O2: Breathing New Life into Faith (ConversantLife.com®) [Paperback]

Richard Dahlstrom (Author)

Book Description

Series: ConversantLife.com® | Publication Date: July 1, 2008

“I see more passion for trees in the Sierra Club than I do for Jesus in the church.”

How can Christians revive and sustain their spiritual vitality? International Bible teacher Richard Dahlstrom offers an answer as practical and life–sustaining as oxygen.

People can’t hold their breath forever or continually blow air out, yet many Christians focus either on the inner life or on external service. As a result, their faith eventually becomes lifeless and irrelevant.

Dahlstrom invites readers to “inhale” life as they embrace fresh perspectives on prayer, the word, solitude, and the creation. “Exhaling” continues the cycle of breathing through hospitality, generosity, service, and obedience to Christ’s kingdom vision.

This thoughtful and inspiring description of a healthy life of faith leads to a balanced and holistic spirituality that mirrors Jesus’ life and teaching.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

Starred Review. Dahlstrom, a Seattle pastor and international speaker, is an original and welcome evangelical voice of reason who offers skeptics and Christians alike compelling advice on living out their faith, Jesus-style. Where, he asks, is Christians' passion for Christ? Do their beliefs make any substantive difference in their daily lives? In 1984, Dahlstrom realized that his own spiritual well was dry, so he moved with his wife to an island where he learned to breathe again—effectively balancing inhalation (prayer, solitude, Sabbath rest, Scripture study and contemplation) with exhalation (service, outreach, hospitality and generous giving). In this book, he gives Christians tools to achieve spiritual balance by integrating these inwardly and outwardly focused spiritual practices. Dahlstrom's tenderness is deeply stirring, as is his tough stance in confronting modern believers' unwillingness to follow in Jesus' stead by serving sacrificially, reaching forth in love and spilling out their lives for others. Dahlstrom's approach balances gentle compassion with fierce assessments of problems in the church today, making this an excellent guide to soul renovation. (July)
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Product Details

• Paperback: 270 pages
• Publisher: Harvest House Publishers (July 1, 2008)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0736922148
• ISBN-13: 978-0736922142
• Product Dimensions: 8.4 x 5.5 x 0.7 inches
• Shipping Weight: 10.4 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (8 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #438,721 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

As Pastor of Bethany Community Church in Seattle, Richard teaches with vision of "making the invisible God visible" by calling people to acts of service and blessing. It's working, as a wilderness ministry, homeless shelter, and community meals that serve those living on the margins are all pieces of Bethany's life. "We're being the presence of Christ" he says, "and inviting everyone to join the adventure." Many have, making Bethany one of the fastest growing churches in America in 2009 according to Outreach Magazine.

As International Bible Teacher with Torchbearers Fellowship, Richard is passionate about helping people live their lives fully, as the beautiful adventure it's intended to be. He teaches in Europe, North American, Central America, and Asia, pouring his life into students from dozens of nations.

His first book "o2: Breathing New Life into Faith", is a study in the classic spiritual disciplines which enable vibrancy, health, and the capacity to live with grace and beauty. It was selected by Publisher's Weekly as one of the 10 best religious books of 2008. His next book, due for publication in 2011, will invite readers to awaken to their calling as "artisans of hope", uniquely endowed to bless the world by offering splashes of color in the midst of so much that is grey.

In the early hours of the morning, you'll find Richard having 'coffee with God', either outside amidst the fir trees, or in his home office, which contains a climbing wall. In the off hours, you'll mostly find him climbing, skiing, reading, or writing, either alone or with his wife.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

15 of 15 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars a spiritual life that can change the world, July 6, 2008

By 

Robert Zurinsky (Seattle, WA USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: O2: Breathing New Life into Faith (ConversantLife.com®) (Paperback)

As a university minister and as a person seeking to live some good news, I have been waiting for a book like this. Richard Dahlstrom has done something remarkable: he's given us a vision for a vibrant personal spirituality that is deeply connected to something much larger than ourselves. What we've got here is a theological worldview that includes us, too. Many authors have neglected one or the other.

