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Practicing Greatness: 7 Disciplines of Extraordinary Spiritual Leaders (Jossey-Bass Leadership Network Series #18)
by Reggie McNealFrom an author and ministry consultant, seven practices for taking your religious leadership from good to great. Often spiritual leaders do not aspire to greatness for fear of seeming to lack humility. Yet greatness in spiritual leadership is just what we need—in our churches, our businesses, in education, in the social sector, in every sector of society. The question is how do good spiritual leaders become great leaders? Based on his extensive experience as coach and mentor to many thousands of Christian leaders across a broad spectrum of ministry settings, Reggie McNeal helps spiritual leaders understand that they will self-select into or out of greatness. McNeal shows how great spiritual leaders are committed intentionally to seven spiritual disciplines, habits of heart and mind that shape both their character and competence: *The discipline of self-awareness—the single most important information a leader possesses *The discipline of self-management—handling difficult emotions, expectations, temptations, as well as mental and physical well-being *The discipline of self-development—a life-long commitment to learning and growing and building on one's strengths *The discipline of mission—maintaining the sense of God's purpose in your life *The discipline of decision-making—knowing the elements of good decisions and learning from failure *The discipline of belonging—nurturing relationships and living in community with others *The discipline of aloneness—the intentional practice of solitude and contemplation &“Practicing Greatness is a hard-hitting leadership book.&” —from the Foreword by Ken Blanchard, author of The One-Minute Manager and Lead Like Jesus: Lessons from the Greatest Leadership Role Model of All Time
Practicing Greatness: 7 Disciplines of Extraordinary Spiritual Leaders (Jossey-Bass Leadership Network Series #18)
by Reggie McNealFrom an author and ministry consultant, seven practices for taking your religious leadership from good to great. Often spiritual leaders do not aspire to greatness for fear of seeming to lack humility. Yet greatness in spiritual leadership is just what we need—in our churches, our businesses, in education, in the social sector, in every sector of society. The question is how do good spiritual leaders become great leaders? Based on his extensive experience as coach and mentor to many thousands of Christian leaders across a broad spectrum of ministry settings, Reggie McNeal helps spiritual leaders understand that they will self-select into or out of greatness. McNeal shows how great spiritual leaders are committed intentionally to seven spiritual disciplines, habits of heart and mind that shape both their character and competence: *The discipline of self-awareness—the single most important information a leader possesses *The discipline of self-management—handling difficult emotions, expectations, temptations, as well as mental and physical well-being *The discipline of self-development—a life-long commitment to learning and growing and building on one's strengths *The discipline of mission—maintaining the sense of God's purpose in your life *The discipline of decision-making—knowing the elements of good decisions and learning from failure *The discipline of belonging—nurturing relationships and living in community with others *The discipline of aloneness—the intentional practice of solitude and contemplation &“Practicing Greatness is a hard-hitting leadership book.&” —from the Foreword by Ken Blanchard, author of The One-Minute Manager and Lead Like Jesus: Lessons from the Greatest Leadership Role Model of All Time
Practicing His Presence
by Brother Lawrence Frank C. LaubachIf you wish to know your Lord in a deeper way, you are invited to join the vast host of Christians who, over three centuries, have turned to this book more than any other--except the Scriptures--in order to begin that journey to the depths of Christ. Imagine a book that is 300 years old and has never been out of print! Such is the book you hold in your hands. Other than Pilgrim's Progress, there is probably no other piece of Christian literature that has stood the test of the centuries so well. An estimated 22 million copies of the original The Practice of the Presence of God have been printed in the English language alone. In recent years, however, interest in this book has waned as the original English edition became so outdated that it was virtually unreadable. The publishers have now revised and reissued this book under the title Practicing His Presence and the profundity, depth, and beauty of Brother Lawrence's masterpiece lives again! We have included in this edition, not only the letters of Brother Lawrence--from the 17th century--but also those of Frank Laubauch--from the 20th century--who, like Brother Lawrence before him, wrote a series of letters chronicling his experiences in practicing the presence of Jesus Christ.
