Down-To-Earth Spirituality: Encountering God in the Everyday Boring Stuff of Life

by R. Paul Stevens

Book Overview

Most books on spirituality focus on disciplines like prayer and Bible study. But this can mislead us into thinking that God can only be experienced when we are doing something "spiritual." Apart from private devotional times or church on Sundays, God may seem distant and even irrelevant to our daily lives. R. Paul Stevens has a radically different view of Christian spirituality. True spirituality, he says, is down-to-earth--we encounter God in...

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0830823832
• ISBN13: 9780830823833
• Release Date: January 2003
• Publisher: IVP
• Length: 208 Pages
• Weight: 0.60 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.6" x 6.5" x 8.4"

Customer Reviews

A Rare Jewel Integrating the Art of Biblical Narrative with the Human Story

Paul Stevens' passion for the wounded patriarch Jacob has found its full expression in his most insightful work, "Down-to-Earth-Spirituality." Paul's unique approach of blending theological themes with the narrative story gives the book a heightened relevance for the modern reader. After decades of study and reflection, Paul gives us the fruit not just of Jacob's journey but, as a "patriarch" in his own right, reflections from a lifetime of wisdom. Thus he is able to speak with authority regarding all the "earthly" contexts where God shapes the human soul. Each chapter traces an essential theme within the human story - birth, eating, family, sleep, courting, marriage, work, conversion, sex, home, calling, dressing, finishing and death - through Jacob's journey from deceiver and dreamer to entrepreneur and elderly grandfather. Who cannot identify with Jacob's longing to see God's "face" in dysfunctional families, oppressive work environments, in marriages where love has grown cold, and finally in the reconciliation of lost sons? We found Paul's book so valuable it became a major tool in training lay teachers who taught Jacob's story in Romania. Another pastor friend in Albania found it so helpful, he is hoping to have it translated into Albanian for the benefit of his people. Brian Morgan pastor, Peninsula Bible Church Cupertino Adjunct Prof of Old Testament Western Seminary San Jose