Christopher A. Hall

Articles & Essays by Christopher A. Hall

Only Include Previously Unpublished

A Different Way to Read

Published February, 2023 • Featured August 22, 2023

Letting a text touch your heart might mean slowing down or trying one of these techniques used by monks long ago. Chris Hall shares wisdom about the best ways to read for spiritual growth.

Bearing the Image of God

Published September, 2016 • Featured February 4, 2021

We learn in Genesis 1:26 that we are made in the image of God. But, what does that mean? And how can diving into this idea of imago Dei help us go deeper into this unfolding Mystery of God? Chris Hall explores the various understandings of what it means to bear the image of the Trinitarian God.

Interview

Ten Questions with Chris Hall

Published June, 2020 • Featured July 30, 2020

In this interview with Credo Magazine, Renovaré President Chris Hall covers the Trinity, the Church Fathers, and the Great Tradition.

Essay

He Guided Me to a Better Way: Chris Hall Remembers J.I. Packer

Published July, 2020 • Featured July 20, 2020

“[J.I. Packer’s] books have helped so many,” reflects Chris Hall. “I’m grateful. I’m even more grateful, though, for his willingness to invest his time in a graduate student with a tendency to take the path of least resistance.”

Essay

We Have Refused to Listen

Published June, 2020 • Featured June 5, 2020

The tragic events over the past days have left us in shock. Renovaré President Chris Hall asks, “How should we respond? What would Jesus have us say and do?”

Essay

Navigating a New World

Published April, 2017 • Featured May 11, 2020

Continuing his reflections about loss and grief, Chris Hall turns his attention to the ways those we love never really leave us — even when they are more than a phone call away. He shares some favorite quotes that bring his friend Tom Oden close by, even as Tom’s absence is still keenly felt.

Letter

Remembering God's Provision: A Response to the Coronavirus Crisis

Published March, 2020 • Featured March 20, 2020

As we unexpectedly transition into the volatile and uncertain environment of the coronavirus, how can we navigate it well through the guidance and empowerment of the Holy Spirit? Renovaré President Chris Hall addresses that question in this letter to the Renovaré community.

Essay

The Surprising Power of the Holy Spirit

Published March, 2020 • Featured March 15, 2020

Early in his faith journey, Chris Hall was taught that many of the gifts of the Spirit had ceased. Gradually a new openness to the Holy Spirit developed and he decided to dip his toe into the charismatic stream. Here’s what happened.

Article

The Holy Spirit Has a History

Published March, 2017 • Featured March 4, 2020

Many have believed that God went silent for hundreds of years after the 1^st century. Not so. With the help of his mentor, Tom Oden, Chris Hall learned to trace God’s hand throughout history.

Essay

Keeping Our Souls Light

Published April, 2018 • Featured February 9, 2020

Poor choices form poor habits which lead to dull and heavy hearts. Chris Hall with help from Abba Isaac lights the way back to feather-like sensitivity to the Holy Spirit.

Essay

The Psalms: Our Prayer Mentor

Published March, 2018 • Featured January 27, 2020

When we learn to imitate those who model a rich and deep prayer life, their thoughts will shape and become our own. In this endeavor there is no one better to observe, Chris Hall writes, than King David.

News

Announcing James Catford as New Renovaré Board Chair

Featured November 24, 2019

Long-time board member and friend James Catford will be the new board chair for Renovaré USA.

Book Excerpt from The Reservoir

What is the Spirit-Empowered Life?

Published September, 2019 • Featured September 20, 2019

From The Reservoir, these daily devotionals by Chris Hall dive into the Charismatic Stream.

Essay

Why Pray If God Already Knows?

Published July, 2019 • Featured July 14, 2019

With help from the church fathers and mothers, Chris Hall considers what communication is like with the God whose knowledge is inseparable from his love.

Essay

Chewing the Cud of Scripture

Published January, 2017 • Featured May 26, 2019

Chris Hall examines John Chrysostom’s “constant rereading and memorization of Pauline texts” in his own transformation toward Christlikeness and encourages us to do likewise.

Essay

Walking with Hope

Featured December 5, 2018

Chris Hall explores the message of hope that the Messiah brings. With Mary’s tenacious faith as his model, he encourages us to “to live in hope [as our lives unfold] in the strange, wondrous, demanding in-between time all Christians indwell.”

Article

Holy Hunger

Published December, 2016 • Featured May 17, 2018

Chris Hall encourages us to unplug in the most literal sense and fast in small ways from media. How might your mind and spirit be transformed by abstaining from the distractions of the digital age?

Article

Interviewing the Church Fathers

Featured May 8, 2018

Chris Hall’s book Living Wisely with the Church Fathers is the last selection in this year’s Renovaré Book Club. Chris shares a snapshot of what the book is about.

Article

Purging the Passions

Featured April 9, 2018

What are the first steps toward unceasing prayer? John Cassian taught that the key to persevering in prayer is to cleanse the “obsessive emotions, attitudes, desires, and ways of acting” that keep us from loving God, others, and ourselves as we ought to. Chris Hall guides us in this teaching.

Article

How Can We Pray without Ceasing?

Featured April 2, 2018

Chris Hall asks the question that is instantly raised by reading 1 Thessalonians 5:17: How can one pray without ceasing when the human mind so often acts like a flighty, wild bird, always ready to fly away at the least provocation or distraction? Happily, the desert fathers are here to help!