Customer Reviews

The Sacred Way: Spiritual Practices for Everyday Life (Emergent Ys, No. 25)

5 star:		(8)
4 star:		(4)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

As observers of contemporary culture are keenly aware, the quest for spirituality is everywhere. Supernatural themes in movies, television dramas and talk shows like Oprah, best selling fiction and numerous popular websites reveal that we are on a quest to get in touch with something bigger than ourselves. While many proclaimed Christians shy away from these discussions as being too "New Age," "Pagan," or even Anti-Christian, Tony Jones offers a refreshing alternative. As one who is deeply committed to the historic Christian faith, the Lordship of Jesus Christ, and a deep appreciation for the Church, Tony presents a compelling case that those seeking for deep spiritual meaning in everyday life need look no further than Christianity. The Sacred Way introduces its readers to the Christian roots of many spiritual disciplines and practices that have shaped the faith of Jesus Christ's followers for over 2000 years.

Tony does not back down from the claims from some conservative Protestants that these practices are unorthodox. Instead, with the heart of a pastor, he examines the rich history and deep theology that has surrounded these disciplines as they have developed over the centuries. After laying down these foundations he gently invites the reader to explore them within the comfort levels of their own traditions. No doubt, many readers will learn a lot about their own traditions that surprise them. And this may be one of the biggest strengths of the book. It is only when we understand where we come from that we can intentionally map out where we want to go. When we learn to appreciate the beautiful depths of the diversity of the early Christian faith we may be able to embrace a vision of the future gathering of all the people of God. The disciplines that Tony introduces us to in this book go a long way in making such a generous orthodoxy a reality in the present.

This book was originally published under the title "Soul Shaper," and was intended as a training manual for youth ministers. But the book has just as much, if not more, to offer busy adults looking for ways to practice Christian spirituality. Each chapter offers a highly-readable, yet remarkably detailed survey of the techniques, theology, and history of a particular form of prayer, meditation, or devotion. Jones manages to present his instructions in a casual "how-to" format without cheapening the spiritual topics he discusses or reducing the book to a silly "mysticism for dummies" manual. That's no small accomplishment.

Lisa Hill, the one negative reviewer on this site, points out that this material may be controversial. Many of the spiritual practices discussed in the book have their roots in medieval Catholic and Eastern Orthodox spiritual disciplines. Those raised in fundamentalist Baptist or evangelical Calvinist churches, where spirituality is considered to be primarily an intellectual endevour where one studies the Bible and attempts to deduce its teachings through rational analysis, might find the type of spirituality described in this book to be strange. Those in mainline churches will probably be much more comfortable with this book. It will be interesting to see if the revival of interest in Christian mysticism evident in the "emerging church" movement becomes anything more than a brief fad.

Essentially a reprint of his earlier work, Soul Shaper, Tony Jones spells out the essentials of modern Christian mysticism for the busy person. All the chapters are detailed, yet not overly crowded. He tells you things you might find only in such places as the Philokalia. You can tell he is much more than an observer, but an actual practitioner. Christianity desperately needs to remember its mystical heritage. Most of the great early Church Fathers were mystics. They knew not to separate spirituality from theology. Buy this book to learn about the contemporary way to practice time-proven ways of being "in Christ," not just following Him.

Tony Jones is simply reviewing some ancient Christian customs which those of us in the Protestant West have laid aside since the Reformation and Enlightenment. He points out that while we did not quite throw out the baby with the bath, we did throw out a lot of tradition which would be useful to our spiritual lives. Jesus himself came from a long line of these lost traditions. Among them are fasting, solitude, scripture memorization (not mentioned in this book - I am referring to entire chapters and books, not isolated verses,) and reciting psalms and prayers corporately. If we are to emulate our Savior, should we not also learn from his spiritual lifestyle?

Jesus' earliest followers maintained many of these traditions, and expanded them as they were moved by their new constant companion, the Holy Spirit. We can learn much from Tradition, without necessarily embracing all of the Doctrines of the Catholic and Orthodox churches.

