A Guide To Christian Spiritual Formation

Evan Howard, a noted authority on Christian spirituality, provides a holistic, accessible, and informed introduction to Christian spiritual formation written from a broadly evangelical perspective. Howard joins Scripture with themes of community, spirit, formation, and mission in a single integrative guide. The book includes helpful features such as figures, charts, chapter overviews, and formation-focused questions. Its evangelical-ecumenical and global perspectives will appeal to a wide audience. Resources for professors and students are available through Baker Academic's Textbook eSources.

This comprehensive theory and practice of Christian spiritual formation weaves together biblical and theological foundations with interdisciplinary scholarship, real-world examples, personal vignettes, and practical tools to assist readers in becoming whole persons in relationship with God and others.

In recent years, many Christian clergy, laity and mental health professionals have rediscovered the ancient practices of spiritual direction. Seen as a refreshing alternative to the techniques and limitations of modern psychology, such practices offer new insights for pastoral care. But many remain unclear on what spiritual direction is and whether its methods are applicable to their own clients and parishioners. Spiritual direction is a practice of Christian soul care that is found most notably in the Catholic, Orthodox and Episcopal traditions but is also present in Wesleyan/Holiness, Pentecostal/charismatic, social justice and Reformed communities. Predating modern counseling and psychotherapy movements but sharing key principles and insights for spiritual formation, spiritual direction offers significant resources for today s pastors, counselors, therapists, chaplains and other caregivers attuned to the work of God in people s lives. In this landmark volume, editors Gary W. Moon and David G. Benner, along with a team of expert contributors, provide a comprehensive survey of spiritual direction in its myriad Christian forms. Specific chapters offer careful historical perspective and contemporary analysis of how Christians from various backgrounds have practiced spiritual direction, with particular attention to each tradition s definition of spiritual direction, the process of authentic transformation, the role of the spiritual director, indicators of mature spirituality and other aspects of the spiritual direction process. Chapters also provide psychological and clinical insight into how spiritual direction is similar to, different from and can be integrated with psychotherapy and pastoral counseling to help others experience spiritual transformation and union with God.

This reference book, compiled with the help of more than 50 scholars from many denominations, provides a basic guide to Christian spiritual formation through more than 470 entries. It covers such subjects as great spiritual teachers of the past and present, important topics in Christian spirituality, and ways to pray and lead groups in prayer and spiritual growth. Containing enough information to get you started but not so many details as to overwhelm, the entries in this dictionary answer such questions as: What is spiritual formation? What is grace? How does it help me grow? What is centering prayer? How do I do it? Who is Hildegard of Bingen? What did she write? How can I grow in forgiveness? What are Fowler's stages of faith? What are other ways of talking about stages of spiritual growth? This dictionary also includes a chart that compares various Christian spiritual traditions, plus a list of significant spiritual classics by title and author.

Become a Student of the Master To Christians, Jesus is many things: the Son of God, the pivotal figure in whom we put our trust and who speaks on our behalf, a companion in the life of faith. But Jesus is also an incredible example of how to lead a faithful life. Jesus, as a human, walked on earth and confronted the same struggles that we face. Our primary mission as his followers is to learn from him -- to become his apprentices. In this book we seek to further our apprenticeship by studying everything from Jesus's interactions with those around him to the revolutionary wisdom recorded in the Gospels. Learning from Jesus is conveniently organized for individual or group study, and each section of this guide leads you further down the path to true discipleship.

Experienced church leaders, who understand firsthand the importance of maintaining one's own spiritual formation, challenge and inspire pastors to reach new and deeper levels of spiritual vitality and growth.

2014 Best Book of Spirituality—Academic, from Byron Borger, Hearts and Minds Bookstore Ever since Richard Foster wrote Celebration of Discipline in 1978, evangelicals have hungered for a deeper and more historic spirituality. Many have come to discover the wealth of spiritual insight available in the Desert Fathers, the medieval mystics, German Pietism and other traditions. While these classics have been a source of life-changing renewal for many, still others are wary of these texts and the foreign theological traditions from which they come. The essays in this volume provide a guide for evangelicals to read the Christian spiritual classics. The contributions fall into four sections. The first three answer the big questions: why should we read the spiritual classics, what are these classics and how should we read them? The last section brings these questions together into a brief reading guide for each of the major traditions. Each essay not only explores the historical and theological context, but also expounds the appropriate hermeneutical framework and the significance for the church today. Together these essays provide a comprehensive and charitable introduction to the spiritual classics, suitable for both those who already embrace them and those who remain concerned and cautious. Whether you are a newcomer to historic spirituality or a seasoned reader looking to go deeper, you will find this volume to be a reliable resource for years to come.

Provides the help Christians need to understand and pursue spiritual growth.