DESCRIPTION
The fifth and final book in Eugene Peterson's best-selling series of "conversations" in spiritual theology, Practice Resurrection
gets at the heart of strong, healthy Christian formation.Also Available: Practice Resurrection Study GuideThough bringing people to new birth in Christ through evangelism is essential, says Peterson, isn't it obvious that
growth in Christ is equally essential? Yet the American church does not treat Christian growth and character formation with equivalent urgency. We are generally uneasy with the quiet, obscure conditions in which growth takes place, and building maturity in Christ too often gets relegated to footnote status in the text of our lives.
In
Practice Resurrection Peterson brings the voice of Scripture -- especially Paul's letter to the Ephesians -- and the voice of the contemporary Christian congregation together to unpack what it means to fully grow up "to the stature of Christ." Peterson's robust discussion will move readers to restore transformed Christian character to the center of their lives.
"For far too long now, with full backing from our culture, we have let the vagaries of our emotional needs call the shots. For too long we have let ecclesiastical market analysts set the church's agenda. For too long we have stood by unprotesting as self-appointed experts on the Christian life have replaced the 'full stature of Christ' with desiccated stick figures.
"So what I want to do here is engage in an extended and serious conversation with my brother and sister Christians around the phrase 'growing up in Christ.' And I want to bring an old and wise and trusted voice into the conversation, the voice of St. Paul. . . . The words he wrote are as up-to-date as anything we are likely to hear these days, and strategically crucial for what faces us."-- from the introduction
AWARDS and RECOGNITIONS
Christianity Today, Winner in Spirituality (2011)
Academy of Parish Clergy, Top Ten Books for Parish Ministry (2011)
REVIEWS
Publishers Weekly
"Christian maturity and character formation isn't about finding a strategy, or setting goals, or measuring congregational growth by market analysis, argues the writer in a chapter-by-chapter analysis of the New Testament book of Ephesians. . . Peterson practices what he calls 'theological aesthetics,' giving new vitality to such common words in the Christian vocabulary as 'saint,' 'gift,' and 'church.' Christians are called to live out the resurrected life that was incarnate first in Jesus and then in us, the author asserts. It's no insult to the veteran writer to say that his tone is sometimes imperative and occasionally even a little cranky. After all, the message isn't new — but the commentary is, as usual, thought provoking and helpful for readers who want a different, sometimes contrarian, perspective on Christian discipleship."
Marva J. Dawn
"This is the perfect culmination to Eugene Peterson's fivefold Conversations on Spiritual Theology. How much the church would be transfigured if we could all more fully live as one with Christ in His Resurrection! You will delight in the way Peterson takes portions of Ephesians and displays the results of 'rocket' verbs and other word choices, of disciplines toward maturity, and of movements 'upward, inward, Godward.' This is a life-transforming book for us all!"