Water from a Deep Well

In Rome in A.D. 165, two men named Carpus and Papylus stood before the proconsul of Pergamum, charged with the crime of being Christians. Not even torture could make them deny Christ, so they were burned alive.Is my faithfulness as strong?In the fifth century, Melania the Younger and her husband, Pinian, distributed their enormous wealth to the poor and intentionally practiced the discipline of renunciation.Could living more simply deepen my trust in God?In the sixteen hundreds, Philipp Jakob Spener's love for the Word of God and his desire to help people apply the Bible to their life moved him to start "Colleges of Piety," or small groups.In what ways could commitment to community make me more like Christ?The history of the church has shaped what our faith and practice are like today. It's tempting to think that the way we do things now is best, but history also has much to teach us about what we've forgotten. In Water from a Deep Well, Gerald Sittser opens to us the rich history of spirituality, letting us gaze at the practices and stories of believers from the past who had the same thirst for God that we do today. As we see their deep faith through his vibrant narratives, we may discover that old ways can bring new life to our own spirituality.



Peterson, now retired, was for many years James M. Houston Professor of Spiritual Theology at Regent College in Vancouver, British Columbia. He also served as founding pastor of Christ Our King Presbyterian Church in Bel Air, Maryland. In addition to his widely acclaimed paraphrase of the Bible, The Message (NavPress), he has written many other books.



Gerald L. Sittser (Ph.D., University of Chicago) is professor of theology at Whitworth University in Spokane, Washington. He is the author of The Adventure, A Cautious Patriotism, A Grace Disguised, The Will of God as a Way of Life and When God Doesn't Answer Your Prayer. He has also written many book reviews and articles. He speaks frequently at churches, college campuses, and scholarly and Christian conferences. Sittser has won numerous awards and honors including a Gold Medallion Award from the Evangelical Christian Publishers Association for his book When God Doesn't Answer Your Prayer.

Foreword by Eugene Peterson


Acknowledgments


Introduction: There is More!


1 Witness: The Spirituality of the Early Christian Martyrs


2 Belonging: The Spirituality of Early Christian Community


3 Struggle: The Spirituality of the Desert Saints


4 Rhythm: The Spirituality of Monasticism


5 Holy Heroes: The Spirituality of Icons and Saints


6 Windows: The Spirituality of the Sacraments


7 Union: The Spirituality of the Mystics


8 Ordinariness: The Spirituality of the Medieval Laity


9 Word: The Spirituality of the Reformers


10 Conversion: The Spirituality of Evangelicals


11 Risk: The Spirituality of Pioneer Missionaries


Conclusion: Where Do We Go from Here?


Discussion Questions


Annotated Reading List


Illustration Credits


Notes


Index

Water From a Deep Well will reward readers who appreciate thorough research and detailed reporting, enlivened by telling asides and black-and-white illustrations.



The lives of the saints are provided to inspire, encourage and invite us to join them on our own journeys of transforamtion. Consider a copy of Sittser's excellent, well-researched book for your home or church library.



Sittser utilizes the metaphor of food and drink to serve up a timely corrective to one-generational approaches by inviting sojourners to an elaborate feast with the family of faith. This tried and true recipe deserves consideration not only as a personal or collective devotional but also for courses in church history, ecclesiology, and spiritual formation.



Water From a Deep Well is a good book for a time when some evangelicals seem intent on de-rooting themselves from their family tree.



Even if we cannot be a Saint Francis ora monk, there are lessons to be learned from reading about our predecessors in the Christian faith. Recommended for anyone who is interested in strengthening his or her spirituality.



Because it is such a well-written, well-researched, and well-conceived book, it will immediately become an indispensible book for anyone interested in Christian spirituality and the history of Christian spirituality.



"Sittser's lucid prose and earnest manner of addressing his readers' own spiritual needs makes Water from a Deep Well an exceptionally accessible book, and thus 'popular' in the best sense of the word. But the helps and critical apparatus at the end make the book suitable for academically rigorous settings."



"Excellent, well-researched book."



"The lives of the saints are provided to inspire, encourage and invite us to join them on our own journeys of transformation."



Water From a Deep Well is a hard-to-put-down book. . . . The author's aim is to help us mine the riches of our wide heritage, and he does it admirably. . . . His grasp of the subject, ability with words, and his experience learning these lessons shine from every page." weniger anzeigen expand_less