Other books I've read on the spiritual disciplines have offered wonderful methods for living a balanced life, rooted in Christ. But sometimes they stop there, and leave us wondering if there's anything bigger--a purpose and a mission beyond our own individual healing and personal salvation. On the other hand, some of the great scholars of the Christian faith have recently pointed out that the Kingdom message that Jesus and Paul preached was a revolutionary one, dealing with issues of power and justice and government. And sometimes we wonder how our own small lives fit into that global enterprise.

In an uncommon way, Dahlstrom holds these things together. He calls for us to be a people of hope, with our eyes fixed on the Kingdom of God that is coming. He reminds us that God intends to redeem the earth, to make all things new. We're waiting for God's promises to be realized--a new Kingdom in this place that looks like reconciliation, justice, peace, and love. We are part of a redemption story much bigger than our own lives. Dahlstrom reminds us that ever since God's promise to Abraham ("through you all the families of the earth will be blessed"), the mission of God's people has been a mission of blessing. And this is precisely why the spiritual disciplines matter...because God is calling us to be a people marked by a new Kingdom, a new world order. Through us God intends to make the Kingdom visible on earth, for the blessing of all. We make this reality visible in the world by first encountering Christ ourselves, and then by living our lives in a profoundly new way. We adopt a "rule of life" keyed to a new set of values. We inhale intimacy and love and peace. We exhale compassion and generosity. We inhale stillness and solitude and respect for creation. We exhale a fierce restlessness in the face of evil and injustice. And we practice doing it over and over again. In this breathing process we discover the Spirit of God alive in us, transforming and healing us. And we discover our place in the big story of redemption that God is writing for the whole world.

I will be reading and recommending this book for years to come!

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A Wonderfully Fresh Way to Practice Your Faith, October 11, 2008

By 

Sandra Tudor (Federal Way, WA) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: O2: Breathing New Life into Faith (ConversantLife.com®) (Paperback)

"O2: Breathing New Life Into Faith," what a perfect analogy for a faith that is alive and energized with promise at every new breath. Breathing, it is something we all must do, and is so essential that it an involuntary act controlled by our autonomic nervous system. However, breathing can be done in shallow breaths that give us just enough oxygen to live banally, or it can be done in full, deep breaths that fill our lungs to capacity and provide the rich oxygen needed to live vibrantly. This is the life Christ offers us and the kind of faith Pastor Dahlstrom encourages us to practice. Full breaths of life giving faith not only nourish our soul and spirit, but also allow us to exhale needed sustenance into the lives of others.

I have read several books on the spiritual disciplines, but none that truly inspired me to practice them. This book however gave me some fresh ways to think about practicing them that didn't become legalistic. In this busy world, most of us don't need anymore check off lists. Pastor Dahlstrom relies of the freedoms given by God which allow us, in our individual and unique way, to worship and obey God through the act of exhaling and inhaling the disciplines. Certainly, there are things that are common to all of us to fill our lives with the O2 of faith, but Pastor Dahlstrom shows us with theological evidence, humor, examples from his life, examples from the lives of faithful Saints, and from the life of Christ, that there is a multitude of ways to practice these disciplines. Additionally, he writes that there are times and seasons where certain disciplines are practiced more diligently than at other times; and what I found so remarkable about this fact, is that it is okay! Christ gives us the freedom to have seasons with more solitude, silence, and prayer than others, times of deeper Bible study than at other times, times when taking in the breathtaking natural beauty of the world God created is enough to fill us, and times when we focus more significantly on loving others with hospitality, service, and generosity.

This wonderful book is an outstanding piece of work that would benefit a believer at any stage of his or her life. It contains wisdom and ideas that we all need to hear as we strive to become the "Artisans of Hope" that God desires us to be and that this lost and hurting world desperately needs.

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars a must read, June 4, 2009

By 

readaholic (Canada) - See all my reviews

This review is from: O2: Breathing New Life into Faith (ConversantLife.com®) (Paperback)

I will say this is a MUST read of 2008. As someone who struggles with where I fit into the scheme of life and Christianity, it really did help breath new life into my faith! If you want to buy one book this year to improve your walk with God I strongly encourage you to pick this up and read ALL THE WAY THROUGH IT.