A spiritual life that can change the world

As a university minister and as a person seeking to live some good news, I have been waiting for a book like this. Richard Dahlstrom has done something remarkable: he's given us a vision for a vibrant personal spirituality that is deeply connected to something much larger than ourselves. What we've got here is a theological worldview that includes us, too. Many authors have neglected one or the other.

Other books I've read on the spiritual disciplines have offered wonderful methods for living a balanced life, rooted in Christ. But sometimes they stop there, and leave us wondering if there's anything bigger--a purpose and a mission beyond our own individual healing and personal salvation. On the other hand, some of the great scholars of the Christian faith have recently pointed out that the Kingdom message that Jesus and Paul preached was a revolutionary one, dealing with issues of power and justice and government. And sometimes we wonder how our own small lives fit into that global enterprise.

In an uncommon way, Dahlstrom holds these things together. He calls for us to be a people of hope, with our eyes fixed on the Kingdom of God that is coming. He reminds us that God intends to redeem the earth, to make all things new. We're waiting for God's promises to be realized--a new Kingdom in this place that looks like reconciliation, justice, peace, and love. We are part of a redemption story much bigger than our own lives. Dahlstrom reminds us that ever since God's promise to Abraham ("through you all the families of the earth will be blessed"), the mission of God's people has been a mission of blessing. And this is precisely why the spiritual disciplines matter...because God is calling us to be a people marked by a new Kingdom, a new world order. Through us God intends to make the Kingdom visible on earth, for the blessing of all. We make this reality visible in the world by first encountering Christ ourselves, and then by living our lives in a profoundly new way. We adopt a "rule of life" keyed to a new set of values. We inhale intimacy and love and peace. We exhale compassion and generosity. We inhale stillness and solitude and respect for creation. We exhale a fierce restlessness in the face of evil and injustice. And we practice doing it over and over again. In this breathing process we discover the Spirit of God alive in us, transforming and healing us. And we discover our place in the big story of redemption that God is writing for the whole world.

I will be reading and recommending this book for years to come!