Practicing Mindfulness: 75 Essential Meditations to Reduce Stress, Improve Mental Health, and Find Peace in the Everyday
by Matthew SockolovCalm the mind and begin the path to finding peace with these simple mindfulness meditations Mindfulness is an evidence-based method for reducing stress and anxiety, enhancing resilience, and maintaining mental well-being. Even short meditations can turn a bad day around, ground us in the present moment, and help us approach life with gratitude and kindness. This mindfulness book was created by the founder of One Mind Dharma. He developed these 75 essential exercises to offer practical guidance for anyone who wants to realize the benefits of being more mindful.This inviting mindfulness book for adults includes:Evidence-based advice—Find expert advice on dealing with distorted or wandering thoughts and how to handle mental blocks.Meditations that grow with your confidence—Early meditations in Practicing Mindfulness take just 5 minutes and are highly accessible. As they progress, exercises grow with the reader, building on previous lessons to develop a transformative mindfulness practice.Meditations for specific situations—With meditations designed for specific situations or emotions, even experienced practitioners will have a continuing resource for mindfulness at every moment.Begin a journey of peace and patience with Practicing Mindfulness: 75 Essential Meditations to Reduce Stress, Improve Mental Health, and Find Peace in the Everyday.
Practicing Our Faith: A Way of Life for a Searching People
by Dorothy C. BassThis book, out of the Valpraiso project on Christian spiritual disciplines, includes chapters on honoring the body, hospitality, household economics, saying Yes and saying No, keeping Sabbath, testimony, discernment, shaping communities, forgiveness, healing, dying well, and singing our lives.
Practicing Our Faith
by Dorothy C. BassAn updated edition of the down-to-earth resource that offers twelve practices to make Christian faith a way of lifeMany Christians are looking for ways to deepen their relationship with God by practicing their faith in everyday life. This best-selling guide helps take belief out of the realm of theory and shows how to live it out in a series of twelve central practices such as hospitality, forgiveness, healing, testimony, and keeping Sabbath. Designed to work across a wide range of Christian laypeople, leaders, denominations, and study groups, this is the second edition of the book that Theology called "... a stimulating contribution to the work of making explicit the connection between what Christians do and what they believe."Contains information on the practices discussed in the book and shows how they relate to and intersect with prayer, worship, and Bible studyOffers a guide for conversation, learning, and growth at the back of the bookThis updated and expanded new edition includes a new introduction and two additional chapters that describes new insights into and experiences with the "practicing our faith" approach The book includes a variety of prominent contributors, who draw on their rich shared experience as believers, theologians, ethicists, and educators.
Practicing Passion: Youth and the Quest for a Passionate Church
by Kenda Crea DeanEvery stage of life brings out certain human characteristics, and according to Kenda Creasy Dean, adolescence is particularly characterized by passion. If the church is to speak meaningfully to youth and in turn reap the many benefits that young people have to offer, then its ministry must be predicated on passion the Passion of Christ, the passion of youth, and the passionate faith that results when these two things come together. The uniqueness of Practicing Passion lies in its relocating youth ministry in practical theology rather than in educational theory or psychological or social development. While youth ministry has routinely capitalized on the passions of adolescents, little attention has been given to the theological mooring that youth need to connect with the church and hold firm amid the growing demands of popular culture. Focusing on the theological resonance between the Passion of Christ and adolescents' experience of passion, Dean develops a framework for youth ministry that draws on the historic practices of the Christian community as a curriculum of passion. Offering a compelling new model for reaching, discipling, and empowering today's young adults, Practicing Passion is a vital resource for anyone already engaged in or preparing for youth ministry. "
Practicing Peace in Times of War
by Pema ChödrönWith war and violence flaring all over the world, many of us are left feeling vulnerable and utterly helpless. In this book Pema Chödrön draws on Buddhist teachings to explore the origins of aggression, hatred, and war, explaining that they lie nowhere but within our own hearts and minds. She goes on to explain that the way in which we as individuals respond to challenges in our everyday lives can either perpetuate a culture of violence or create a new culture of compassion."War and peace begin in the hearts of individuals," declares Pema Chödrön at the opening of this inspiring and accessible book. She goes on to offer practical techniques any of us can use to work for peace in our own lives, at the level of our habits of thought and action. It's never too late, she tells us, to look within and discover a new way of living and transform not only our personal lives but our whole world.
Practicing Piety in Medieval Ashkenaz: Men, Women, and Everyday Religious Observance (Jewish Culture and Contexts)
by Elisheva BaumgartenIn the urban communities of medieval Germany and northern France, the beliefs, observances, and practices of Jews allowed them to create and define their communities on their own terms as well as in relation to the surrounding Christian society. Although medieval Jewish texts were written by a learned elite, the laity also observed many religious rituals as part of their everyday life. In Practicing Piety in Medieval Ashkenaz, Elisheva Baumgarten asks how Jews, especially those who were not learned, expressed their belonging to a minority community and how their convictions and deeds were made apparent to both their Jewish peers and the Christian majority.Practicing Piety in Medieval Ashkenaz provides a social history of religious practice in context, particularly with regard to the ways Jews and Christians, separately and jointly, treated their male and female members. Medieval Jews often shared practices and beliefs with their Christian neighbors, and numerous notions and norms were appropriated by one community from the other. By depicting a dynamic interfaith landscape and a diverse representation of believers, Baumgarten offers a fresh assessment of Jewish practice and the shared elements that composed the piety of Jews in relation to their Christian neighbors.