I found the chapter on the Jesus prayer especially enlightening. It is clear from the Gospels that we are not to recite endless empty or overly wordy prayers like the pagans. But we are also told that Jesus' name is the only name we can call on to be saved, and that we should ask for everything in his name, and that we should pray without ceasing. The Name is what our Salvation Prayer is all about, but why should it stop there? We are in constant need of our Savior, and we'd do well to remember it.

This book will be slightly uncomfortable to liberal Christians and non-Christians, due to the almost extreme degree of religious devotion it calls for. Some of the theology and doctrine will be difficult for the more Fundamentalist among us. But I think all believers could stand to stretch their minds and challenge their assumptions a little. This book fits the bill, and is highly recommended.

This review will be a little schitsophrinic. When I buy a book I usually assume that the author wouldn't be writing it and the publishing house wouldn't be publishing it unless the author knew a great deal about the subject matter. Well, in The Sacred Way you can't make that assumption. Evan's chapters are mixed with subjects that he obviously knows a great deal about (stations of the cross), those he knows a little about (silence & solitude) and those he knows almost nothing about (fasting). One moment I find myself saying, "Wow, Tony, you did such a great job. I am blessed." The next moment, "What in the world were you thinking; writing about something of which you obviously know so little." So I gave it a 3. When you average a "0" and a "5" you get 2.5. I was always taught to round the number up, so that comes to a "3". God bless. Mike

I am a Deacon in the Catholic Church. It is refreshing to read a book on spirituality from the protestant perspective. An unfortunate by-product of the Reformation was "tjhrowing out the baby with the bath water. The author has re-discovered spiritual practices that for years have been shunned as too Catholic. In reality, we have more in common than differences. There will be a day when all Christians will recognize that we are one Church centered on Jesus Christ. Tony Jones has done all Christians a great service by re-introducing common worship practices.

The Sacred Way offers a helpful survey of the practices of the spiritual life. I like how Jones categorizes the practices into contemplative approaches to spritiuality including such practices as silence and solitude, sacred reading, centering prayer, meditation, the Daily Office and spiritual direction; and bodily approaches to spiritually with such things as fasting, service, stations of the Cross, sabbath and utilizing the Labyrinth. As you can tell from the few disciplines mentioned that the survey includes spiritual practices from the Roman Catholic, Orthodox, and Protestant church.

Each chapter, which deals with one spritual practice, inlcudes an opening anecdote, a section on the history of the practice, a short piece on the theology of the practice, and a final section with general guidelines for the practice of each discipline. Jones also provides a very helpful list of book and web resources for further study with each of the practices.

I think Jones' book is very applicable for incorporating spiritual practices in everyday life, especially important for those with a missional mindset where the desire to see the church "go and be" rather than "come and see" is presented.

Wow! What an exciting and confusing book. This challenged almost every spiritual doctrine I've ever heard beyond salvation. While struggling through each chapter, I found myself anxious to read the next one. After all was said & done, I liked it a lot.

This is an eminently readable treatment of "spiritual practices for everyday life" (the subtitle). Jones describes and prescribes seventeen spiritual disciplines (in two sections, Via Contemplativa (contemplative approaches to spirituality) and Via Activa (bodily approaches to spirituality). It was, for me, a thoroughly enjoyable book, and one with which I identified strongly.

I settled into it like a reader sinking into an overstuffed chair, especially because my spiritual journey in recent years has been much like Jones's, delving deeper and deeper into prayer and contemplation (though I struggled with jealousy as the author described pilgrimages to Taize, the Reading Boiler Room, and Assisi). The Sacred Way renewed my yearning to discover more pathways into the throne room of God.

I recommend The Sacred Way to anyone who is interested in discovering the kind of prayer life that animated such men and women after God's heart as Thomas Merton, Thomas a Kempis, Henri Nouwen, Julian of Norwich, and John of Damascus (all of whom are quoted in the book).

I found this book entertaining, thought provoking and filled with practical experiential practices to enjoy a day-to-day relationship with my creator.