Vision And The Vow

In his first release since the best-selling There is More to the Secret, Ed Gungor challenges the church to return to authenticity and community. Over and over again in scripture Christians are encouraged to "make vows to the Lord" (e.g., Psalm 76:11). Is it possible that making vows-- intentionally inserting various Christian practices into our lives-- would have great value to 21st-century Christians? What if we thoughtfully and publicly articulated vows before God and those we love? Would it help our lives take on the tone of the eternal? Has something been lost in the openness of the 21st century? The answer is yes! Gungor says: "Vow-making is an old trail that was very familiar to the ancients who have gone before us, but is virtually unknown for we moderns. As I have wandered down this path, it has been both intriguing and empowering, and, on another level, just plain dangerous. But I really think it's leading somewhere. That's the why of this writing."

A vow is like a GPS system for your life. When taken on mindfully it can be a source of surprising wisdom and powerful energy, enabling you to accomplish things you never dreamed possible. It can have profound effects even beyond the original intention—and it can even live on after you’re gone. A vow can be as small as the aspiration to smile at someone at least once every day, or it can be as big as marriage; it can be as personal as deciding to be mindful whenever you pick up the phone, or it can be as universal as a commitment to save all sentient beings. But whatever its inspiration, when it’s done with conscious intention a vow becomes a conduit for the energy of your life. In this guide to the vow-directed life, Jan Chozen Bays provides a wealth of practical exercises to use for formulating and implementing vows of your own and for using them to navigate your life with honesty and compassion.

For centuries, the vow of obedience has been at the heart of religious life. With the renewal efforts of Vatican II, the vow has been dramatically restructured but not theologically re-envisioned. The Evolution of a Vow: Obedience as Decision Making in Communion addresses the changes in the vow and proposes a renewed theology that supports the living out of obedience in the twenty-first century. Obedience-in-communion, as a theological proposal, invites vowed religious to create a pattern of limitless listening that everywhere seeks the call of God to communion. Against the horizon of communion, obedience becomes the singular thread of grace by which vowed religious become who they are called to be.

From the Upper Room of Pentecost to Azusa Street in Los Angeles, God has used prayer movements throughout history to change the world. Over fifteen years ago, a group of students gathered for a prayer vigil in Chichester, England—and the prayers they started haven’t stopped. Out of that first meeting came 24-7 Prayer: an international movement of prayer, mission, and justice that has reached Chinese underground churches, Indian slums, Papua New Guinea jungles, ancient English cathedrals, and even a brewery in Missouri. Red Moon Rising is the story of how that movement continues today—and how each of us can be a part of the miracles God is doing through a new generation.