The Dave Test: A Raw Look at Real Faith in Hard Times

Frederick W. Schmidt

loka 2013 · Abingdon Press

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What is the Dave Test? Basic, important, raw questions you can ask yourself when someone you love is suffering, in crisis, unhinged, maybe dying. Before you even think about opening your mouth and blowing chunks of platitudes, or running, or “minimizing the painful,” do the real work of living, of being a friend: take the Dave Test. Roughly speaking the modern American mindset revolves around this life philosophy: · Minimize the painful or unwelcome. · Maximize the pleasant and satisfying. · If and when the painful or the unwelcome happens, run. · Dispense with it as quickly as possible and get back to feeling good. But what if we learn to move past our comfort zones, transcend our own lives and connect with those who suffer? When we truly connect with others, it is all but impossible to insulate ourselves from life’s harsher realities. This book is about the dangerous business of exposing our own fragile lives to the mortality of ourselves and others. The Dave Test takes the demand for honesty, plain talk, and faith seriously.

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Frederick W. Schmidt holds the Rueben P. Job Chair in Spiritual Formation and directs the Rueben P. Job Institute for Spiritual Formation at Garrett-Evangelical Theological Seminary in Evanston, Illinois. An Episcopal priest, spiritual director, and retreat leader he is the author of seven books, including When Suffering Persists (2001) and What God Wants for Your Life (2005). Fred and his wife, Natalie, live in Chicago with their Gordon Setter, Hilda.