Nathan Foster

Articles & Essays by Nathan Foster

Book Foreword

Modern Media and Tech—Blessing or Curse?

Published August, 2021 • Featured October 6, 2021

“What we as a species now face in terms of access to entertainment, communication, and information is completely unprecedented in the whole of human existence.” In this foreword to Everyday Sabbath, Nathan Foster ponders the role of technology and media in our lives.

Article

The Cure for Distraction

Published October, 2014 • Featured March 19, 2021

In 1978, Richard Foster wrote, “Superficiality is the curse of our age.” More than forty years later, it feels as relevant as ever. Yet, the reigning curse that threatens the growth of our souls has a new challenger — distraction.

Article

How to Release Resentment: Steps for Forgiving Others

Published November, 2014 • Featured April 14, 2020

Nathan shares a personal reflection on the hold of resentment upon our hearts and minds and how “it is possible to release the person, the burden, and the toxicity it places on us into the capable hands of God.”

Article

The Rise of Educational Spiritual Formation Communities

Published May, 2015 • Featured January 8, 2020

Educational spiritual formation communities have sprouted up around the world. Nathan Foster unpacks their gifts and challenges.

Article

The Six Streams and Hope for a New Reformation

Published May, 2016 • Featured May 7, 2019

Nathan Foster imagines a new reformation within the Body of Christ, one grounded in the ecumenical embrace of the six historical movements, or streams, in church history.

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Article

Practicing Availability and Vulnerability

Published July, 2015 • Featured April 9, 2019

Nathan Foster explores how availability and vulnerability are modeled in the life of Jesus and how we can incorporate them into our lives.

Essay

What to Pray When Pain Takes Your Words

Published February, 2015 • Featured March 20, 2019

When we’re unable to find our own words to pray, when all we have is worn and exhausted groans, Nathan Foster shows there is still a way to pray.

Essay

Lessons From the Trees

Published March, 2016 • Featured March 13, 2019

Nathan Foster explores how trees teach us how to grow slow, root deep, and wait with patience for the resurrection of spring.

Book Excerpt from The Making Of An Ordinary Saint

Free from the Darkness

Published September, 2014 • Featured November 13, 2018

The twelve steps of Alcoholics Anonymous helped Nathan Foster admit the exact nature of his wrongs and receive the power of forgiveness which comes through the discipline of confession.

Article

Spiritual Disciplines are an Invitation

Published August, 2014 • Featured August 21, 2018

“The disciplines are an invitation, not an obligation.” Nathan Foster reminds us that “joy, freedom, and laughter are where this journey is taking us.”

Book Excerpt from The Making Of An Ordinary Saint

Connecting with God in the Here and Now

Published October, 2014 • Featured April 17, 2018

Nathan Foster reflects on the ways God matures our faith in times when we sense God’s nearness as well as times of loneliness or “uneventful” prayer.

Book Excerpt from The Making Of An Ordinary Saint

Like Calling a Friend and Never Hanging Up

Published October, 2014 • Featured April 17, 2018

What if praying without ceasing is less like an unending military drill and much more like “calling a friend and never hanging up”? Nate Foster joins us to consider this approach when we commit our ways to drawing deeper into prayer. Whether fun or mundane, the conversation is always worthwhile.

Book Excerpt from The Making Of An Ordinary Saint

The Main Distinction of Christian Meditation

Published October, 2014 • Featured March 13, 2018

Nathan Foster considers what makes Christian meditation different from other forms and challenges us to rethink our need for goal-oriented spirituality. Instead, he encourages us to live the mystery.

Essay

Selfish Care, Self-Care, and Soul Care—What's the Difference?

Published January, 2016 • Featured February 27, 2018

Part of the discipline of submission is recognizing our limitations and caring for our souls. Nathan Foster says soul care is when “we simply place ourselves in a position for God to care for us, attend to our souls, and let his agenda supersede ours.”

Article

Healing Laughter: Bill Vaswig's Ministry of Prayer

Featured November 27, 2016

Nathan Foster shares some reflections on how Bill Vaswig’s healing prayer ministry changed his life.

Book Excerpt from The Making Of An Ordinary Saint

"God, what do you think about me?"

Published September, 2014 • Featured August 24, 2016

Nathan Foster tells the story of how God’s love became the central reality that reshaped his identity and propelled him into a life of spiritual renewal.

Article

Practicing Availability and Vulnerability, Part 2

Published October, 2015 • Featured October 31, 2015

This month I want to continue working with those two beautifully challenging words: availability and vulnerability. I’d like to explore how we can practice these as a spiritual discipline, some potential challenges, and what these practices might look like in a ministry context.

Essay

Why Renovaré Will Live On

Published March, 2015 • Featured March 31, 2015

Many good things are happening within the organization, but my statement of confidence comes from something entirely different. Renovaré is not about an organization; it has never been. Renovaré is about equipping a movement.

Essay

The Most Significant Thing We Do on Earth

Published December, 2014 • Featured December 31, 2014

Community is a buzzword. But building and cultivating relationships with others is one of our highest callings. Spiritual formation groups provide a practical way to intentionally foster community that leads to Christlikeness.

Letter

Are Christians Called to be Irrelevant?

Published October, 2014 • Featured October 31, 2014

First published in 2014, Nathan Foster’s letter to the Renovaré community explores this Henri Nouwen quote: “I am deeply convinced that the Christian leader of the future is called to be completely irrelevant and to stand in this world with nothing to offer but his or her vulnerable self.”