“It is possible for a Christian spirituality to be theistic — to have room for God in it — but only in a philosophical, conceptual sense,” writes Dr. Gary Tyra. In Introduction to Spirituality, he makes the case for an … Continue reading Christian Spirituality as a Lifestyle | Influence Podcast
“We are at war,” writes John Mark Comer in Live No Lies. The war is neither military nor cultural, however; it is spiritual. As Paul writes in Ephesians 6:12, “our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, … Continue reading Live No Lies | Book Review
John Mark Comer lived many pastors’ dream. He led a growing congregation (adding 1,000 adherents annually for seven years running) in the Pacific Northwest (one of the nation’s most secular regions). You’d think he’d be happy, but he wasn’t. He … Continue reading The Ruthless Elimination of Hurry | Book Review
Every New Year, millions of Americans take time to write resolutions about who they would like to become or what they would like to do in the next 365 days. Researchers at the University of Scranton suggest that only 8 percent of people keep their resolutions. According to U.S. News & World Report, 80 percent of those resolutions fail by the second week of February. What if we’re chasing the wrong thing? What if we need new habits, not New Year’s resolutions? That’s the question I asked myself as I read Justin Whitmel Earley’s new book, The Common Rule: Habits of … Continue reading Eight Purposeful Habits for a Spiritually Focused Life | Influence Podcast
Kurt Vonnegut included a philosophy joke in one of his novels. It looked like this: “To be is to do.” — Socrates “To do is to be.” — Jean-Paul Sartre “Do be do be do.” — Frank Sinatra I can’t vouch for Vonnegut’s take on Socrates or Sartre, but I will say this: Any person who can be as well as they do lives as well as Sinatra could sing. Ken Shigematsu opens Survival Guide for the Soul by distinguishing between doing and being. Drawing on an insight about Genesis 1–2 by Rabbi Joseph Soloveitchik, Shigematsu speaks of “Striving Adam” … Continue reading Survival Guide for the Soul | Book Review
“Superficiality is the curse of our age,” writes Richard J. Foster in Celebration of Discipline. “The desperate need for today is…deep people.” These words ring as true in 2018 as they did in 1978 when Celebration of Discipline was first published. And spiritual disciplines are still the way to produce depth. As Foster summarizes the matter in the book’s new Foreword, spiritual disciplines are “the means God uses to build in us an inner person that is characterized by peace and joy and freedom.” If you’re looking for help in overcoming the superficiality and distractedness of the current age, start … Continue reading Celebration of Discipline, 4th Ed. | Book Review
GeorgePWood.com 