Archive for October 13th, 2009
O2: Breathing New Life Into Faith
Your physical body needs oxygen in order to survive. Inhale, exhale … one leads naturally to the other. Inhale too long and you feel as if your lungs will burst. Exhale too long and you get light-headed.
The premise of Richard Dahlstrom’s new book is that the same rhythm is essential in the life of faith. You inhale life-giving strength from God through things like prayer, study, solitude, and silence. You exhale generosity, hospitality, and service to the poor. If you try to do one without the other, you won’t last very long.
The author is Senior Pastor of Bethany Community Church in Seattle, WA, in the heart of the city, among university students, young professionals, families, the homeless, and the elderly. He wrote this book after recognizing an unfortunate pattern within the Christian community. People would accept Christ with enthusiasm, then quickly get burnt out for one reason or another. Others would continue saying all the right things, but little of God’s Truth actually sank into their hearts. The author wants to revive these people by showing them the tools to balance the receiving with the giving, the quiet with the active, the inhaling with the exhaling.
This fresh perspective on the classic disciplines of the faith empowers readers to reflect the life of Jesus and keep their faith growing stronger.
Leave a comment on this post and you’ll be entered in a drawing to receive O2 for free! I’ll draw a name this Saturday.
Visit the author’s website: http://raincitypastor.blogspot.com/
Read the first chapter: http://www.conversantlife.com/files/resource_downloads/O2.pdf
6 comments October 13, 2009