Practicing Protestants: Histories of Christian Life in America, 1630–1965 (Lived Religions)
by Laurie F. Maffly - Kipp Leigh E. Schmidt Mark ValeriThis collection of essays explores the significance of practice in understanding American Protestant life. The authors are historians of American religion, practical theologians, and pastors and were the twelve principal researchers in a three-year collaborative project sponsored by the Lilly Endowment. Profiling practices that range from Puritan devotional writing to twentieth-century prayer, from missionary tactics to African American ritual performance, these essays provide a unique historical perspective on how Protestants have lived their faith within and outside of the church and how practice has formed their identities and beliefs. Each chapter focuses on a different practice within a particular social and cultural context. The essays explore transformations in American religious culture from Puritan to Evangelical and Enlightenment sensibilities in New England, issues of mission, nationalism, and American empire in the nineteenth and twentieth centuries, devotional practices in the flux of modern intellectual predicaments, and the claims of late-twentieth-century liberal Protestant pluralism. Breaking new ground in ritual studies and cultural history, Practicing Protestants offers a distinctive history of American Protestant practice.
Practicing Psychoanalysis in Israel: Seeing Through Blindness (Evolutions in Psychoanalysis Book Series)
by Gabriela MannGabriela Mann's book explores the work of an Israeli psychoanalyst who encounters the trauma and tragedy of Israelis living in an environment saturated with existential anxieties and threats to their well-being. This work offers clinical materials that illustrate the possibility of expansion of the mind through a spiritual dimension in psychoanalysis. The main theme focuses on transcending from a narrow perspective to a broad compassionate view by uncovering the interconnectedness between seemingly different phenomena. This cultivates the patients' ability to free themselves from past and contemporary trauma. Drawing on Kohut, Bion, and Winnicott, as well as from Buddhist thinking, Seeing Through Blindness describes the transformation of archaic narcissism, usually concerned with individual goals, to mature narcissism which strives for a supra-individual perspective. The reader is invited to choose among the chapters that describe splits in the self, paradoxes of belonging, perpetrators and victims, perversion, and selfobject needs at times of threat and bereavement. The book offers new ways of thinking about trauma in a troubled world, for all psychoanalysts and psychoanalytic psychotherapists.
Practicing Psychodynamic Therapy
by Richard F. Summers Jacques P. BarberThis volume presents 12 highly instructive case studies grounded in the evidence-based psychodynamic therapy model developed by Richard F. Summers and Jacques P. Barber. Bringing clinical concepts vividly to life, each case describes the patient's history and presenting problems and takes the reader through psychodynamic formulation, treatment planning, and the entire course of therapy, including the challenges of termination. The cases address a variety of core psychodynamic problems, with outcomes ranging from very successful to equivocal. The emotional experience of the therapist is explored throughout. Commentary from Summers and Barber on every case highlights important points and key clinical dilemmas. See also the authored book Psychodynamic Therapy: A Guide to Evidence-Based Practice, in which Summers and Barber comprehensively describe their therapeutic model.
Practicing Religion in the Age of the Media: Explorations in Media, Religion, and Culture
by Lynn Schofield Clark Stewart HooverIncreasingly, the religious practices people engage in and the ways they talk about what is meaningful or sacred take place in the context of media culture—in the realm of the so-called secular. Focusing on this intersection of the sacred and the secular, this volume gathers together the work of media experts, religious historians, sociologists of religion, and authorities on American studies and art history. Topics range from Islam on the Internet to the quasi-religious practices of Elvis fans, from the uses of popular culture by the Salvation Army in its early years to the uses of interactive media technologies at the Simon Wiesenthal Center's Beit Hashoah Museum of Tolerance. The issues that the essays address include the public/private divide, the distinctions between the sacred and profane, and how to distinguish between the practices that may be termed "religious" and those that may not.
