Writer explores array of ancient spiritual practices for believers today

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Want to spend the weeks prior to Easter exploring spiritual disciplines but aren’t sure where to start? In his book The Sacred Way, writer and theologian Tony Jones offers an easily access-ible approach to spiritual practices developed by Christians across the centuries.

The book grew out of a dilemma he faced, said Jones, theologian-in-residence at Solomon’s Porch, a Christian congregation in Minneapolis. “For years I’d been told that to be a Christian meant I had to do three things: (1) read the Bible, (2) pray and (3) go to church,” he wrote. “But I had come to the realization that there must be something more. And indeed there is. There is a long tradition of searching among the followers of Jesus. It’s a quest, really, for ways to connect with God … to know Jesus better, to follow him more closely, to become—in some mysterious way—wrapped into his presence.”

Among the topics he explores:

The Divine Office. A fixed set of prayer times throughout the day, the Divine Office is a “continuous cascade of prayer” which, unlike prayers which are “rightly petitionary or intercessory or valedictory,” are exclusively an offering to God, said Phyllis Tickle, one of many writers on spirituality whom Jones quotes in his book.

Pilgrimage. Far from random wandering, pilgrimages aim to enrich spiritual life by separation from the familiar. “Mental and spiritual preparation and intention are necessary for a pilgrimage to be a pilgrimage.” They are different from mission trips, as significant as those may be. “Mission trips, though they shape us inwardly, are primarily about serving others; pilgrimages are an outward expression of an inward journey.”

Sabbath. An intentional break from regular schedule, Sabbath is “yet another spiritual practice that at first blush seems to be about giving things up … but in the end becomes a gift that is beyond price.”

The Sacred Way, by Tony Jones, was published in 2005 by Youth Specialties, an imprint of Zondervan in Grand Rapids, Mich.

 

 


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