Simple Spirituality: Learning to See God in a Broken World - Softcover

Christopher L. Heuertz

Softcover

ISBN 10: 0830836217 ISBN 13: 9780830836215

Publisher: IVP, 2008

Synopsis

Chris Heuertz believes that any true path to spiritual sight ought to be simple. While he's not a contemplative and hardly a mystic, Chris has found, in the Bible and in his work with impoverished people, evidence of a simple spirituality. This way of humility, community, simplicity, submission and brokenness will help you see--no matter how dark things get.

About this title

From the Author:

Why did you write Simple Spirituality?
"The book is a reflection of my own spiritual journey. I wrote it to remember the simple touch points that have helped cultivate my faith. It's a confession that I have not arrived at but am still working towards. It's a prayer for courage to not lose hope and give up, especially in a world where there's reason for such hopelessness. It's also a testament to the central role that community has played in my spiritual formation as it's been lived out vocationally. And it's the story of God opening my eyes to the surprising gifts among pain and suffering in some of the most unlikely places in the world."

How is simplicity a spiritual discipline?
"Rather than trying to fit our spirituality into complex religious practices, we can look to Christ. He kept it simple. He taught lessons even children could understand. And He used everyday illustrations to explain the mysteries and secrets of the kingdom of God--which we tend to complicate and reserve for the religiously astute."

What can this book say to the church?
This book laments how trendy Christianity has insulated and isolated itself far from those who are poor. This book offers an alternative expression of Christian formation, one that is drawn from Scripture and lessons God has enlivened for me through many friendships around the world."

What is the one thing you'd want readers to come away with?
"My hope is that the reader would feel like spirituality is something accessible to everybody. You don't have to be a mystic or an aesthetic to be spiritual. But that you could find, in the everyday, ways to practice your faith."

About the Author:

Christopher L. Heuertz is founding partner of Gravity, a Center for Contemplative Activism, which exists to nurture the integral connection between Christian spirituality and activism. He and his wife Phileena Heuertz spent nearly twenty years traveling to over seventy countries working for women and children victimized by human traffickers in the commercial sex industry with Word Made Flesh, an organization that serves Jesus among the poorest of the world's poor and for which Chris served as International Director. Heuertz began his journey with social justice ministry in 1993, when he volunteered for several months in Kolkata, India, with Mother Theresa and the Missionaries of Charity. Heuertz married Phileena in 1996 they moved from India to Omaha, Nebraska, the headquarters of WMF where they now live. They then founded Gravity in 2012 to support the development of Christian consciousness by making contemplative practice accessible to individuals, communities and organizations who engage the challenging social justice perils of our time. Heuertz has shared his knowledge and experience with Christian culture at large through his books Simple Spirituality and Friendship at the Margins, coauthored with Christine Pohl. He has also been asked to speak at numerous conferences including Catalyst, Urban Youth Workers Institute, Passion, and Faith, Film and Justice. He has participated with Lausanne, Urbana, and To Write Love on Her Arms. Heuertz has written articles for Christianity Today, The Other Journal, and Lausanne World Pulse. In addition to his public speaking and writing, Heuertz is an ordained minister through the Association of Evangelical Churches and Ministries and an adjunct professor at Lakeview Seminary in Chennai.

Shane Claiborne is a preacher, writer and lover of Jesus. He attended Eastern University, where he studied sociology and youth ministry. Claiborne is cofounder of The Simple Way and is currently a part of The Alternative Seminary in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. He serves on the board of the Christian Community Development Association. He is the author of The Irresistible Revolution and coauthor of Jesus for President. Catch up with him at thesimpleway.org.

About this edition

• Publisher: IVP
• Publication date: 2008
• ISBN 10: 0830836217
• ISBN 13: 9780830836215
• Binding: Paperback
• Number of pages: 160