Practicing Sectarianism: Archival and Ethnographic Interventions on Lebanon
by Lara Deeb, Tsolin Nalbantian, and Nadya SbaitiPracticing Sectarianism explores the imaginative and contradictory ways that people live sectarianism. The book's essays use the concept as an animating principle within a variety of sites across Lebanon and its diasporas and over a range of historical periods. With contributions from historians and anthropologists, this volume reveals the many ways sectarianism is used to exhibit, imagine, or contest power: What forms of affective pull does it have on people and communities? What epistemological work does it do as a concept? How does it function as a marker of social difference? Examining social interaction, each essay analyzes how people experience sectarianism, sometimes pushing back, sometimes evading it, sometimes deploying it strategically, to a variety of effects and consequences. The collection advances an understanding of sectarianism simultaneously constructed and experienced, a slippery and changeable concept with material effects. And even as the book's focus is Lebanon, its analysis fractures the association of sectarianism with the nation-state and suggests possibilities that can travel to other sites. Practicing Sectarianism, taken as a whole, argues that sectarianism can only be fully understood—and dismantled—if we first take it seriously as a practice.
Practicing Sufism: Sufi Politics and Performance in Africa (Routledge Sufi Series)
by Abdelmajid HannoumIslam in Africa is deeply connected with Sufism, and the history of Islam is in a significant way a history of Sufism. Yet even within this continent, the practice and role of Sufism varies across the regions. This interdisciplinary volume brings together histories and experiences of Sufism in various parts of Africa, offering case studies on several countries that include Morocco, Algeria, Senegal, Egypt, Sudan, Mali, and Nigeria. It uses a variety of methodologies ranging from the hermeneutical, through historiographic to ethnographic, in a comprehensive examination of the politics and performance of Sufism in Africa. While the politics of Sufism pertains largely to historical and textual analysis to highlight paradigms of sanctity in different geographical areas in Africa, the aspect of performance adopts a decidedly ethnographic approach, combining history, history of art and discourse analysis. Together, analysis of these two aspects reveals the many faces of Sufism that have remained hitherto hidden. Furthering understanding of the African Islamic religious scene, as well as contributing to the study of Sufism worldwide, this volume is of key interest to students and scholars of Middle Eastern, African and Islamic studies.
Practicing the Great Perfection: Instructions on the Crucial Points
by Shechen GyaltsapA collection of essential instructions on the practice of Dzogchen, or The Great Perfection, from one of the great early 20th century Buddhist masters.Shechen Gyaltsap (1871-1926) was widely recognized as one of the greatest meditation masters and most compassionate bodhisattvas in the history of Tibetan Buddhism. He lived a life of complete devotion and commitment to monastic discipline and study, and became the root teacher of Dilgo Khyentse Rinpoche, who said of Shechen Gyaltsap's teachings that they were "worth more than all the gold in the entire world."This collection, intended for the advanced Buddhist practitioner who has received initiation from a qualified master, provides the essential instructions of Dzogchen, or Great Perfection, practice. Written with a clear simplicity that belies their profundity, the teachings give practical and pointed advice on how students should meditate and behave in ordinary life. The work begins with an extensive reflection on the problem of self-clinging and the analytical meditation designed to uproot it, and proceeds to more specific instructions for the mind practice itself.
Practicing the Here and Now
by Herb KWith Practicing the Here and Now: Being Intentional with Step 11, you’ll learn to use prayer and meditation to work all the steps, so you can make contact with the Higher Power in a way that is yours and yours alone.Step Eleven Sought through prayer and meditation to improve our conscious contact with God as we understood Him, praying only for knowledge of His will for us and the power to carry that out. How do we unlock and experience the teachings of Step Eleven? Herb K. helps us realize that working—and living—this vital recovery “maintenance Step” doesn’t have to be as challenging as commonly thought. With Practicing the Here and Now, you’ll find guidance on using prayer and meditation to help you be present throughout each day, staying in contact with your Higher Power for ongoing inspiration and sustenance. By opening the connection to your Higher Power with what Herb K. calls “Intentional Consciousness,” prayer and meditation can help you fully experience the cumulative power of the Twelve Steps to deepen and sustain your recovery journey.
Practicing the Jhanas: Traditional Concentration Meditation as Presented by the Venerable Pa Auk Sayada w
by Pa Auk Sayadaw Tina Rasmussen Stephen SnyderThis is a clear and in-depth presentation of the traditional Theravadin concentration meditation known as jh?na practice, from two authors who have practiced the jh?nas in retreat under the guidance of one of the great living meditation masters, Pa Auk Sayadaw. The authors describe the techniques and their results, based on their own experience.
Practicing the Path
by Tsering Tuladhar Miranda Adams Lama Thubten Zopa Rinpoche Geshe Lhundub Sopa Yangsi RinpocheThe Lamrim Chenmo, or Great Treatise on the Steps of the Path, by Je Tsongkhapa is a comprehensive overview of the process of individual enlightenment. Meditation on these steps has been a core practice of Tibetan Buddhists for centuries. The Lamrim Chenmo presents the Buddha's teachings along a continuum of three spiritual attitudes: the person who worries about rebirth, the person who wants to escape rebirth, and finally the person who strives for buddhahood in order to relieve the suffering of all beings--this is the supreme aspiration of the bodhisattva. Given over two months to a group of Western Students in Dharamsala, India, Yangsi Rinpoche's commentary revitalizes our understanding of Tsongkhapa's work, giving readers renewed inspiration.
