Customer Reviews

Practicing Our Faith: A Way of Life for a Searching People (The Practices of Faith Series)

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We used this book for my very first seminary class, and it has served to set the tone for my entire seminary experience. This book is one of those very rare finds, that you wish would be infinite in length because both the content and feeling of the book leaves you wanting more.

Bass and her team of contributors have managed to speak uniformly in diversity -- it is evident there was much conversation going on here. The book is divided into chapters devoted to particular practices of faith (as opposed to practices of religion); faith practices can be religious practices, and vice versa (in fact, one hopes!) but this volume is written broadly enough to appeal to a wide range of 'faithful' readers, and indeed, to those who are looking for a faith-full way of acting and being.

Chapters are devoted to such topics as singing, hospitality, illness, discernment; I cannot think of a major life topic or event that isn't covered here. The writing and reflections are personal and broad-based simultaneously, a rare achievement.

This book would make an excellent guide for a spiritual workshop; indeed, our course, entitled 'Spirituality, Autobiography & Ministry' is intended at our seminary to give a divers collection of people an introduction into ways of examining their own practices. I was fortunate enough to be a teaching assistant for this course during different years of seminary (and thus got to use the books several times, with different groups of people).

Currently the Practicing Our Faith project is developing separate texts on each of the topics covered by chapters in this book, so groups that use this as a base text for spirituality groups can choose which areas to develop, and stay within the overall culture of this text.

I cannot praise this book too highly. There is a genuine spirituality that permeates the book and expresses itself so well to the reader who devotes attention to the practices.

We are using this book currently for a class at my seminary entitled Spirituality, Autobiography & Ministry.

The care and depth of thought that permeates this book is apparent from the first pages, and it has been a struggle to resist the urge to "read ahead" of the rest of the class in this book.

While the chapters are written by different individuals, it is apparent that they have a common understanding and it is quite an achievement that they speak in this book with a common voice.

If you read no other book this year, read this one!

Three cheers for Dorothy C. Bass and her marvelous book, Practicing Our Faith. I selected this book as a reading assignment for a class at seminary because I was captured and intrigued by a question the author posed, "Instead of just being a Christian, how can one bring the meaningfulness of Christianity into one's life?" I'm pleased to say this book is like a personal owner's manual or guide for anyone longing to practice their faith in everyday life.

As the author states, this book is intended for "seekers on journeys of the spirit, committed Christians searching for ways to practice their faith more fully, people of every faith who are concerned about human flourishing and educators concerned about bridging the gap between theory and practice." In other words, it's an individual guide for living a life of integrity. Bass invites eleven theologians to share practices in their lives, families and institutions. The chapters and practices are rich and bold - focusing on many of the basic human activities and needs of our lives - hospitality, saying yes and no, forgiveness and dying well.

If you yearn to live your faith throughout your life and not just in church on Sundays, this book will be an inspiration and guide for doing just that. As the author states, this book will "encourage you to reflect on how you spent your weekends, how you pray, how you offer care to others, and much else." This book is like being held in the warm and loving embrace of a grandparent as they share their wisdom and knowledge. It's warm, encouraging, inspiring and touches the heart.

One of my favorite saying is that each of us are only one decision away from changing our lives. Make reading this book one of those decisions - change your life by practicing your faith each and every day.

For those who know and love "Celebration of Discipline" by Richard Foster, this book is an apt companion. The sharing of the varied faith experiences and backgrounds of the writers serves to make this book universal. Its emphasis on the community of faith makes it a great book for an adult church school class or small group study. In is a book that will need to be reread every couple of years to help the individual renew their focus on faith. Wonderful!

I was not intending to read this book, but a friend gave it to me in Los Angeles and I read it in two days. I was really impressed by its depth, its insights and its challenges. I am a pastor of a multicultural church in El Cerrito, California. I am intending to buy 12 copies to give to key people in my parish.....I have already began to build a "healing community" that will meet after our monthly anointing of the sick mass and I pray that they will share their lives and pain and growth with one another. If I had not read this book, I would have not been able or willing to make this important step. I heartily recommend this book to caring Christians and to religious leaders. It is well worth reading....Fr. John Maxwell

Dorothy Bass has compiled a wonderful collection of writings to help the Believer filter and process various struggles and milestones in one's life. The book, edited by Bass, is written in a very easy-to-read, easy to understand way so as to be applicable to all age ranges, from the teenager to the older adult.

This book is wonderful to read through and can be used for both personal reading and for use with a small group or class. Whether taken in pieces or as the whole, the reading is a wonderful devotion that can be used over and again while still gaining new insights. The book was fantastic to read and absorb and discuss with friends who were facing similar challenges in life, including how to forgive and how to say yes and no.

This book was great for me, someone who works in a church and attends services weekly. However, it is a wonderful read for those who are at all stages of their faith and lives to help grow and understand what wonderful gifts God can give. It will sit on my shelf and be used again and again.

Reading this book feels like a taking a series of deep breaths. It's something that is hard to articulate, but the spiritual practices presented help me to feel less lonely in my faith journey. I had many "Yes. Of course!" moments in the chapters on hospitality, household economics and dying well. The practices are attainable ways of integrating faith into every aspect of daily life.

Interesting sidenote for Indigo Girls fans: Emily Saliers dad (Don E. Saliers) writes the chapter on singing!

Any teenagers in your life? Way to Live is the youth edition of Practicing Our Faith. The best book for teenagers I have ever used!

I read this book as part of a growth group and found it interesting. It would make a good companion book to other books on the spiritual disciplines, like Foster's "Celebration of Discipline" or Willard's "Spirit of the Disciplines." Its strength is its emphasis on community in the context of Christian practices that are not traditionally put into the same category as individual spiritual disciplines. Written by a variety of authors, some writing is better than others and some chapters are stronger than others. This unevenness was a drawback to getting excited about the whole book. Some supplementary books have been written which would be helpful to check out. Also the web site is a help if a group discussion is being facilitated. I found the topics covered best were on honoring the body, saying yes and saying no, keeping Sabbath, healing and discernment. One significant editorial miss is the placement of a significant caveat in the last concluding chapter. A statement is made that the practices of prayer and Bible study are essential and undergird all other practices. "Without either one, the twelve practices we have discussed, and other practices as well, would collapse." I believe this statement should have been placed in the introductory chapter and expanded on. Though the editors felt that each chapter author included these, mention was minimal.

A searcher of many years, this book kinda popped out of the shelf at me. My biggest peeve with Christianity: Sunday Christians, that is people who only act Christian one day a week. This book gives me hope that ALL people claiming to be Christian can learn how to live a Christ like life. There is truly a piece of mind that comes with this books. Practicing Yoga everyday gave me a piece of mind, but with these simple suggestions for daily living, my joy has been doubled!

A very helpful set of articles on the practices of faith from a variety of different authors. There is a wonderful discussion guide that is available with the book for discussion starters, It triggers the mind to consider other practices that persons do as a result of the faith they possess.