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Also
in Surface Mailing:
•
Promotional
Brochure for 2008 RENOVARÉ
Covenant Retreat
• List
of Upcoming Events
GROWING
EDGES
Dear
Friends,
Looking over the tremendous range of contemporary
Christian books on display in a British
bookstore, a friend of mine whispered to
me under his breath, “The problem is, most
of them are like take-out food: very satisfying
at the time, but not long after you’re hungry
again.” Here in the US the situation seems
a little different: the serving size is
often considerably greater (so the meal
lasts longer), but the nutritional value
is, sadly, often about the same.
Fortunately, every generation sees the emergence
of a handful of authors whose work has deep
and lasting significance. Over the twenty
centuries of the Church’s life, they have
left to us an ever-expanding treasury of
writing that is still able to have an enriching
and transforming effect, both on us as individuals
and on the Christian communities of which
we are a part—a heritage that is still being
added to by the spiritual writers of our
own day.
In the last issue of the Heart-to-Heart
we encouraged folks to consider using Joshua
Choonmin Kang’s recent book Deep-Rooted
in Christ as a reading companion throughout
this year; the response we received was
very encouraging. In this Perspective
we would like to recommend a few more books
you might find invaluable in your spiritual
walk. They are all accessible, inspiring
works drawn from the whole span of Christian
history, which have been tested in the lives
of generations of disciples. They speak
out of the depths of experience, and into
the depths of our spirits, with words of
life.
It is not always easy to read these books.
That is not only because they are rooted
in the past, although it is true that sometimes
we will need to be ready to understand that
the author is speaking from, and addressing,
the concerns, assumptions, and even prejudices
of another age. It can also be difficult
because we are used to reading quickly.
Woody Allen once quipped that, having taken
a speed reading course, “I read War and
Peace in twenty minutes—it is about
Russia.” The spiritual classics simply will
not submit to that kind of treatment. Instead,
we need to approach them using some of the
skills of lectio divina, holy reading.
We need to read slowly, savoring the turns
of phrase and the insights they embody.
We need to read expectantly, open to the
possibility that this writing might change
the course of our lives. And we need to
read longingly, with a heartfelt desire
that our reading will not only teach us
about Jesus, but actually lead us into his
presence. Reading in this way takes time—it
can take months to work through a single
book—but that is all right. We need to remember
that the goal is not turning the pages;
it is turning our hearts.
Of course, this is simply the same skill
we use to approach the Bible itself. That
is not to say that the authors we are presenting
here can be placed on the same level as
Scripture; they would be horrified by the
idea! But they did write prayerfully, devoutly,
seeking to share the close communion with
God they had come to experience in their
lives. As John Hinshaw reminds us, Tozer
wrote The Pursuit of God while on
his knees. It does not hurt us to read in
the same spirit.
Every blessing,
Christopher S. Webb, TSSF
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