Practicing the Power: Welcoming the Gifts of the Holy Spirit in Your Life
by Matt Chandler Sam StormsThe Bible teaches us that we are to be filled with God's Spirit and that God's presence and grace is manifested among his people as they serve, love, and minister to one another. Yet some of the gifts that God offers to his people aren't commonly seen in many churches today. Gifts of prophecy, healing, tongues, and other supernatural gifts of God seem to be absent, and many Christians are unsure how to cultivate an atmosphere where God's Spirit can work while remaining committed to the foundational truth of God's Word. How can Christians pursue and implement the miraculous gifts of the Spirit without falling into fanatical excess and splitting the church in the process? In Practicing the Power, pastor and author Sam Storms offers practical steps to understanding and exercising spiritual gifts in a way that remains grounded in the word and centered in the gospel. With examples drawn from his forty years of ministry as a pastor and teachers, Storms offers a guidebook that can help pastors, elders, and church members understand what changes are needed to see God move in supernatural power and to guard against excess and abuse of the spiritual gifts. If you long to see God's Spirit move in your church and life, and aren't sure why that isn't happening or where to begin, this book is for you.
Practicing the Power of Now: Essential Teachings, Meditations, and Exercises From the Power of Now
by Eckhart TolleEckhart Tolle has shown readers how to free themselves from "enslavement to the mind" and achieve an awakened state of consciousness throughout their lives. This book contains the essence of Tolle's teachings, with meditations and straightforward techniques for quieting thoughts, seeing the world in the present moment, and finding a path to "a life of grace, ease, and lightness."
Practicing the Preaching Life
by David B. WardPreaching is a way of life that can be beautiful and good; however, It can also be anxious, self-focused, and destructive. Preachers and teachers of preaching need a holistic view of preaching that not only paints the way to good preaching, but also to good living. They need a comprehensive practical theology of preaching that combines the ‘why’ and the ‘what’ with the ‘how’ and 'whom’ of preaching. Practicing the Preaching Life unites Christian practices, contextual virtues, and the best of homiletical pedagogy to pave the way to a beautiful preaching life. Preaching is best learned as a formative Christian practice embedded within a web of other Christian practices that form a way of life from which great sermons emerge. Therefore, preaching requires not only a way of speaking well, but also a way of living well. This embedded nature of preaching requires the enrollment of Christian practices in the formation of the preacher and the pursuit of contextual virtues for preaching that avoid cultural relativism on the one hand and cultural imperialism on the other. These requirements lead to a new vision for the preaching classroom, the rhythms of the preaching life, and the definition of what it means to be a good preacher.
Practicing the Presence of People: How We Learn to Love
by Mike MasonIn the deepest part of our hearts and souls is the desire to love well. Yet in our struggle to do so, we learn that, as Mike Mason puts it, "We are not born with love; it is something we must learn." Now, in Practicing the Presence of People, he helps us launch that learning process. Mason points the way to fresh knowledge and fresh experience, showing how we can discover new things about those we love, understand them from the inside out, tenderly identify with their weaknesses, and celebrate that they too were lovingly made by the hand of God.From the Trade Paperback edition.
Practicing the Presence of the Goddess
by Barbara ArdingerMore women than ever are incorporating some kind of spiritual practice into their daily lives, and not always in traditional religious form, but as alternative or hybrid practices. In Practicing the Presence of the Goddess, Barbara Ardinger offers a wide variety of meditations and personal rituals to help women honor the feminine spirit and commune with the Goddess. These include creating a sacred space at home, building a meaningful altar, using ritual and meditation to enrich awareness, and inventing new rituals to celebrate personal events. The author's wry, gentle humor and loving attitude shine through the text, which offers possibilities ranging from bringing love into one's life to having a heart-to-heart with the Goddess.
Practicing the Present: The Neglected Art of Living in the Now
by John KoesslerThe present is more than a place where the past comes to rest.It is more than a staging ground for the future.The present is where God shows up.We live our lives in the present, but often our minds are racing toward the future or overwhelmed by the past. We want to change the past and control the future, but usually all we really do is exhaust ourselves in the here and now. Writing especially with church leaders in mind, Dr. John Koessler, a former pastor and professor, teaches you how to evade the tyranny of past regrets and future plans and meet God right where you are, in the present.