter … Read more
Summary: An exposure of how “˜White American Folk Religion’ and Christianity are not the same things. It is not surprising at this point, or it should not be, that many Christians seem to be confused about how Christianity and the American Dream overlap and contradict. Often Christians are discipled to believe that the abundant life … Read more
Takeaway: How we read scripture and understand God impacts how we live and share the gospel with others. Sinners in the Hands of a Loving God is the fourth book by Brian Zahnd I have read. Zahnd is a pastor and has been helpful to me over the past decade as my theology and understanding … Read more
Summary: Spiritual maturity requires growth and formation. I have been intentionally reading a number of Christian biographies over the past year or two. Christian biographies for me are about spiritual formation. I do want to know about the people I am reading about. The story is important. But I read good Christian biography/memoir to learn … Read more
Summary: An extended reflection on what it means to truly change through Christ’s power. Dallas Willard is one of the originators of the modern spiritual formation movement. Willard, and his protege, Richard Foster, have done much to refocus the Evangelical world on spiritual disciplines and intentional focus on spiritual growth. Renovation of the Heart is … Read more