Come. Accept pastor Joshua Choonmin Kang's invitation to walk slowly, paying attention to God's work in you and around you, to walk intentionally, using spiritual disciplines to develop Christlike character, and to walk purposefully, experiencing deeper grace and vision. In this book you'll encounter fifty-two brief readings, ideal for weekly sabbath reflection or daily devotional use. They point to the path of peace in the midst of life's turmoil, to hope in the midst of brokenness, where you'll become "like a tree planted by streams of water, which yields its fruit in season and whose leaf does not wither" (Ps 1:3). It's the path to becoming deep-rooted in Christ.



Joshua Choonmin Kang (ThM, Talbot School of Theology) is founding pastor of New Life Vision Church in the Koreatown area of Los Angeles, California. He is a speaker and has written books such as Deep-Rooted in Christ and Scripture byHeart. Pastor Kang is also the author of thirty books in Korean, including God's Grace That Turns the Life Around, with over 1.5 million copies in print.



Richard J. Foster is the founder of Renovaré. He is the author of several books, including Streams of Living Water, Prayer, Freedom of Simplicity, Sanctuary of the Soul, and Celebration of Discipline, which has sold over two million copies worldwide; he is coauthor (with Gayle Beebe) of Longing for God. He and his wife, Carolynn, make their home near Denver, Colorado.



Foreword by Richard J. Foster



Preface



Part 1: Beginning



1 Begin with Emptiness



2 Let Yourself Be Filled



3 Send the Roots Deep



Part 2: Becoming Rooted in Jesus



4 Can Bad Roots Bring Good Fruit?



5 Becoming Rooted in Jesus



6 Christ Is the Firm Foundation



7 Minding the Inner Life



8 Spiritual Discipline and the Deep Well



Part 3: Growing in Grace



9 Plumbing the Depths



10 Growing Through Grace



11 Put Away Childish Things



12 Growth That Matches Knowledge



13 Grow Through In-Depth Understanding



14 Sharpening Our Spiritual Vision



15 Growing from a Lamb to a Lion



16 Training to Grow in Grace



Part 4: Wilderness--A Preparation



17 God Makes Us Servants in the Wilderness



18 Training by Anticipation



19 Discerning God?s Time Frame



20 Discipline of Solitude



21 Discipline of Hearing God



22 Discipline of Prayer and the Word



23 Discipline of Self-Shattering



24 Discipline of Self-Denial



25 Discipline of Shepherding



26 Discipline of Serving



27 The Wilderness School of the Holy Spirit



Part 5: Soul Caring



28 Take a Step Back for Soul Care



29 Fine-Tune the Soul Through Quiet



30 Soul Enrichment



31 Tend the Inner Garden



32 Harmonize the Inner and Outer Worlds



Part 6: Ways to Fruitfulness



33 What Is God Looking For?



34 Bear Fruit by Christlike Descending



35 Be Fruitful by Putting Self-Interest Aside



36 We Shatter Ourselves to Bear Fruit



37 We Are Fruitful Through Close Friendship with God



Part 7: Righteousness Has a Heart



38 A Vessel for the Power of God



39 Deeper Spirituality and Pain



40 Righteousness Has a Heart



41 Influencing Others Through Righteousness



42 Our Goal in Righteousness



43 Discipline in Righteousness Is Life Long



Part 8: The Way of Transformation



44 See Your True Identity



45 The Guideline of Patience



46 Discovering Self-Control



47 Skill in Language



48 Satisfied in Spirit



49 Have a Heart Like Jesus



50 Embracing One and All



51 Uncomfortable and Abundant



52 The Way of Transformation



Afterword by Emilie Griffin



Acknowledgments



"Deep-Rooted in Christ . . . is a treasure. It reminds me of the gentle spiritual direction of the classic spiritual writers. On the Protestant side, the writings of Andrew Murray and A. W. Tozer and Oswald Chambers. On the Catholic side, François Fénelon and Thomas à Kempis and the letters of Francis of Assisi to Sister Clare. That is to say, Pastor Kang's book is spiritual wisdom literature of the highest order.



"Deep-Rooted in Christ speaks to the heart. It urges, gently but ever so persistently, that our hearts should always be turning, turning into the light of Christ, turning toward the Lover of our souls, turning into the Way and the Truth and the Life--'till by turning, turning we come round right.' At the same time this book warms the heart, constantly drawing and encouraging, never pushing and condemning."



Kang invites us to walk slowly, paying attention to God's work in and around us, to walk intentionally, using spiritual disciplines to develop Christ-like character, to walk purposefully, experiencing deeper grace and vision.



Kang?s sensible wisdom and quiet emphasis on depth over superficiality on the path toward change make this book a refreshing return to themes of classic Christian spirituality.



Divided into eight parts for easy devotional reading and written in short, theme-based chapters, Deep-Rooted is a welcoming companion for growth in faith. With chapters on just about every necessary topic for basic Christian growth, Kangoffers a gentle challenge to build faith from the ground up, and to precede spiritual filling with self-emptying. Deep-Rooted holds the warmth of an inspirational read, while maintaining its credible foundation in Scripture. Thanks to its foundational writing and gentle tone, Deep-Rooted is a book that can minister to every spiritual age in Christianity.



. . . a good starter for anyone who needs to think through why their lives lack the peace, harmony and real fruitfulness which they think they should have. Many in our churches could benefit greatly from it.



"Western readers will be blessed by this book. The thought and writing are simple and fresh. Pastor Joshua Choonmin Kang brings his own insight and gentle spirit to Christian life. His work will regenerate and enliven us as he teaches us how to become 'deep people.'"