BOOKS
by Christos-Affiliated Authors
The following books are available at Amazon.com and in bookstores.
John Ackerman:
Listening to God: Spiritual Formation in Congregations
In Listening to God, Ackerman outlines ways congregations can promote member's spiritual growth toward a greater intimacy with God. Key to his approach is practicing spiritual discernment, listening to God, learning to ask, "So what is God saying to me and to us?" For those who are already some distance along the learning path, this book will remind you of some truths you have already encountered, address some unanswered questions, and help you to bring it all down to earth in a living, breathing congregation. For those who are just beginning to seek guidance about the communal work of spiritual formation, this book will help you to plant your feet on a firm foundation.
John is coordinator of the Christos Formation Network: Helping Churches with Spiritual Formation, pastor, teacher, and spiritual director.
Jeannette Bakke:
Holy Invitations
Holy Invitations is about how to listen to your heart--and God. Through the historic practice of spiritual direction, increasing numbers of Christians are discovering the benefits of having a special friendship with someone who can help nurture their awareness of and response to God's love and guidance. Holy Invitations is a comprehensive introduction to spiritual direction written to reclaim the discipline for the contemporary church.
Jeannette is a faculty member of the Christos Spiritual Direction Program, professor, pastor and spiritual director.
Richard Beckmen:
Prayer: Beginning Conversations with God
In this guide for individuals or small groups, Beckmen offers companionship to anyone who wants to grow in prayer. With a gentle voice, he takes up our simple but life-shaping questions about prayer: Why do we pray? What is prayer? How do we pray? And with the spirit of a pastor and spiritual director, he helps readers examine these and many other facets of prayer.
Prayer for Wholeness and Healing
A spiritual guide to praying for healing. Beckmen explores historical, biblical, theological, and practical matters related to prayers for healing.
Dick is a faculty member of the Christos Spiritual Direction Program and the Christos Formation Network, pastor, teacher and spiritual director.
Janet Hagberg:
The Critical Journey
The Critical Journey does not reveal exactly how or when we need to move along in our personal pilgrimages, nor does it offer formulas for spiritual growth. Rather, it describes six phases of the spiritual journey and illustrates how people act and think while in these stages. This is an excellent guide for those who are wrestling with their faith and wondering how others have resolved their "dark nights of the soul."
Real Power
Real Power is a dynamic book about power--real, personal power--for forward-looking people and organizations who want to harness their own power for the common good. "I wrote this book," says Hagberg, "to transform the way we think about power and leadership. It takes people on a journey beyond achievement and success to a stance in which power comes from their inner core and they lead from their souls."
Janet is a faculty member of the Christos Spiritual Direction Program, teacher and spiritual director.
Patricia Hendricks:
Hungry Souls, Holy Companions
Mentoring a New Generation of Christians
A smorgasbord of ideas, stories, and practical suggestions on how to be spiritual companions to young people, sharing the richness of our faith while riding along on the awesome--and often surprising--journeys of those in our spiritual care.
Pat is the Executive Director of Christos Center for Spiritual Formation. She is coordinator of the Christos Spiritual Direction Program, teacher and spiritual director.
Bradley Holt:
Thirsty for God
This accessible and engaging history provides an excellent primer on the two-millennium quest for union with God, a "thirst" at the center of Christian life and practice. This new edition not only updates all the chapters and features but also adds more material on the spirituality of Jesus, medieval women mystics, and contemporary spirituality. Short excerpts from primary sources, a glossary, a time line, maps, a bibliography, and a set of spiritual exercises heighten the book's usefulness for students and lay persons alike.
Brad is a faculty member of the Christos Spiritual Direction Program, professor, pastor and spiritual director.
Joann Nesser:
Journey into Reality
In these little inspirational talks, originally given on retreat, Joann Nesser explains that prayer is not an escape from reality but a journey into reality. When we come into God's presence, we discover who we were created to become--our true selves--unique and precious. This is reality. We will be transformed into God's image, just as God intended for us from the beginning.
Prayer: Journey from Self to God
(this book is available at Christos Center)
Joann has written a passionate, practical introduction to the Christian life of prayer grounded in scripture, the words of great pray-ers in Christian tradition, and her own extensive experience as a faithful seeker of God and a spiritual guide for others. She speaks of authentic prayer especially needing a dimension of listening, not just speaking, to God, and she shows us that such prayer reveals God's pervasive love for us, ever drawing us from brokenness to wholeness.
Scripture Meditations
(this CD is available at Christos Center)
This CD is in response to people who over the years have asked for recorded meditations to help them with their personal prayer. It is designed to assist those who want to deepen their relationship with God through contemplative prayer and silence. The CD consists of guided meditation and improvisational guitar, with suggestions for entering silent prayer and journal keeping. Those that have used the CD have found it helpful for deepening their prayer as well as relieving stress. Instructions are included.
Contemplative Prayer: Praying When the Well Runs Dry
In our love relationship with God, prayer is our communication and our conversation with the One who loves us and who desires us to love in return. Prayer is so much more than making requests. It is a sharing of our spirit with the Eternal Spirit who has created us. In this relationship, as in any relationship, the partners share their deepest feelings and their most precious secrets. God desires to hear our deepest feelings and thoughts, and will share deep feelings and thoughts with us.
Joann is the founder of Christos Center for Spiritual Formation. She is a faculty member for the Christos Spiritual Direction Program, teacher, pastor and spiritual director.
 |
1212 Holly Drive |