Saturday, February 5, 2011

Naked Spirituality

the Refreshing Winds Conference has featured Brian McLaren who really managed to reach me on several levels yesterday. i told him so after i wept my way through Stage 3 of his presentation from Naked Spirituality. that's the name of his next book which will come out for sale in a month. as far as i know i won't have to actually buy the book because he's essentially gone through his presentation of the book over the course of this weekend. odds are good that i'll buy this book anyway (when it comes out) because i see plenty of other folks around me that could benefit from these words too.
the following is a quote that Brian put on his website and it is my hope that it'll whet your appetite for this book yourself. it speaks to the trend that many in western culture are moving away from traditional church organizations because they don't believe that the traditional church has efficacy so they seek for God elsewhere. we're all in a search for God in various areas of our lives.

Fourth, spiritual people seek practical ways to nourish that sense of integration and communion. It might be meditating, hiking on a wilderness trail, volunteering at a soup kitchen, doing yoga, going to art galleries, participating in festivals, or going on pilgrimages. It might be fasting, feasting or having deep talks with a few friends. Whatever the specifics, spiritual people have – or at least wish they had – some set of moves, rhythms, habits or practices, that to some degree at least, keep them from sleep-walking or going on auto-pilot, so they live with a greater sensitivity to the sacred aliveness and meaning that surround them. (Brian D. McLaren, Naked Spirituality: A Life with God in Twelve Simple Words. HarperOne, 2011, Chapter 2)

1 comment:

Al said...

Well, your taste works for me--I look forward to reading it.

I'm glad you have had a chance to listen to Brian. I saw him last summer here in Victoria, and enjoyed it immensely, even though he had been brought in to speak from one of his older books. He still managed to bring us up to date on where his heart is. Steve Bell was the musician for the conference, and I think I enjoyed him as much as Brian. I had never heard Steve before (shame on me!), but am definitely a fan now.