Mark Johnson | January 11, 2022
This past Sunday (Jan 9) I introduced a trinitarian definition for cultivating a Christian spiritual practice. I advocated “a life given over to a transforming relationship with the wisdom of God through the witness and work of Jesus Christ under the direction and power of the Holy Spirit.” And while this presents a grand and lofty goal for spiritual aspiration, the real work is in the details. In this blog post, we will review a few of these practical suggestions you may wish to incorporate into your life this new year.
Book List: In 2017, we assembled a list from many of you regarding books you found particularly meaningful in your Christian journey. You can find this list here. It is time to update our list with many of the fine and helpful works more recently published and read. If you have a recommendation, please pass it along. Perhaps choosing one of these books to reach once a month or every 3 months will be a great blessing in 2022. Also, be looking in February for a book of the month emphasis we will be offering church-wide.
Friendship Press App: As mentioned in the sermon, a new and thorough project has been completed by the National Council of Churches and the Society of Biblical Literature. They have released an “updated edition” of the NRSV of the Bible (NRSVue). This incredible effort incorporates work from hundreds of ancient manuscripts and other new textual evidence, historical insights, and philological understandings that have come to light over the past 30 years. You can access all of this at the Friendship Press website (www.friendshippress.org). In addition, you will find a helpful app you can download to your smart device that offers multiple suggestions for devotional guides you can use this year.
Incarnation Poems: Dennis Johnson has spent his ministerial career of 40 years assembling poems that have been recently published by Wipf & Stock Publishers. While being promoted as “Christmas poems,” Dennis shares these poems are really appropriate for every day of the year. The title of the book is Remembering That It Happened Once and you can secure your copy here.
Daily Devotionals: There are several good possibilities. I mentioned the Center for Contemplation and Action’s daily email managed by Catholic author and spiritual guide Richard Rohr as a possible source that can be found here. Gerard Howell is using resources you can find from the website at Plough (www.plough.com). They offer daily guides you might find helpful.
I’m sure there are other great resources you’ve discovered. If you would like to share them, please let me know. In the midst of all the challenges we will face in 2022, I warmly encourage you to develop and cultivate your spiritual lives. There are many paths to take, so please, if you haven’t already, pick a path and start your journey.
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