A Spirituality of Listening: Living What We Hear
About this ebook
- 2016 IVP Readers' Choice Award
"Biblical spirituality . . . asserts that God is not done with the business of revelation and creation but instead continues to have something to say and something yet to be accomplished in the very culture that isn't sure if God is done speaking." So begins Keith Anderson as he invites us on a journey to relearn how to listen. "My claim is simple: spirituality is grounded in ordinary life experiences. We need to learn to listen to rhythms of life, narratives and creation."Rather than settling for a one-sided relationship with God in which we speak but never hear back, we can learn to hear God as we go through our lives. The key is paying attention to the moments that make up our days. As we participate in the world around us, God speaks to us through creation, through the stories we tell, through our pain and as we follow God down unexpected pathways. Learning to listen doesn't happen in ten easy steps. Instead it is a process of approaching the world with wonder and curiosity as we seek to make sense of what we hear. Hearing God speak takes time and practice, and Anderson offers reflective exercises at the end of each chapter to help us along the way.Listen—and step into a world alive with God's presence.
About the author
Keith R. Anderson (DMin, George Fox Evangelical Seminary) is president of The Seattle School of Theology and Psychology. He is the author of A Spirituality of Listening, Spiritual Mentoring: A Guide for Those Giving and Receiving Direction, Friendships That Run Deep, Is This The One? and What They Don't Always Teach You at a Christian College.Anderson previously served as dean of spiritual formation and vocation at Northwestern College in Orange City, Iowa, and as dean of spiritual formation/campus pastor at Bethel University in St. Paul, Minnesota. He was director of Vocare, a program for theological exploration of vocation funded by a $2 million grant from the Lilly Endowment, and has been the Senior Fellow for Spiritual Formation for the Council for Christian Colleges and Universities since 2000. His parish ministry experience includes serving urban parishes in Washington State, Michigan and Minnesota.
Dan B. Allender (PhD, counseling psychology, Michigan State University) is professor of counseling at The Seattle School of Theology and Psychology. He taught previously at Grace Theological Seminary and Colorado Christian University. A speaker and writer, his books include The Healing Path, To Be Told, How Children Raise Parents, The Wounded Heart and Leading with a Limp. With Tremper Longman, he wrote Bold Love, Cry of the Soul, Intimate Allies and the Intimate Marriage Bible studies.
