What are five values every Christian needs in order to find balance, focus, and meaning in today's relentlessly paced world? The answers may surprise you, says one New York City pastor.
The world is faster and busier than it's ever been, with more noise and distraction unsettling our already restless souls. We are a people out of rhythm. For Christians who are frustrated with churches that only add to the hustle and bustle, there must be an answer in our interior spiritual life. We long for deeper, more meaningful faith. Author and pastor Rich Villodas's The Deeply Formed Life offers an expansive, interconnected vision of spiritual formation comprised of five key pathways:
• The monastic value: What does it mean to unplug everything and listen to your soul? How do you do it in a world full of noise?
• The multiracial value: Bringing a spiritual internal understanding to the work of racial justice.
• The emotional health value: Our interior lives are disconnected, and emotional health requires deep love that can't come from shallow wells.
• The healthy sexuality value: Christians need a new understanding of the connection between their physical bodies and their spiritual ones.
• The missional value: Bringing richer understanding to what a spiritual life is instead of a consumerist, disengaged spirituality.
Rich unpacks each pathway in the book, not just providing the theological scaffolding for it but also the real practices that we can implement to move toward spiritual wholeness. In an increasingly fractured time, where little common ground can be found, this book sets out to transform lives from the inside out and empower people to follow Jesus through the divisive, pressing issues of our day.
