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 It is central to apprehending the Gospel that we embrace both its simplicity and its complexity. In the strenuous process of our spiritual journey, we often long to find a mantra, one definite articulation of our calling that will tell us clearly what we are to believe, and what we are to do. The great challenge here is to balance our desire for clarity with God’s infinite and incomprehensible potential to transform us. In Difficult Gospel, Mike Higton not only offers us a guide to the often perplexing body of Rowan Williams’ theological writings. He also inspires and enlivens us in our quest for what T.S. Eliot calls at the end of Four Quartets “A condition of complete simplicity/(Costing not less than everything).”
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 (www.brianmclaren.net)
Brian McLaren has been 'endowed' with the title of 'Father of the Emergent Movement' by some commentators on emergent-cy and even by some co-religionists. Whether the title is too generous or not, A Generous Orthodoxy is both a seminal work which presents the creative dilemma encountered by those in the Emergent Church, as well as a statement of McLaren's own spiritual/ theological/faith journey. His presentation of beliefs is one which does not really age, so periodic reviews of A Generous Orthodoxy (published in 2004) can benefit a reader who continues to reframe and reform their own beliefs as they walk their own faith journey.  A prolific author of close to 15 books, McLaren has also written a fictional(?)presentation of his journey of belief in his "A New Kind of Christian" trilogy.
McLaren's most recent book, A New Kind of Christianity has received both great praise and great criticism. We'll be reviewing this book in the coming weeks.
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Spiritual Disciplines Handbook: Practices That Transform Us |
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Adele Ahlberg Calhoun
Intervarsity Press, 2007)
 There is a song that says "Everything old is new again". This book provides the reader with a collection of ancient spiritual practices that can be restorative and transformative when we engage them and knit them into our modern devotional living.
Calhoun, trained in the Reformed tradition, serves as pastor of spiritual formation at Christ Church, Oak Brook, Illinois. She has composed a book which might appear at first glance to be a catalog of spiritual practices and disciplines (NOTE: don't run screaming because you hear the word "discipline"!!). What she provides for the reader is not a complete curriculum but rather a framework in which to discover how the Spirit will use the possibilities contained in the discipline when the sojourner prayerfully discerns to incorporate it into practice. She says that the book "is like a compass that gives you your bearings. It provides you with ways of responding to Jesus, the pole star of the soul. Once you figure out how to navigate the material, you can find your way forward from any point on the spiritual journey".
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