Eugene Peterson has done something quite startling in this his first book of a planned five-volume series in Spiritual Theology. He has taken three theological disciplines which are quite expansive in their own right and woven them together into a tapestry of imaginative theological reflection. It is a joy to see the disciplines of Systematic Theology and Biblical Theology and Practical Theology working in tandem in the service of one another. The result is a cause for genuine gratitude.

In Christ Plays in Ten Thousand Places Peterson focuses upon three large arenas in which Christ "plays": Creation, History, and Community. It would be helpful for us to listen in on Peterson's own words on these three great subjects:

Creation - "No matter how much we travel through the creation, no matter how many pictures we take of its flowers and mountains, no matter how much knowledge we acquire, if we fail to cultivate wonder we risk missing the very heart of what is going on. . . . Without wonder we approach life as a self-help project. We employ techniques; we analyze gifts and potentialities; we set goals and assess progress. Spiritual formation is reduced to cosmetics" (pp. 122-123).

History - "If creation provides the setting for the play of Christ, history supplies the people and circumstances among whom and in whom, `lovely in limbs, lovely in eyes not his,' Christ plays. `Salvation' is the single word that most succinctly characterized this play of Jesus in history. . . . [But] We need to recover the salvation story if the salvation words are to mean anything. Salvation. . . . cannot be isolated from the thick texture of history; it is all-encompassing, pulling everything that has happened and happens, and every person named and unnamed, into relationship with the work of God in history" (p. 147).

Community - "When I became a pastor I didn't think much about the complexities of community in general and of a holy community in particular; I was absorbed in the theatrical glories of creation and the dramatic workings of salvation in history. . . . And then . . . A congregation. . . . These people for good or ill, but these people. . . . I didn't come to the conviction easily, but finally there was no getting around it: there can be no maturity in the spiritual life, no obedience in following Jesus, no wholeness in the Christian life apart from an immersion and embrace of community. I am not myself by myself. Community, not the highly vaunted individualism of our culture, is the setting in which Christ is at play" (p. 226).

So, here is a book that you can chew on from now til Christmas . . . at least. By the way, the second volume is now out (Eat This Book) and it is an excellent discussion of the art of spiritual reading, lectio divina, and related matters.

— Richard J. Foster